On the importance of WordPress updates
Photo from Unsplash
By Carla
So you want a WordPress website, you contact some lovely developers (like Pomegranite), they build you a site and once it is live you never log in again.
A few months down the line you find some kind of issue on the site. Maybe you are receiving a huge amount of spam (viagra anyone?), perhaps the look of the site has changed and you don’t know why, or maybe the site speed has slowly degraded.
Why has this happened? In short, updates. Updates that have not been done.Â
Throughout the year WordPress releases updates which have to be run to keep your site safe and functioning optimally – not unlike the updates you have to run every so often on the apps on your smartphone.
WordPress is the content management system which makes administering a website possible for anyone.
Fundamentally I am an advocate for good housekeeping. This principal can be applied to your bedroom, your kitchen and even your website. Here’s why:
- Security
The most important thing to remember about WordPress, themes and plugins is that they are all developed by people and people make mistakes. This is why WordPress releases minor and major updates throughout the year. These updates fix bugs, security holes and generally improve performance.
WordPress is a major target for hackers, therefore keeping your WordPress core version up to date is very important.
- Functions updates
WordPress core functions are updated every few weeks/months. If you only run the WordPress core updates and neglect the plugin and theme updates you put the functionality of the website at risk.
- Feature updates
Self-explanatory. If a plugin or theme is being improved and worked on consistently this usually means that the developer/s are listening to their users and working towards improving their product. Why wouldn’t you want this?
- Performance
Nobody wants a slow site. Not only will it frustrate your visitors but it will also affect your site ranking. Old, outdated plugins are major culprits in slowing down WordPress websites.
These are all extremely relevant reasons to ensure that your WordPress website stays up to date in terms of WordPress core, themes and plugins.
Happy housekeeping!
Photo from Pixabay
Trish
September 19, 2018 at 3:15 pmI quote your phrase above referring to good housekeeping. “Ensure that your WordPress website stays up to date in terms of WordPress core, themes and plugins.” I had someone else do a website for me on WordPress and pay R100/mo. I think it is for my domain. Can I maintain the plugins myself?
rubyseed
September 19, 2018 at 4:03 pmHi Trish,
You can definitely maintain your plugins yourself. To update plugins login and navigate to Dashboard > Updates. On this page you will see three sections:
From this page you can select and update plugins and themes as well as run WordPress core updates. Remember to always make a back-up before running any updates!