Why Regular WordPress Maintenance is Crucial
WordPress offers a versatile and feature-rich platform for designing, implementing, and maintaining websites. It is the most widely used content management system globally and also the preferred choice for individuals and small businesses that do not need bespoke solutions. However, its popularity makes WordPress a prime target for hackers and spammers. Security is often a weak point for WordPress sites, with the basic password protection comparable to locking a door with tissue paper. Consequently, regular maintenance of your WordPress site is essential. This article aims to provide important insights and tips to help you effectively manage and secure your website.
Key Components of WordPress Maintenance
Regular backups are another essential in WordPress maintenance. A backup of your website is essentially a safety net in case something was to go wrong. No matter what the website is, changes are often made and mistakes can happen. In some cases, changes have caused a result which cannot be undone. Regular backups will provide restore points in such an event and although many hosts do perform regular backups, it is essential to perform your own as the host backup may not be sufficient. The frequency of backups can depend on how often one updates their website. If changes are made once or more a day, then it is recommended to perform a backup once a day. For websites that do not update content often, then a weekly backup should suffice.
Essentials in WordPress maintenance would be considered general upkeep on your website which should be performed regardless of what type of activity the website brings. The fundamental task in website maintenance would be consistent monitoring. WordPress has made this task very easy with a wide array of monitoring plugins available to suit one’s individual needs. These plugins can monitor anything from visitor statistics, post views, uptime and downtime, and even changes in the website’s content. Typical monitoring should help identify what is and what is not working for your website. This can be crucial if key elements of the website (i.e. sales or leads) are not being generated and monitoring will show why these elements are not working. It’s important to take note that website changes can be the cause of failed results and monitoring will identify any changes.
The essentials
WordPress maintenance is a comprehensive term. It involves a set of tasks frequently performed to consistently monitor and fix any problems with your WordPress website. WordPress maintenance is ultimately the process of ensuring your website runs as smooth and efficiently as possible. This can cover a very broad list of tasks and can depend on how much one is willing to spend on the upkeep of their website. Regardless of budget, problems can and will arise but how one deals with these problems is what will make or break their website. A grueling tough break it can be for some, as regular WordPress maintenance may seem boring and most people would rather be focusing on content or marketing. Nonetheless, regular WordPress maintenance will pay dividends in the long run and will make for a much smoother and efficient website in all aspects.
Best Practices for Website Security
Keeping your WordPress site secure is very important. There are two types of website attacks that are growing exponentially, those that are automated and those that are done manually. By far, the vast majority of website attacks are not targeted at your specific site, rather they are based on exploiting a common vulnerability. We will share the best practices and tips for you to safeguard your website against both types of attacks. The WordPress platform is incredibly effective at providing a high level of security for your website, providing that you can keep the security of the site up-to-date. Given that, both automated and manual attacks can be prevented by following some simple guidelines. Briefly, an automated attack is typically a script that takes advantage of a vulnerability in a service, application, or protocol. The use of foreign input is key to causing unexpected and undesirable behavior that can result in a security issue. A manual attack is typically very targeted and focused. It often aims to use an exploit to gain only a specific type of information. The attacker may seek to gain unauthorized access to stored data, modify the data stored in the database, or view data that is supposed to be restricted from all users except administrators.
Common Issues and Troubleshooting Tips
WordPress users might come across a variety of different issues; some might be more complex than others. Although many of them can be resolved by following a few simple steps. For example, the dreaded “White Screen of Death” has frustrated many WordPress users, and it can have a number of causes. The most common cause of the white screen is PHP memory limit exhaustion. This will have been mentioned briefly in the previous chapter, but there is another more detailed article explaining how to increase the memory limit. Often though, this issue can be solved by deactivating all of your plugins. If the deactivation of your plugins fixes the problem, then it is safe to reactivate them one by one, until you find the one that caused the issue. Activate that plugin again, and if the white screen returns, you have found the cause. You will then be able to access the problem with a quick search in the plugin support forums. Another cause of the white screen can be using a theme that is not compatible with the WordPress version you are using, or one that has a mistake in its code. Another common issue is not being able to access the admin area. This can be caused by a number of reasons, but often it is because the URL has been altered. The default URL for the WordPress admin login page is /wp-admin/, you can access this by going into your web browser and typing in ‘http://www.yourwebsite.com/wp-admin’. If you changed the URL and now cannot access it, the only way to fix this would be to access the WordPress database via phpMyAdmin, and change it back to the default.
The Benefits of Regular WordPress Maintenance
A slow website can be very detrimental to your business. High bounce rates, lesser conversions, low search engine ranking; all of these can be attributed to the speed of your website. To ensure that you do not fall prey to a slow website, you should maintain it at regular intervals. This can increase the speed and efficiency of your website. There are numerous tools available that can help you in increasing the productivity of your website. By using these tools, you can get significant improvement in your website, thus satisfying your visitors and making them regular clients. This, in turn, will bring more business and a fine testimonial to your services.
Regular maintenance by a WordPress website maintenance provider not only enhances your search engine ranking but also fortifies your site against security threats. Without consistent upkeep, many WordPress sites fall prey to malicious attacks, a frightening prospect when considering the effort invested in creating your blog. These security breaches can inflict irreparable damage, potentially ruining your current rankings and forcing you to rebuild from scratch if the damage is extensive. The cost of recovery can be substantial.
Avoiding these security threats is crucial, and regular maintenance by a professional can shield your website from such risks. Given the significant advantages of maintaining your WordPress site at a relatively low cost, investing in regular WordPress maintenance is undoubtedly a wise and prudent decision.
