Oops, Your Code is Showing: Why You Need to Update Your WordPress Website
The last thing you want for your website is to have hackers running rampant, parts of your website to be broken, and to have a load time longer than you can say “subscribe to my email list!”
Long load times scare visitors away from your website before they even get a good look at your homepage. There’s no telling what terror they’ll feel if after waiting to see your homepage, they arrive at a white screen filled with a demonic string of numbers, characters, and symbols that they can’t make sense of!
To prevent this catastrophe WordPress puts out regular updates for your website, and plugin/theme developers do so for their products as well. These updates range from minor performance tweaks to fixing gaping flaws in your site’s security. So, what all can you gain from keeping your website up to date?
Patched holes in your site’s security
Sometimes the WordPress developers will find gaping vulnerabilities in their software. According to RV Tech Solutions, these vulnerabilities leave your website open for hackers to steal passwords, personal information, and even take over your website.
Developers fix these vulnerabilities whenever they’re discovered, and will release fixes to these vulnerabilities in their updates. Keeping your website updated will make sure you’re not leaving your website open to any obvious security flaws.
Increased performance
RV Tech Solutions says developers patch bugs and increase the performance of your website in updates. Sometimes your website will have bugs where a plugin doesn’t work as intended, or a page won’t load for certain visitors. Developers put fixes to these bugs in their updates.
They say developers will make tweaks in updates that will increase performance in ways such as shortening load times, or making plugins easier to navigate.
Keeping your site updated ensures your site will run as smoothly as possible, keeping your visitors from running away as soon as possible.
New features
Updates will often include new features that make your website smoother, make crafting your website easier, or give you more options for the customization your website.
WPBeginner states WordPress will sometimes release big updates that come with incredibly useful features that make your life, and your site’s visitors’ lives easier. Staying updated will allow you to take advantage of these features right when they come out.
Keeping compatibility issues away
WPBeginner elaborates on how themes, plugins, and WordPress all have to work together. They say when WordPress releases updates, the creators of your themes and plugins will usually release updates to continue to stay compatible with WordPress.
If you fall behind and fail to keep themes or plugins up to date, you run the risk of your plugins or themes having glaring issues, or just not working at all. This will make your website a big mess, scaring visitors away.
How to Keep Your Site Updated
To update your WordPress, themes, and plugins first go to your website’s control center.
Then, find the “dashboard” button on the left menu.
After clicking the “dashboard” button click the “updates” tab under the “dashboard” button. You will then be taken to a screen where you can find all of your updates.
If your WordPress isn’t up to date you will see a blue “update now” button. Pressing that will begin the process of updating your WordPress.
On the same screen, below where you update your WordPress, you will be shown if any updates are available.
If there are updates available all you have to do is check the boxes beside your listed plugins or themes, and then press the “update plugins” or “update themes” button below. After that the update will take place and you will be good to go!
Conclusion
As a recap, updating your WordPress website, themes, and plugins keeps your website safe, smooth, and free from any bugs or broken parts! That’s why it’s of the utmost importance to keep your website, plugins, and themes updated whenever you can!
If all of this technical mumbo jumbo is too complicated, or it’s something you just flat out hate spending your time on leave us a message through our form to start a conversation with us!
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