WordPress boasts many user-friendly features, making it one of the most widely-used web content management systems. Plus, its large community makes WordPress one of the top choices.
Maintainn provides comprehensive support and maintenance plans for WordPress websites starting at just $147 a month, including unlimited WordPress tasks, security monitoring with Sucuri, offsite backups and more.
Updating the core files
Updating your WordPress website regularly is one of the best ways to avoid errors and security vulnerabilities. In order to do this, regularly update its core files, themes, and plugins – either using WordPress’s built-in updates system or an add-on like UpdraftPlus. Before making any modifications to its backend or making modifications yourself it’s wise to create backup copies first – doing this could save time and headaches if anything goes wrong!
The WordPress core files, consisting of PHP and related source files, form the basis of its software. Any attempts at alteration could introduce security risks and cause operational problems with WordPress itself. If you encounter issues with the core, update to a stable version first; if that does not resolve them manually update through FTP.
To update WordPress, login to your wp-admin dashboard and click “Updates.” You will then see a list of elements requiring updates, including core files. By clicking the “Update” button you will replace all original files with their most up-to-date versions from WordPress as well as undo any modifications malware might have made to core files. Activating each new file one at a time and checking for issues will ensure a successful update of WordPress.
Updating the themes and plugins
Plugins are an integral component of WordPress websites, offering everything from social media sharing buttons to full eCommerce stores. But they can cause issues if not regularly updated; not only can updates contain bug fixes and security enhancements, but it is important that plugins and themes stay current to protect against attacks on your site.
When new plugin updates become available, they’ll appear in your dashboard. Be sure to take note if it seems significant – often security patches provide important protection against hackers and ensure your website is safe against them.
Although updating all your plugins and themes may seem like an overwhelming task, you can simplify the process by doing them one at a time – this will prevent any unexpected issues from popping up during an upgrade process. It is always advisable to create a backup before running any updates.
ManageWP can make this process even simpler by offering a staging site where you can test updates before they go live, giving you the ability to revert back in case something goes wrong during an update and contact developers if there are any problems with them.
Backing up your site
Backups must be reliable and accessible in order to protect your website if the server experiences a problem, without forcing you to be down for extended periods. Furthermore, the process must be user-friendly; failing that it could leave your business exposed if users lose access. Keeping all these aspects in mind when planning backups for business websites is of utmost importance.
Thank goodness there are tools available that make backing up your site easy and effortless. Some web hosts offer automatic backups as a standard feature of their service, while others may provide them as add-ons. Regardless of which tool you use, it is wise to back up at least once weekly and also before making major updates, in case any compatibility issues arise that could void their warranty.
Step one in creating a backup is logging into your hosting account and finding a tool that enables you to take a snapshot of your site and download it directly onto your computer – typically found under menu or navigation panels in hosting dashboards.
Some hosts provide backup tools that store files separately from the live website, helping prevent single points of failure and increasing resilience. Unfortunately, these methods tend to be less reliable and more costly.
Keeping the software updated
WordPress was designed to enable people with little technical know-how to easily build blogs and websites, for free, open source, and with minimal technical requirements. Written using PHP scripting language, its database stores all of your website data including blog posts.
WordPress also comes equipped with an admin dashboard that makes managing their site’s content, pages and posts simpler for users. Beyond its traditional blog functionality, WordPress also caters for ecommerce and membership websites through plugins such as WooCommerce.
WordPress boasts an active community supporting it as an open source platform, and there are numerous resources available to newcomers looking to start using the program. From support forums and WordCamp/meetup attendance, blog posts/tutorials reading, or finding developers if any issues arise – WordPress offers something for every type of user!
Maintaining a top-performing website takes time and effort, but hiring a WordPress maintenance service can ease some of that burden. There are various providers like WebDevStudios and Newt Labs which specialize in maintenance to reduce downtime and optimize site performance, with email/live chat support, daily backups, weekly updates and 24/7 security monitoring all included as standard plans; additionally there is also a professional plan which offers uptime monitoring, twice daily backups eCommerce/Multisite support as well as fixes for websites which have been compromised or hacked at $99 each time!