When it comes to an open source CMS such as WordPress, updates are constantly being made by developers to keep up with the latest technology and security concerns. These updates are implemented within WordPress, as well as within custom WordPress themes and plugins. Not staying on top of these updates can lead to a variety of website problems, including errors, slow loading times, website security vulnerabilities, and and even the possibility of the site not loading at all.
Because of this, keeping up with WordPress maintenance is an absolute must for website owners. Consistently keeping up with essential WordPress website maintenance tasks will keep your site running smoothly.
6 Essential WordPress Maintenance Tasks
The following WordPress maintenance tasks will ensure that your website functions properly:
1. Update WordPress CMS
Every now and then, WordPress rolls out a new version of its CMS. When a CMS update is sent out, you should update your WordPress site right away, as these wide-ranging updates address everything from site security and stability to performance.
Ensuring that your website continues to function properly will influence SEO and the general user experience, and even protect your website from hacking and other malicious activities.
2. Keep Each Plugin Up to Date
Your site undoubtedly uses at least one WordPress plugin, usually many more. Plugins significantly extend the functionality of a WordPress website. The developers behind these plugins are constantly working to keep them up-to-date with the latest version of WordPress. If you use a plugin that is out of date, it could create WordPress security issues, making plugin updates an absolute must.
While some plugins are free, others require a license to get plugin updates and support. Make sure you have proper licensing to keep up with WP maintenance needs.
3. Update WordPress Theme
Your site’s Theme controls how it looks. Just like with a WordPress plugin, theme developers are also constantly working on their products to keep their themes compatible with newer versions of WordPress. Theme updates also address bugs or other problems with previous versions. As with plugins, many themes are free, but if you have a premium theme, you must keep the license current to receive updates and support.
4. Create Off-Site Backups
As important as it is to keep your website up to date, new bugs introduced in updates to WordPress core can create serious website performance issues. What happens if there’s a problem with your site and a problem with the local backups? Short answer: You’re out of luck. It’s very important to keep an off-site backup of your website, ideally in two locations so you can be sure you’ll never lose your site completely. If you have a hosting account with Site Rockstar you get daily backups for the last 30 days.
These backups are especially important for major website issues, such as if your site gets hacked, or if a plugin or theme is no longer compatible with WordPress and needs to be replaced.
5. Uptime Monitoring
It’s also important to sign up for an uptime monitoring service. This tracks the overall performance of your site, uptime and downtime, alerts you if the site is down, and helps pinpoint when a problem occurred. Frequent downtime may indicate you should switch to a different WordPress hosting provider.
6. Check Your Links
As you update the content on your website, you should ensure that all links on your pages are still accurate, and that you don’t have any dead or incorrect links. Checking your website for broken links after making significant changes to your WordPress site should be a regular maintenance activity.
Get WordPress Maintenance Service From Site Rockstar
Many of these regular maintenance tasks can be accomplished when you enter your site in maintenance mode in the WordPress dashboard. For example, the WordPress maintenance page can help you check the status of your theme and plugins to ensure your website is always up to date. In some cases, keeping your website updated can become very easy when you elect to automatically implement plugin and theme updates so your website runs properly.
Of course, not all WordPress maintenance tasks are so straightforward, especially if you don’t have a lot of time for maintaining a WordPress website. At Site Rockstar, our Website Care Plans include a WordPress maintenance service that makes maintaining a WordPress site easy! Our maintenance plans will put your WordPress website on track to always deliver a quality experience for your site visitors.
