WordPress Website Maintenance and Security

Was your website created using WordPress?  Over 450 Million websites on the Internet today have been created using WordPress, and there are many reasons why WordPress continues to be a leader in this market.

Benefits of Using WordPress

• It is adaptable and versatile
• It is user friendly, even for beginners
• So many themes!
• So many plugins!  (so many ways to extend the functions of your website)
• Great for SEO – Google Loves WordPress
• All WordPress sites are mobile friendly / responsive

At Dufferin Media, we love using WordPress as a website solution for our clients because it is so versatile and offers many customizations that are easy to implement.  That along with the professional appearance, wide variety of themes and ease of creation is why WordPress is one of the largest website softwares in the world.

My own blog (this site) was created using WordPress!

**looking for hosting?  We prefer BLUEHOST because they are affordable, and offer a free SSL certificate with all hosting plans!

What you Need to Know about WordPress Updates

But…did you know that WordPress websites require ongoing updates?  WordPress operating software, along with Themes and Plugins are like apps on an iPhone, they constantly have updates that need to be installed.

Did you know that if you neglect updating the plugins on your WordPress website, you are at risk that some of the functions of your may stop working.

Recently we had a mortgage client reach out in a panic.  His clients were trying to submit mortgage applications online via his online forms.  You can imagine how much time this takes someone to complete.  But when they hit “submit” the form information literally went …nowhere…?  The Mortgage Agent never received the application, and the client was not notified that it was received or not.  Personal financial information…..just lost out there in cyberspace.  Upon investigation we quickly discovered the reason – his WordPress updates had not been done in quite some time and were causing this error.

In another case a professional manufacturing B2B client, who had their website created on WordPress a number of years ago was hacked due to lack of updating and lack of security on their website and now their website clearly has a number of viruses.  This leads to this business looking unprofessional and they will likely lose potential clients because of this.

In my opinion the fact that WordPress websites require ongoing updates is a benefit to using WordPress, because this means that the developers behind the technology are continually improving the software, giving your website the most up to date functionality to help your website stay secure and current.

Fresh Content for your Website

And let’s be honest, if you haven’t updated your plugins on your WordPress site in over a few months or **gasp** over a year,….that probably means you have not updated any content on the site either.  Having a stale, static website is not recommended.  Not only does Google love fresh updated content, so do your visitors!  

How Can you Make Sure your WordPress Website is Updated?

So what is the solution?  Well I suggest that you include in your digital marketing strategy an ongoing way to add fresh content to your website, and at the same time, you can check your WordPress dashboard to see if there are any updates to be completed.  For example, having a monthly blog strategy would ensure that you are logging in once per month minimum to add fresh content, and at that time you can update your plugins. 

If you are looking to outsource these tasks, at Dufferin Media, we have budget friendly website maintenance packages so you can rest assured that your website will always be up to date and functioning properly.  In addition we have packages that include content management + SEO, so we can not only help you make sure your website is running problem free but assist you in maximizing the traffic that arrives at your site.  And if one of your goals is to drive more traffic to your site so you can gain more leads, more clients and more revenue …. We can help with that too!

All of our maintenance packages now also include installation of a premium security software to further protect your WordPress website against viruses, bots, and other internet threats at no additional charge to you.