WordPress is the most popular platform Content Management System on the market today due to its ease-of use, flexibility and adaptability and powers 30% of all websites. It should be updated on a regular basis, including WordPress itself, plugins and themes.
The reasons your website needs to be updated regularly is enhanced security, performance, bug fixes and compatibility. Each of these factors are important, but security is number one. More and more websites are getting hacked, including the big players like Facebook, Twitter and our mobile provider Three last week as well as millions of small businesses. I care about your security and if you don’t update your website you will be left exposed to hackers.
ENHANCED PERFORMANCE
WordPress powers up about 30 % of the internet and is an attraction for hackers. As a matter of fact, studies show that 12000 websites are hacked each day and 84 % of hacked WordPress websites were because they had not been kept up to date. This is due to outdated versions themes and plugins. Hackers are on the prowl to steal your information, insert malware and compromise websites. Today’s worms cleverly make its way around old WordPress website and disguises itself as an administrator user and inserts hidden malware and spam into old posts.
When someone in the WordPress community or a developer spots any type of security threat, it’s fixed with an update and we are notified through various channels. But if you don’t keep your version of WordPress, plugins and themes updated, you will be left exposed to hackers and your website will be vulnerable.
BETTER PERFORMANCE
WordPress websites, plugins and themes perform better with regular updates. Think of it as an under-the-hood check and tune-up. You’ll notice the difference in faster scripts and the site’s efficiency. Who wouldn’t want their site running better? Keep in mind that performance is one of the important factors of a successful website.
FIX BUGS WITH AN UPDATE
New WordPress releases also fix bugs in your website. Bugs often appear and a minor release will often resolve any issues. For example, release 3.8.5 eliminated a bug with the “quick draft” tool that was broken. It’s also not uncommon for bugs to be discovered in previous versions. Get the fixed version with an update.
ENSURE COMPATIBILITY
After a major WordPress release, many plugins get an update to ensure compatibility. This is to ensure that plugins don’t have compatibility issues with another plugin which we need to check for when updating your website. When we update your website, we always backup first and then check compatibility.
DANGERS OF ‘DO IT YOURSELF’ UPDATES
Maintaining your website updates yourself could cost you more than you think. If you just update from your WordPress admin, you wouldn’t have a record of what was done. If an update to a plugin created an issue a couple weeks later, it would be difficult to know what changed and how you should revert back without restoring a very old backup and possibly losing content changes and any other recent updates that may be important.
IT COSTS MORE TO FIX THAN MAINTAIN
Inexperience and neglect can damage the look and functionality of your website. When that happens, you have a choice to make. One, you try and fix it yourself, in which case you may do further damage. Or two, you can then pay the (sometimes hefty) price for someone experienced to fix it. Just like your car, it costs more to fix it than it does to maintain it properly. Regular oil changes help keep your car running properly, regular site maintenance helps keeps your web site running properly.
WEBSITE MAINTENANCE PLAN
My website maintenance plan ensure that your website is always secure, updated, backed up and always functioning and performing as it should.