WordPress is an extremely popular platform. It has been known for a long time now that WordPress is the number one content management system (CMS). WordPress powers more than twenty-five percent of all sites across the web.
With this many people using WordPress, maintaining them becomes increasingly important. Here are several WordPress website maintenance tips. For a healthy website, maintenance is required.
An interesting fact is that only about forty percent of WordPress sites are being updated properly. The other sixty percent of WP sites are out of date. This can create multiple issues for individuals and companies. To assist with keeping the WP sites up-to-date, here are some WordPress website maintenance tips.
Monthly Website Backups
WordPress websites should be frequently updated. It is always a good idea to backup a website. This is just common sense. Yet many companies and individuals fail to do so. There are plugins that help with this task such as BackupBuddy, BackUpWordPress, and BackWPUp. It is a good idea to setup a monthly website backup. Multiple backups in multiple locations is also recommended.
Keep Software Updated
WordPress websites have many software applications that are integrated. Regular maintenance is required to keep all these applications (plugins), core files of WordPress, and the themes updated. Keeping WordPress updated is critically important to avoid being hacked. Plugins are as well critically important to the website. They provide features to a website and functionality.
Database Maintenance
The larger a website, the bigger the database. This is especially true for sites that add content frequently. All applications such as plugins, themes, as well as comments add to the complexity of the database. Always backup the database prior to making any updates or maintenance. Plugin applications such as WP-Sweep can help with database maintenance.
Check Site Functionality
Websites frequently fall out of sync. What that means is that things stop working properly or completely. There are so many applications that communicate with search engines and browsers such as Chrome or Firefox. Frequently checking sites functionality can avoid loss of leads, search visibility, and customers.
To get help with websites, individuals and companies can hire an agency with Website Maintenance Agreements to gain the proper assistance. Professionals that have plenty of WordPress experience can quickly assist with the maintenance and fix any site errors. Maintenance agreements are basically prepaid hours at a discounted rate. Those hours are than utilized for website maintenance.