WordPress website, when newly installed and configured feels good. There is no plugin compatibility issue, no speed dilemma, no errors, and no technical glitches at all. As the website owner, you feel overjoyed and expect to see a lot of traffic daily.
After some months, the presumed ideal WP site starts to struggle. You are not aware of what happened. Is it a technical glitch? Why the speed is struggling? Why the plugin is conflicting? There are plenty of why’s to consider. What you forgot is WordPress maintenance planning!
Remember, everything that works needs maintenance, even your WordPress site. Partnering with a professional WordPress Maintenance service is the best solution. You can read about the importance of the WP maintenance plan on the Idaho Falls Spokesperson Blog.
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Helpful WordPress maintenance guidelines for improving website security and performance
Regular backups are a MUST
Never wait for an emergency to pop up. Backups are similar to your vehicle’s spare tires. You never know when you may need them, but you know they will be helpful in adverse situations. Your website data can get lost because of many reasons like hacking, wrong update, or virus attack.
In any case, rebuilding a website from scratch takes time and possibly you can lose opportunities. With regular backups, you don’t have to suffer downtime because the site can be restored as it was before the error occurred.
Keep WP core, plugins, & theme updated
WordPress provides regular updates, which need to be taken seriously. They are security patches that help to reinforce the vulnerabilities. Many WP sites still run on old versions because of things going wrong during updates. This is why you need to have a backup recovery plan.
The benefits of updating outweigh the drawbacks in this manner. The same can be said about plugins and themes. Always install reliable plugins and themes!
Delete unused plugins & themes
If you are not using a plugin or theme then it consumes a lot of space. Therefore, determine which ones are needed and delete the other. You can always download them in the future, if necessary. It helps to improve speed and security.
Read Also: How To Look Good In All Picture And Tips For Better Social Media Photos
Regular speed optimization
If the website speed takes more than 3 sec, visitors get frustrated and bounce to your competitors. Even search engines spot the increase in bounce rate and are not happy. For speed, optimization enables caching, optimizing images, and enable lazy loading.
Strengthen website security
Website hacking is inevitable but you need to make every effort to strengthen site security. Take security measures like using a security plugin, strong passwords, and enabling two-factor authentication.
Systematic database optimization
WordPress database stores every page, post, category, comment, tags, user, and more. When your WP website is new the database is well-organized but soon gets disorganized and needs cleaning. Use the WordPress database plugin to perform regular database optimization.
Check for broken links and fix it
Links that direct to 404 pages are termed as Broken Links. They pop up when you move or rename a webpage without altering internal links. Regularly scan for broken links and fix them. If ignored it can ruin SEO efforts as well as disappoint visitors. Enable Google Analytics to find broken links and redirect them to relevant pages.
