Are you keeping your WordPress website in tip-top shape?
We all do it, do a Google search find a website and determine in three seconds if we will stay. Are you keeping your WordPress website in tip-top shape? Your website is a software application. For example, how many app updates happen each week on your smartphone? Well, that same thing is happening with the themes, plugins and WordPress software application on your website. Further, the updates are software enhancements that protect your site or better yet provided you with a new feature.
What exactly do you need to be doing to keep your WordPress Website looking good and in tip-top shape?
The recommendations
Here is a list of the recommended updates that should be performed on your WordPress website at a minimum monthly.
Website Wellness To-Do List
Monthly Backups
We use the plugin Updraft for these backups. It can be set to happen automatically. In addition to the backup each month, you’ll want to make sure that you send this to a third-party location such as Google Drive, DropBox or your local computer.
Because if something happens to your website, something will happen to the backup that is stored locally on the website.
Most importantly, if you automate your backup to a third-party location. For the love, make sure you check that it is happening.
Applying any updates
You’ll need to apply updates to WordPress. Updates are guaranteed as the software is always evolving and changing. Updates will need to be applied to WordPress, your theme and plugins at least monthly.
It’s best to apply these updates one by one. Trust me, we know this is time-consuming. However, if the software is conflicting with the current software on your WordPress website it could take the site down.
We’re talkin’ about those dreaded blue or white screens.
As a results, by updating them one at a time you’ll be able to check that your site is still up and running after each one of the software updates.
If it’s not up and you’re getting a heart-pounding error message, you’ll know exactly what needs to be disabled or deleted on your cPanel to get your site back up and running.
Here is an article on disable or deleting on your cPanel. Or a quick Google search will help with this too.
Reviewing spam
If you allow comments on your website you’ll have spam comments from bots that search the internet just to put comments on the website. Yeppers, it’s a thing.
These comments take up space on your site – clear the clutter people. (:
Checking for Broken Links
They have a plugin for checking for broken links, but you will need to fix those links manually.
Other updates to consider
Fresh Content
Why is it important to keep the content fresh? Your website is your online storefront. For instance, would you walk into a physical building that looks like it’s old and falling apart? Heck no, you have three seconds to make an impression before a visit makes the decision to stay or leave your site.
Have you found a blog or a website that you felt provided fantastic information? Bookmarking this site to check for new content, but sadly disappointed when nothing new was added. Let’s be real, you’ll remove the bookmark and never coming back to that site again. Don’t let that be your website!
Providing new valuable content builds up the know, love and trust factor with your soulmate clients. Oh, and we know that this is easier said than done!
Adding new content is a great thing to consider outsourcing. How much simpler would it be to just type new content in an email or document, along with the page location and when you wanted it added. Um yep, so much simpler.
And if you want to get your website ranked with Google you need to be adding fresh new content or at least updating your current content. Plus doing the research on keywords.
You do want to put a bit of effort into getting your site seen, according to hostingtribunal.com, to date, there are over 1.6 billion websites in the world and more than 500 million are recognized as blogs.
Little Side Note
Here is a great article from smashingmagazine.com on image optimization and website speeds.
Changing Up Your Images
Changing up your images on your website can give it a fresh look and feel. But, it takes time to resize the images and format them for the website. Plus, clean up all the old images that aren’t used any longer.
You know all those exciting things that we’re sure are getting done on the regular, right, to keeping your WordPress Website up to date and running smoothly.
You're Crazy
If you’re thinking you’re crazy I don’t have time for that! We’d love to help you out. We have three different packages for keeping your WordPress Website up to date, and they are all fabulous. Send us a message and we'll get back to you.
Nah, I’ll do it myself
Great, just make sure you are keeping your WordPress Website up to date! To help you out, we invite you to sign up for our Monthly Wellness Reminders, where we’ll send you a reminder each month that it’s that time again and we include a little WordPress information to keep you in the know.
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