Practically speaking, the real work begins once your WordPress website is online. There is content creation, website content updating, and site promotion.
Most importantly… There is the deceivingly simple task of maintaining your WordPress site to keep your online presence up and running, and in great condition.
Note, technology, as well as the internet, are fast-evolving landscapes. While the ‘good guys’ are all about code improvements, the ‘bad guys are busy exploring, searching for weaknesses in a code to exploit. To put in more context, 56% of all internet traffic into a site is from an automated source like bots, impersonators, hacking tools, scrapers, and scrapers. How then do you stay ahead of the game?
Well, the answer lies in maintaining your site regularly. Not convinced?
Think of your WordPress site as a house that stores various contents in various formats.
For a house to function properly and provide the much-needed conducive environment for human occupancy, it has to be guarded, cleaned, and repaired regularly. Similarly, a WordPress site’s code having numerous moving parts requires regular performance updates, security updates, and database ‘cleaning’. In return, you’ll have a secure website that runs fast; doing what it was built to do more efficiently.
To expound on the same, regular site maintenance is necessary for the following reasons.
1. To Maintain A Secure Site
WordPress works relentlessly in security highlights, however, it is not malware or hack-proof. A reason why WordPress continues to be the leading infected website CMS (Content Management System).
Yes, no site is 100% perfect and secure, but there are steps you can take to keep off bots, hackers, and malicious scripts for the sake of you, your customers, other businesses, the public, and even the government websites’ safety.
One of such key steps is to regularly maintain the site to uphold the security of the WordPress site.
Why is an insecure site such a threat?
Well, insecure sites are prone to hacking through which malicious software is used to garner data, infect websites, retarget your potential customers, or even hijack computer resources where the hacker can hold the victim to ransom. The key problem is that an infected site can serve as the Launchpad allowing for the spread and escalation of the attack to other websites. The very reason why the number of hacked sites is rising rapidly with a 32% resurgence in 2016 compared to 2015, according to Google Webmaster Central Blog.
In addition, search engines being customer-oriented are likely to flag your site as insecure. This will definitely negatively affect your business reputation as well as your bottom line.
So what should you do?
First, you’ll need to do regular scans for malware, infections, and vulnerabilities. Two, you’ll have to remain knowledgeable on the most dangers and work to keep your WordPress site as secure as possible. In short, you’ll be required to have ‘bouncers’ at the site’s entry to keep hackers, bots, and other malicious scripts out. Alternatively, you can use WordPress maintenance services for better and fast results.
2. To Improve Site Performance
In the technology world, speed is associated with efficiency which builds trust and confidence among site visitors. Therefore, a site that loads and functions quickly is ideal for your business and your bottom line.
On the other hand, a slow site is considered to be insecure, unsafe, and untrustworthy. Imagine that being your site’s first impression! Worse, 80% of visitors rarely go back to a website following a bad first impression which translates to low traffic and consequently low conversions.
In addition to speed, there is a need to provide users with a fantastic and simple user experience. That’s, giving web surfers what they are looking for promptly. Notably, this has an effect on your search rankings too which will significantly affect your organic traffic. In doubt?
Well. Google (in their bid to make the whole web faster) announced that they will be considering load speed when ranking sites back in 2010, and further emphasize mobile speed again in 2018. Although the load speed is insignificant when compared to your site’s authority and relevance; there is no denying that a slow site will surfer significantly.
Therefore, having a site with improved performance is a necessity that calls for regular site maintenance.
You may realize your site is not performing as per expectations but fail to discover the off-base. That’s why it’s important to employ website maintenance services when it comes to this; especially if you lack technical skills. A website maintenance service can streamline your code, lessen broken connections, consolidate CSS records, and fix or WordPress issues; boosting your site performance.
3. Keeping Software & System Updated
An outdated WordPress site is similar to a derelict house. Basically, you’re welcoming the unwanted attention of bots, hackers, and malicious scripts to exploit it. This is regardless of having a professionally built site with premium themes and plugins. That’s because the future of technology is unpredictable and not even the WordPress web developers can foretell it. In short, there’s no telling what developments in code infrastructure could make your site vulnerable.
Note, a hacked site, a slow site, and a broken site will cost you visitors, conversions, and consequently your bottom line; making regular site maintenance vital. Just read the descriptions of each WordPress version and you’ll understand why updating your software is a necessary part of the website’s regular maintenance.
Now…
Employing WordPress maintenance services can save your day with regard to software updates. For, in the end, you’ll no longer stress out over a new update service being incompatible with your plugins or themes. They will ensure it’s all smooth for you.
4. Preventing Expensive Repair (Recovery)
Despite the numerous articles and guides on how to clean up your ‘damaged’ or hacked site. The recommendation is usually the same – have a professional look it over!
The thing is, performing a WordPress site cleaning in a way you’ll be sure it’s free of malware, bugs, and whatnot is not a simple task. A simple cleaning can cost anywhere from $150 with no guarantee of success.
Cleaning up a website involves knowing the vulnerabilities, a hacker’s mind. And then manually going through files as thoroughly as possible. Note, any malicious scripts are usually hidden from the database and the original files. The bots and hackers go to an extreme length to ensure you’re unable to eliminate their backdoors so cheaply.
Therefore, repairing a damaged site is super expensive compared to regular maintenance that serves as a prevention measure. It’s not just the clean-up, rather, there is reputation damage and revenue loss following a site expulsion from search engines. And that’s when assuming the site is backed up!
To be on the safer side, employ WordPress maintenance services to look out for any vulnerabilities regularly. This will not only save you time but also minimize the chances of your site being blacklisted by search engines.
Here Comes Help!
Want to make sure that your WordPress site gets its regular maintenance? Just speak to our experts at Innovative Hub.
We’re WordPress nerds. We deal with WordPress day in day out. It’s our job. Therefore, we can focus on maintaining your site as you focus on what you do best. In the end, you’re bound to have a stable and secure site that is user-friendly!