Why WordPress Websites Need Ongoing Support And Maintenance

By Gavin Kilgallon on Tuesday, 18 June 2024

WordPress is the most popular content management system, and many of ID Studio's clients have requested it. It is an open-source, highly adaptable platform with a massive theme and plugin library. It is relatively easy to use, which has helped propel its popularity. At ID Studio, we have extensive experience with WordPress, and in this article, we aim to stress the importance of ensuring any WordPress website is well-maintained and supported.

Why WordPress Websites Are Prime Targets For Hackers

Due to its massive popularity and potential vulnerabilities through poorly maintained installations and third-party plugins, WordPress can be an easy target for hackers.

Whilst a well-maintained WordPress website can be difficult to exploit, a neglected site without security patches being applied regularly is a hacker's dream.

Sophos says automated bots can target a WordPress website nine times a minute, up to 13,000 times a day!

What Support And Maintenance Is Required?

This will depend upon your website type; for instance, a marketing/showcase website will need less support and maintenance than an eCommerce-powered site that also uses WooCommerce. Some of the core areas that need to be supported and maintained regularly can include:

The WordPress core: The WordPress core is the main software that powers the CMS and provides out-of-the-box functionality. Over time, the core requires updates, fixes, and security patches to keep it locked down and secure. These updates also ensure that it complies with laws and industry standards and maximises compatibility and optimisation (speed and efficiency).
Plugins: WordPress's key selling point is the abundance of great third-party plugins that can be installed to add functionality to your website. The downside of these plugins is that they can create additional vulnerabilities and access points for hackers to penetrate your website. It's essentially that you only use well-known and maintained plugins that are regularly updated and patched by the creators. Without proper maintenance, plugins can cause security issues, stop working, or even cause the website to fail.
Security related: Active monitoring for security threats is a proactive approach to helping ensure the integrity of your site. Monitoring can include using tools such as Wordfence Security or MalCare. Other measures include IP blocking, Malware scanning, and two-factor authentication (2FA).
Website uptime: Website uptime has many positive aspects, including SEO, user experience, brand image, and revenue. Many applications can monitor website uptime and alert you of any downtime. At ID Studio, we often use StatusCake, which provides real-time monitoring and alerts. Google Search Console will also inform you of any problems Google has accessing and indexing your website.
Performance check: Performance checks should examine website load speed and server response times. Potential causes include large images, too many plugins, shared hosting, caching, or security issues.
SEO-related: All websites should be SEO-optimised with regular SEO checks to help improve your SERPS (search engine result pages). It is important to check the latest SEO-related articles Google releases to ensure your website meets Google's latest requirements. WordPress is SEO-friendly and has some powerful SEO tools. Yoast is a popular plugin that provides valuable insights. Regular SEO checks and maintenance are critical factors for the success of a website.
Backups: Backing up your WordPress website is essential, especially as it often requires updates and patches to the core system and plugins. These can sometimes cause issues, such as compatibility, and you may need to restore an older version that works correctly.

ID Studio's WordPress Success Stories

ID Studio has worked with WordPress for many years. It is not always our CMS of choice, as this is ultimately determined by the client's needs and the system that best suits the individual website's objectives.

We have decades of experience with WordPress and have worked with some well-known clients. The most recent was Gacho Restaurants, an international restaurant chain with outlets in the UK, UAE, Hong Kong, and Argentina. We transformed their unstable, underperforming WordPress-powered website into a conversion-hungry success story. For example, their marketing opt-in rate has increased by 1780%. We have also just created a WordPress site for The Associated Press.

WordPress Non-Maintenence Issues

If you do not update your WordPress website and plugins with the latest security updates and patches, some common issues that might occur include:

Security: The likelihood of being hacked or experiencing security breaches will massively increase. This is mainly due to vulnerabilities found in older versions.

Performance: The website could start to slow down and perform less efficiently. Updates often contain performance improvements. In addition, parts of the website might stop working as the version being used is no longer supported.

Legal: Updating plugins will ensure that your site uses the latest versions, which may contain new legal requirements, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) laws.

User Experience: Maintenance issues can cause slow loading times and/or complete website downtime. In addition, compatibility problems could result in certain functionality not working as intended. Content may be outdated or incorrect, reducing the site's effectiveness and relevance. Error messages and navigational issues could also arise, reducing your brand credibility and a negative user experience.

Content Management Issues: Neglecting core WordPress updates can result in administration issues due to incorrect permissions and conflicting versions.

Costs Implications: Some of the main financial costs to a business could arise due to the following reasons:

Website downtime.
Costs to repair website issues.
Legal costs due to non-compliance with new laws and regulations.
Increased cart dropout due to poor user experience.
Poor SEO and reduced rankings.

ID Studio's Priority Support And Maintenance Package

ID Studio offers different ongoing support and maintenance packages uniquely tailored to your precise requirements. Decisions are often made based on budget, time constraints, and internal expertise to oversee the project.

There are many benefits to having a priority support and maintenance package. These can include:

Regular support: Employing the services of a web agency will ensure that your website is maintained regularly.
Latest knowledge: Web agencies stay current with the latest trends and technologies. They will know the latest WordPress updates and new plugins and make proactive suggestions for ways that could improve your website.
Constantly monitor: Using an agency, they can set up software to monitor your website constantly, alerting them of any issues 24/7.
Time efficiency: Retained clients are given preferential treatment, which doesn't require you to maintain and look after your website.
Cost saving: A well-maintained website will run smoothly and have little to no downtime, reducing additional IT costs and potential lost revenue.
Advice: Professional advice is only a phone call or email away, which should be covered under a maintenance contract.
Hosting setup: Depending upon the complexity of your website, hosting setup can sometimes be challenging and require some proficiency in server administration. Using an agency will ensure a quick, efficient, secure setup with optimised performance.

Conclusion

In summary, having a professional support and maintenance contract ensures your WordPress website remains up-to-date, secure, and performing at its best, ultimately saving your business money and brand reputation. Given the complexities and potential risks of neglecting regular maintenance, the expertise and knowledge provided by a web agency offer invaluable peace of mind in the long run.