Do you keep your WordPress website up to date?
Monday, April 15th, 2024
Does your business website use WordPress? WordPress is a popular choice that is used as for blogs, to be able to make website updates, and even ecommerce. In fact, WordPress is so popular that it powers more than 43% of websites built in the world. WordPress is what is called a CMS – Content Management System. WordPress is an open-source CMS that often utilizes a theme to provide the look of your website, and plugins to allow for additional features, sell products, and more!
Due to its high popularity and usage, a website designed with WordPress unfortunately can be a prime target for hacking. For that reason, it is very important to make sure that all the pieces that run your website including the WordPress core, your theme, and all plugins, stay up to date. WordPress releases updates often, including security updates, and that does not include all the updates that your theme and plugins may have. Take a look at the recent WordPress updates: https://wordpress.org/news/category/releases
So, are WordPress updates really that important?
100% yes, without a doubt. We could argue that updates are just as important, if not more important, than the website itself. By updates we are talking about keeping WordPress, the theme, and any/all plugins are kept up to date to the most recent versions. So when we say updates, those important elements are completely different then changes like updating your hours, or posting a blog post.
Here are some potential issues that could arise if you do not keep your website up to date:
Security Issues: Risks for your host, your website itself, and everyone visiting it. On April 2nd, 2024 WordPress 6.5 was released, and just a week later on April 9th there was already a security update “Because this is a security release, it is recommended that you update your sites immediately”.
Performance / Compatibility: Your website could perform differently, and an incompatible plugin can cause issues anywhere from part of your website not working, to the entire website.
Speed: By keeping everything updated, you give your website the best opportunity to run at its peak performance capabilities(depending on how your site is built).
Bugs: Sometimes, issues appear and hot fixes and updates are needed to fix those bugs.
New Features: Occasionally, a new feature might be added that can enhance your website appearance or the time it takes to perform certain tasks.
White Screen: The startling and scary white screen of death. While we have only seen this a handful of times, it is one of the most common errors for a WordPress website. Sometimes your website could literally display just a white screen, and other times it might display a white screen with a “There has been a critical error on this website” message.
So, has this scared you off? Well, if you are a WebLeaps client and if WebLeaps designed and hosts your WordPress website(s), you have nothing to worry about. We take care of our clients, and we take pride in our clients knowing that their website needs are completely covered. This includes our managed WordPress hosting package for WordPress clients for security maintenance which covers all of the updates that we mentioned. We also ensure that after the updates are complete, that the website is working and operating correctly. In addition, if anything should go wrong during the updating process that “breaks” the website, or parts of it, we handle that too. This is just another reason why so many people continue to use and trust WebLeaps to design and host their website. This is a service that we offer to our customers that have had their website designed by WebLeaps and who host that website on WebLeaps servers.
If you are interested in getting a quote to have WebLeaps design and host your website, please contact us today at 570.629.6980!
