Clients often ask what the benefits are of updating their WordPress site, including plugins and themes. While some of the benefits include fixing/addressing bugs, adding key features and increased functionality, the main reason why it is vital to be on top of your WordPress site maintenance is security reasons.
According to WPBeginner, more than 80% of WordPress sites that had not been properly maintained and updated were hacked.
There are different reasons as to why WordPress sites are frequently hacked. Most of hacks, however, can be traced back to the fact that the site is running on outdated versions of PHP, WordPress, themes, or plugins. By not updating your WordPress site regularly and in conjunction with the released WordPress updates, you are leaving your website buggy and unprotected to hacks.
We have a tested and true process for maintaining all client WordPress Websites:
- Read the release notes or changelog to see what the updates change.
- Test the update on a development site. That way, if anything breaks, we can troubleshoot before updating your live site.
- Back up your site.
- Install the updates.
- Review and test your site. Focus on the items that were noted in the release notes or changelog.
Just like you need to install an update on your operating system for your mobile phone, web applications such as WordPress need the same software updates from time to time.