You may have heard mention of planned WordPress maintenance, but even if you have a WordPress website, you may think it’s not strictly necessary. And if that’s your view, then you’ll be one of the thousands of WordPress managers who all feel the same way!

Shocking Statistics

The results of a 2015 WordPress survey conducted by CodeGuard frankly didn’t surprise us. It seems a large majority of WordPress website owners aren’t too concerned about planned WordPress maintenance.

We weren’t shocked to hear that:

  • 21% of WordPress users back up their site ‘occasionally’
  • 26% of WordPress website managers have ‘some’ training
  • 22% of WordPress users think backups are unimportant

We have seen the fallout first hand from companies who fail to take precautions to ensure their WordPress website is not vulnerable to malicious hackers or malware. We’ve held the hands of many a website owner that didn’t have WordPress maintenance in place and who ‘forgot’ to back up essential files. But then deleted them in the all too common curse of human error. And we’ve had to sort out plenty of messes when WordPress plugin updates have gone bad.

Common WordPress Mistakes

WordPress is such a popular CMS, used by well over 20% of global websites. For the very reason that it is so easy to use. But many users fall into a false sense of security. Just because it’s easy to use they seem to completely overlook the fact that their WordPress website has the potential to go wrong! Common mistakes made include:

  • No Backups – Hands up if you back up your website regularly. Well done you – but hands down if you think that means once every 6 months. Not carrying out regular backups (at least monthly) means your data is vulnerable to loss
  • Installing Unnecessary Plugins – we all love a nifty plugin but have you installed dozens of plugins which you aren’t actually using? By not deactivating unnecessary plugins your website could be running slower than it needs to
  • Not checking the verity of free themes and plugins – you see a great free theme and go right ahead and install it, not checking to see if it is from a trustworthy source. A high number of WordPress websites get infected by malware this way.
  • Human error – we are all prone to it but inexperienced WordPress users may make a big mistake just because of their lack of training in the software.

The Benefits of Planned WordPress Maintenance

When clients come to us with a WordPress emergency, we get their website back up and running as fast as possible. And from that point on, our clients are sold on the idea of having regular WordPress maintenance carried out by WordPress experts. They fully appreciate the ‘prevention is better than cure’ scenario.

A good website is fundamental to all businesses. And if it goes down, not only do you have to pay to get it up and running again. But business is being lost and reputation is being damaged every single minute it’s offline:

  • clients can’t contact you
  • clients can’t place their order
  • potential clients can’t find your website (and be sure that they won’t bother looking for you again as they’ll have found one of your competitors to match their needs)

Many companies can’t afford to have their own in-house IT support. So rather than cross your fingers and pray to Lady Luck, WP Support Specialists recommends a regular WordPress maintenance package that will give you peace of mind. This will save you ££££ in the long run. So, consider it as an insurance policy for your online business presence so you can rest easy knowing your WordPress website is in the hands of experts.

Typical planned WordPress maintenance packages cover the following:

  • Secure backups
  • Backup restoration if required
  • Malware monitoring and removal
  • WordPress Plugin updates
  • WordPress core system updates
  • Theme updates

Just imagine being able to focus on your business knowing your website is in capable hands. Think about being able to go away on that important business trip or a week away with the family. Without worrying that your website might go down. We recommend regular WordPress maintenance for all WordPress websites!

Read more about the WordPress maintenance packages on offer from WP Support Specialists here.