There are many reasons why you should consider using WordPress as your website’s content management system. From the design flexibility to the ease of use, you are going to fall in love. However, you don’t want to overlook one very important factor: website maintenance.
If you don’t properly maintain your WordPress powered website, day in and day out, you are likely going to be inviting some unwanted problems, or worse: unwanted visitors. Did you know that WordPress software version updates are quite common? How about theme updates? Did you know that an out of date plugin could lead to a major security issue?
Any one of these little loopholes can open a back door for a hacker, cause plugin or theme conflicts, or make your site look "broken," sometimes taking your website down altogether. What's even more frustrating, is that sometimes these updates themselves can cause problems since automatic updates don't always go smoothly: every once in awhile automatic updates cause fatal PHP errors, database hiccups, or require a re-installation from backup files (oh, let's hope you have backup files), or lots of advanced troubleshooting.
The point of this article isn't all about the "gloom & doom." Running on WordPress is generally a great time saver by the way it makes webmasters, businesses, organizations, and non-profits much more efficient, by enabling them to easily update and manage their website like never before.
While there is nothing better than a visually appealing website, it's almost equally important to maintain that site to keep it online & looking good.
For this reason, we offer monthly WordPress maintenance plans for clients who want the peace of mind associated with a hassle free website.
Can I Do It Myself?
There is no denying that you can do your own WordPress maintenance. The question is: do you have the time and technical skills necessary? For most people, the answer is simply no. They would rather spend their time on areas of their business that generate revenue.
When you outsource this task to us, you get two things: peace of mind and convenience. You will know for sure that your WordPress site is in good hands at all times, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you notice a problem with the site, pick up the phone or shoot an email and you'll have a team of WordPress experts on it faster than a fat kid on cake.
WordPress Maintenance Essentials
Here are a few WordPress maintenance essentials that we professionally install and properly configure for each of our website maintenance clients time and time again...
1. Hosting Environment
Putting a custom designed WordPress website on a cheap shared hosting server is like parking a Bentley in a bad neighborhood.
At some level, big search engines like Google might consider what other websites are sharing space on your server, aka your "Internet neighborhood." For example, if your site is on a shared hosting plan with a bunch of spammer's websites, it might rub off some guilt by association.
Your site can also become the victim of another's negligence or recklessness as well when opting for the cheaper shared hosting solutions. If other webmasters on your server are not updating their software and scripts (see item #3 below) they can be victimized by a hacking attempt. If one site on the server is compromised, it can become the gateway to compromising other websites on the same server, or possibly the entire server itself.
Poorly coded websites on a shared hosting server can also leave hanging scripts, or cause the entire server to run slowly due to performance optimization issues.
The server hardware itself on many of these shared servers tends to be sub-standard as compared to the professional grade heavy duty hardware we provide to our website maintenance clients who decide to host their site on our pro level dedicated server.
Additional consulting regarding hosting and/or server environment considerations is available upon request. Not all website maintenance clients decide to host on one of ProFromGo's dedicated servers, although most of the time, that's the most cost effective option when considering the features and benefits of the other alternatives.
2. Security
We highly recommended the following plugins to enhance your WordPress website's security:
- Premium WordFence Protection
- Threat Scan Plugin by Keith P. Graham
- TimThumb Vulnerability Scanner by Peter Butler
- Akismet to prevent comment spam
WordFence allows easy configuration and advanced monitoring and protection against unusual activity on your WordPress site. You can hand tune many of the settings to allow for certain exception that may apply to your unique website or setup. For example, you can prevent brute force hacking attempts by blocking anyone who tries to submit your login form more than 3 times, or at least ice them for 30, 45, or 60 minutes or more. This is one of many advanced security settings to tweak and customize to prevent hackers from gaining control or access to your site.
The Threat Scan Plugin by Keith Graham checks your site for unusual files that are indicative of a hack. Hackers tend to leave behind files or their signatures or other malicious code that this scanner actively monitors for and seeks out.
TimThumb is a nifty little script that creates cool thumbnails out of larger images. Unfortunately, TimThumb is also a script that hackers love to search for since outdated versions of the TimThumb script are an easy "in" for a hacker. This TimThumb vulnerability scanner will check to ensure you're using the latest version of TimThumb, and if not, the scanner will allow you to update to the newest version right from the admin panel.
Akismet is a staple and helps prevent vast amounts of comment spam. Be sure to set up Akismet and configure it properly to save yourself lots of time and hassle from having to deal with pesky comment spammers.
These are just a few of the plugins and features we implement for WordPress maintenance clients when it comes to site security.
The last thing you want is for your WordPress site to be “hacked.” Through the implementation of these plugins, your site will be safer than ever before.
3. Backups & Disaster Preparedness
Ask yourself this question right now:
If disaster struck my website today and all was lost, would I be ready?
If the answer is no, waiting one more day to find a solution could be a huge mistake.
Our clients never have to worry about a disaster taking their website offline. The reason for this is simple: we make daily backups of all files and databases using one of our preferred methods: Locker from CodeGarage or VaultPress, based on the particular needs of the client and the specs of their website. We occasionally setup special backup protocols so that clients have a daily, weekly, or monthly backup file automatically stored in the location of their choosing, such as a DropBox account, Amazon s3 account, or in some cases by safely tucking away the backup file on the client's own FTP server.
If something does go wrong, all we have to do is restore from a backup file and troubleshoot if necessary. When you have an archive of neatly curated and labeled backup files it's much easier and faster to get a site back up and running.
Simply put, if you aren’t backing up your website frequently and on a regular basis you're flat out wrong.
4. WordPress Software, Plugin, Theme, and Script Updates
WordPress is well known for its frequent version updates, many of which are necessary to address security loopholes. Along with this, plugin and theme updates are quite common. In some cases, clients use custom scripts that require an update from time to time.
While some people rely solely on automatic updates, this is not always the best idea. In some cases, an automatic update will “crash” which can leave the website offline or unable to be viewed as intended.
For this reason, we encourage our website maintenance plan clients to leave all of their WordPress software/version, theme, and plugin updates entirely to us.
If something does happen along the way, we will restore from a backup and complete the update manually if necessary.
Now Are You Ready?
Now that you know more about the importance surrounding WordPress maintenance, you may have one last question on your mind: how much does this all cost?
We offer WordPress website maintenance packages starting at just $50 per month. These plans include the cost of premium plugins and services as well as a some hands-on to ensure your website's WordPress software, plugins, and themes are all kept up to date. There are also custom plans and pricing available for clients who require retainer agreements and/or extra attention and services on a monthly basis.
If you are finally ready to pass over the maintenance of your WordPress site to a professional, contact us today for a free consultation.
