Once a project is built, one important thing that doesn’t get discussed enough is maintenance. Maintaining web projects is essential but mostly underappreciated. It usually doesn’t get you much reward. But web applications are living things that need tending to. This means updating dependencies, but also thoughtfully revisiting the project on a regular basis to make sure that it is still meeting its goals in the best, most appropriate, most up-to-date way.

The most important take away from this post is that there is a real risk in running out-of-date code on the web. Parts of your project will very quickly become vulnerable and need replacing. Under-maintained projects pose a real security risk to both their users and the project maintainers. Basically, you shouldn’t do that. Maintain your projects. It takes time but it’s necessary.

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