A wise choice was made the day your website was built on the WordPress platform. A WordPress website opens up a world of possibility. Essentially, “WordPress combines simplicity for users and publishers with under-the-hood complexity for developers. This makes it flexible while still being easy-to-use.” according to WordPress.Org. Successful companies large and small have turned to WordPress for all of the features and benefits. However, in order to truly maximize results and put WordPress website to work at it’s fullest potential it must be regularly maintained. Here are 4 reasons why your WordPress Website Needs Monthly Maintenance.
1. Regular Website Backups Save the Day
A website is an investment that is yours to care for so one of the main things you should do is keep regular backups. Weird stuff happens. Sometimes for unforeseen or for a number of possible uncontrollable reasons, websites disappear. What do you do at that moment when you realize your entire investment is gone… forever? Maybe it was hacked, maybe your hosting provider is wacky. Whatever the case may be, don’t give them the satisfaction of robbing your success. While the Internet powerfully offers amazing resources and capabilities for business to connect with customers, nothing is guaranteed. With great power comes great responsibility. It is up to you to make sure that if your website goes down that you have a backup copy. You can always pass on this great duty to a reliable WordPress maintenance solutions provider. Often times as part of your monthly service plan, your website will be backed up seamlessly and stored remotely offsite in the cloud. Hard to hack that!
2. WordPress Plugins & Themes are Always Improving
Yes! Technology is on a mission to be better than it was yesterday in this ever-expanding universe and this is no exception for the Plugins & Themes that comprise your WordPress website. Audiences love to see you stay fresh and relevant and offer the best in user experience & website performance. If you are worried about how your plugins and updates will speak to one another, this is also another key task you could pass on to a WordPress maintenance company. Nevertheless, WordPress Plugin & Theme Updates MUST be done to stay optimized. Search engines also will be looking to see if your website is staying up to date and will not hesitate to hide your website or discredit you for not keeping up with search engine requirements and best practices. Keeping up with your plugin and theme updates will ensure you are offering a fluid experience and preserving a harmoniously compatible website environment that works like a charm and is worthy of the spotlight in search results per search engine standards.
3. Security for Peace of Mind
We put passwords on our phones and alarm systems in our homes to ensure security. Why wouldn’t we do the same for our website? Implementing security is such a crucial measure that is so underrated and overlooked. The exchange of sensitive information in the digital world constantly pushes the bar on the best practices for securing sensitive data. The right tools will help protect threats to your website before they happen. Firewall security, malware protection, secure access limiting, even cool features your web developer or website maintenance provider could incorporate like a hidden login to your admin dashboard are such minor details with major impact to safeguard against security holes! Your time is precious and so are your customers and the best way you could earn and maintain their trust and loyalty is to make them feel safe with you. Protecting their information and yours is a necessary responsibility in operating your business on a website. Security best practices for your WordPress Website serve as the added layers that will diminish risk and keep things buttoned up.
4. Speed Optimization Matters
We like our websites to keep the pace with our busy and fast lives. Don’t be the slow poke making your audience wait while they browse for info or shop on your website. Every second counts! According to Google citing a study of online consumers, 40% of shoppers will wait no more than 3 seconds before abandoning a slow website. This number has likely increased since the last time this study was done. But, let’s be conservative and say it has remained at 40%. This number is HUGE and could mean a massive drop-off of users on your website and missed opportunities. We live in a world of “GIVE ME NOW” & “GIVE ME QUICKLY”. Speed optimization entails a checklist of things from making sure you’re using a hosting company with good speed to optimizing the images on your website and everything in between. If you’re regularly maintaining with speed optimization in mind, you’ll ensure that your website is performing to current web design standards.
Even if you don’t have time, or are unsure of how to do it on your own, professional WordPress experts deliver the skills and tools you need to thrive. No one said it would be easy, but it’s worth every effort to maintain and keep your WordPress Website operating efficiently.