Is Your WordPress-Powered Site a Ticking Time Bomb?

As far as a content management system (CMS) goes, there’s nothing quite like the beauty, versatility, and functionality of WordPress (WP). Consider the following statistics revolving around the esteemed system as a testament to its unmatched popularity:

  • WP has been downloaded over 46 million times.
  • It’s most popular with business sites.
  • Blogs on WP receive over 5.5 million comments every month.

Why, exactly, is WordPress so popular?

The answer is actually simple: WP offers simplicity with options – many, many options. In fact, it offers thousands (over 34,000) of plugins to expand its functionality, making it possible to customize your WP system to perfectly fit your needs.

If you still aren’t convinced of its power, consider the following successful companies that utilize the WP CMS:

  • Forbes
  • eBay
  • UPS
  • Sony
  • GM
  • Reuters
  • The New York Times
  • CNN
  • TechCrunch

There you have it. Fortune 500 companies and news and tech giants alike rely on the WP CMS to meet and exceed their needs.

And so can you with the right strategy in place.

Like any good software, WordPress is always evolving. It releases new updates constantly. This means you can rely on WP for stability and consistency – a necessity in today’s digital world – as long as you keep it updated.

Although the WP CMS can be as easy or as complex as you make it, there’s no denying it requires time and maintenance to keep it functioning at its prime – and performing at a level that meets your needs.

How much maintenance is required?

You wouldn’t buy a brand new car and then expect it to take care of itself. Owning a car comes with responsibilities, like getting the oil changed, the tires rotated, and the spark plugs replaced every so often.

In fact, everything of value comes with maintenance – a vehicle, a home, and even a relationship. If you want something to function well, it requires ongoing care.

The same is true for the WordPress content management system.

If you don’t update it as required, you put yourself at risk. Each time a new version is rolled out, it comes with the patches necessary to fix bugs, mitigate security vulnerabilities, and add new features. If the source code updates aren’t installed, your website is vulnerable to attack.

The Dangers of an Outdated WordPress-Powered Site

Without proper maintenance, your WP-powered site could be in trouble. Possible bugs won’t be fixed, you’ll miss out on new features, and you’ll be at risk of malware and cPanel infections. These kinds of infections can be very serious and have far-reaching consequences, including the following:

  • Compromising the entire web server which hosts your site, resulting in the suspension or termination of your service.
    Many businesses rely heavily on their website to support their sales/marketing efforts, as well as customer service. Every second that the website is down they are loosing revenue, market share and credibility in their industry. If your WordPress website is compromised by a hacker because you or your web developer have not stayed on top of installing updates the hosting company you use may shut off your service. A hacked website poses great risk to the other customers on their server and many hosts have a zero tolerance policy for this kind of thing.
  • Being blacklisted by search engines and companies that report known spammers.
    If your site is infected with malware it is usually then used to hijack the associated web hosting account in order to send massive amounts of spam. This behavior is automatically flagged by the hosting company and reported to industry watchdog companies as malicious abuse. Such websites (and their IP addresses) are then put on a database of known spammers. Internet Service Providers subscribe to these lists and refuse to deliver email to or from the domains affiliated with such web sites.
  • Corrupting your website source code to the point that it cannot be cleaned, requiring that the site be restored from an old backup.
    Restoring a website from an old backup can be very costly because of the time required for the web developer’s expertise as well as any rework that is required. If the only backup copy of your website that exists is a year old and you’ve updated the website dozens of time since then it could take hours to recreate that content. In the worst case scenario if you haven’t kept any backups it could mean starting over from scratch, paying for the whole website all over again.

Regular System Maintenance is the Solution

You shouldn’t have to worry about any of these issues, however, if you engage in proper system maintenance.

WordPress and security experts agree that the best way to avoid site compromise is by updating your software. If your site’s safety is a concern, consider a WordPress maintenance and site management program, like the one we offer at Oasis Interactive.

Our CMS Maintenance Service will update WordPress regularly for you, and as an added bonus it keeps your website information backed up remotely for peace of mind.

Along with updating WP, our services also include:

  • Updating all active plug-ins, as well as the theme/template code to ensure you have the most stable version.
  • Backing up your site before, during, and after changes for the best protection.
  • Testing your website after software updates are completed to ensure it is still running properly.
  • Storing copies of your website backup on our hardware and also off-site, in a secure safety deposit box.

You have many different options when it comes to maintaining your website and keeping it updated with fresh content and ideal functionality. Choose a comprehensive solution that will keep you protected, updated, and free to focus your efforts where they’re needed most.

Let Oasis Interactive handle the maintenance and site management for you, so you can get back to doing what you do best – running your business. Contact us today to learn more.