Whether you are using a premium account or the free version, WordPress maintenance is a regular task that you should not take lightly. Although the process takes some time, the benefits to your website are immeasurable.
As the name suggests, WordPress maintenance is a process that ensures your website is running smoothly. In addition, it would address technical issues that slow down your website or cause it to malfunction.
WordPress’ quick knowledge
Since its release in 2003, WordPress has undergone countless updates. However, its ability to adapt to the changing landscapes makes it the dominant content management software today. For example, the customization options enable the user to create a website–whether for blogging, e-commerce, or business.
When using WordPress, you are employing a sum of multiple parts. These components include the theme, hosting, plugins, and the software. Then you have to populate your website with content such as your text, images, videos, and widgets, among others.
WordPress maintenance tasks that you need to manage
You have to conduct WordPress maintenance regularly to ensure that your website performs optimally. The term “regularly” is relative. You must conduct maintenance and audits for an e-commerce website with high-volume traffic on a weekly basis. Meanwhile, a small website can get away with once-a-month intervals. Here’s where to begin.
Check loading times
Your page loading speed is critical. It can mean the difference between converting your visitors or driving them away. According to the 2019 study by Portent, a website that loads in one second has three times the conversion rate of a site that loads in five seconds.
Create a backup of your data
You can utilize multiple WordPress Plugins to back up essential data. It is a crucial process should something go wrong in maintaining your content management software.
Update WordPress plugins and themes to the latest version
Updating your plugins and themes will also help address the slow loading time. For the most part, the system automatically updates itself. However, you might manually do this in cases when the plugin license has expired, for example.
Clean your WordPress database
When you use WordPress as your CMS, the software repository will automatically store all your content. However, your database may become bloated with redundant data over time, so it is time to shed off the excess weight. Clearing the clutter will also improve website performance by minimizing functionality errors and eradicating redundancies.
Make sure search engines still index you
You may focus too much on the technical aspects of your WordPress maintenance tasks that you forget about SEO. Take advantage of the downtime to determine if you can still be found in the search engines. A simple way to do this is to type “site:[your website]” on the address bar. However, you can also use software tools to run a more comprehensive website audit.
Check if your website is secure
WordPress may be designed to be secure, but it does not hurt to conduct redundant tests. Hackers still consider WordPress a prime target because of its dominant position as the most popular CMS. You can utilize free tools such as Qualys, HostedScan Security, SiteGuarding, and Detectify for scanning for malware, network security, phishing, SSL risks, blacklisting, and email risks.
Test forms
You need to conduct a regular test if you use support requests, contracts, agreement forms, and customer feedback. Make sure they are working optimally and go to the intended recipient. You can test the validity of your forms by submitting a dummy entry.
For a novice, the first thing to do is create a checklist so that you do not skip a crucial step. A list would drastically simplify your life since you can reuse it repeatedly, just adding some steps as you go along.
WordPress maintenance is a cinch if you have a website developer on a retainer. However, you can still do it yourself if you have no budget to hire outside help. The process might be arduous and mind-numbing but necessary nevertheless.
Lastly, you must inform your visitors that your website is under maintenance to avoid confusion. You should also leave a number for them to contact or redirect them to your social media pages while doing your WordPress maintenance tasks.
How To Make WordPress Maintenance Easy
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