Robert Lodi

So last week I talked about having too much stuff.

This week – let’s talk about keeping your stuff updated.

There are three parts to keeping WordPress updated. WordPress core, any themes, and any plugins you are using. 

If these updates aren’t done regularly, you can easily get a few versions out of date – which can cause both security issues and functionality problems. 

For example, a friend updated a plugin and accidentally took his site down, because he waited so long between site launch and updating things, and the updated plugin no longer worked the same way. That’s really bad.

Another time, a site I inherited hadn’t been kept updated, and the theme was so out of date, that no edits could be made to the home page (or any other page) and we had to start over, in a last-minute crisis. Which is also bad.

These days, there are WordPress core updates often. Sometimes every month. And with each WordPress update comes a storm of plugin updates. 

And sometimes, there are extra plugin updates to address a potential issue. As many clients forwarded to me this week.

If you’ve had it with the notifications and red update alerts and need help keeping your site updated, safely, let me know. We’re here to fix your stuff. 

Old themes, old plugins, giant images, even entire old site versions can all be taking up too much space on your website’s server, and that server can become a hoarder if you’re not careful.

And after a while, this can become a problem in a couple ways. 

First – sheer volume of files can put you over the space allocation your hosting company gives you. This can mean increased annual hosting costs, to store old or oversized things you don’t need.

More importantly – old themes and plugins can be a security risk. Even if they aren’t active – old files on the server can still provide entry points for hackers to add malicious code. 

How would you even know? When your site is hacked or you start getting billing alerts from your hosting company?

If you’re afraid your website might be a hoarder and you’d like a hand with a site cleanout – let me know. Maintenance is an important part of a fast, healthy website, and Rock Pixel Scissors is here to help.