A neglected WordPress site is bad news, especially if it is critical to your business. Keeping your website in good shape means less work for you and your visitors.
Website maintenance is more than simply monitoring broken links and tracking site analytics. WordPress core upgrades and plugin updates are two of the most critical things you can do for the health of your website. These updates are frequently forgotten or even disregarded, which can result in anything from a sluggish admin interface to a virus-infected site packed with malware.
How frequently should your WordPress core and plugins be updated?
The short answer is, as frequently as possible! Your website is an essential component of your business’s marketing strategies.
Let’s go over the advantages of a well-maintained website and why focusing on these changes will keep your site healthy in the long run (at least until the next update).
Increased Security
According to Techjury.net, there are over 455 million sites using WordPress.
With WordPress controlling such a high market share, hackers and spammers will always pose a concern. Hackers can steal information, publish improper content without your will, or altogether take down a website. Hackers and malware, like your website, are continuously developing.
To combat this, WordPress releases regular core updates that ensure your site’s defenses are up to date and free of exploitable vulnerabilities. The more updates you have, the more secure your site gets. So, just as we wouldn’t skip a day of brushing our teeth to avoid cavities, you can’t skip a core update without jeopardizing the health of your site.
Similarly to how core updates preserve your website’s heart, plugin and theme upgrades protect its integrations and advanced functionalities.
According to WPScan, outdated WordPress plugins were responsible for 52% of WordPress vulnerabilities, while outdated WordPress themes were responsible for 11% of the vulnerabilities. It’s not surprising, then, that 86% of hacked WordPress websites featured outdated versions of WordPress plugins and themes, according to WPBeginner.
Fixes for bugs
Sometimes, you may see things like a broken link, random html code, a slideshow no longer displaying, or a section of content no longer displaying properly on the page. Many times, the solution to problems like this on your website is as simple as updating the plugins.
To keep your website functioning properly, plugins, themes, and WordPress must all work together. Therefore, leaving one behind can cause all of them to malfunction. Sometimes the problems with your website are caused by something more serious, but most of the time, a simple update will suffice.
Compatibility
Your website will not function properly until plugins, themes, and WordPress core all get along. Plugin and theme developers frequently coordinate updates with WordPress core upgrades to ensure that they take advantage of any new features and make it as simple as possible for you to get everything up to date and operating again. Staying current will result in all website elements working in unison.
New Functions
Updates to plugins and core code frequently include new features and enhanced performance. The core development team is always introducing features that make WordPress easier to use and modify faster. Similarly, plugin developers will add new features that give enhanced functionality or a more user-friendly interface.
Not only will updating your website, plugins, and themes maintain them safe and responsive, but it will also make them easier to use, and better!
Performance and Speed
Everyone desires a faster website. Not only is speed vital in SEO, but it is also important in maintaining site visitors. Each new WordPress core release includes performance improvements that reduce page load speeds and make the site more efficient overall. Updating your plugins concurrently ensures that every element of your site receives these performance enhancements while still retaining the functionality that you intended.
Finally, upgrades help your website run faster and more efficiently. This is critical because most visitors will only give you eight seconds of their time, so make the most of it.
With Creatively Seeded’s Hosting Services, you can eliminate the guesswork and stress.
We recognize that knowing you should do something is one thing, but having the time or capacity to do so is another. Fortunately, we’re here to assist. Our “Grow” (and higher) hosting package offers a hands-on maintenance overview of your plugins, theme, core WordPress upgrades, site backups, and more. Thus allowing you to spend less time worrying about your website and more time improving it for your visitors.
Moreover, our hosting services relieve you of the burden of website maintenance.
Keeping your website up to date and backed up can ensure that it is healthy and ready for visitors. Contact us today to learn more about our Hosting Services and how we can keep your site updated and ready for visitors.