While working in your WordPress dashboard, you’ve probably noticed a message informing you about available updates for plugins or even the core. Have you ever wondered why there are so many? Should you really update your WordPress to the latest version every time? What risks might your site face if you don’t?
In this article, we will explain why it is important to always use the latest version of WordPress.
What are WordPress updates?
We now live in a technological world where updates are crucial for high performance and security. This applies, among others, to phone software, apps, computers. The same goes for CMS systems – not only WordPress but also Joomla, Drupal, and others.
Software must be regularly tested to ensure the best possible productivity and to avoid any security vulnerabilities. Detected bugs are fixed and then a new update, free of those issues, is released.
Just like with smartphone or computer updates, WordPress updates bring new functionalities for the user, reduce the number of encountered problems, and generally maintain a positive experience.
Importantly, along with the update of the CMS core, its plugins are also tested and updated to ensure full compatibility with the new versions of WordPress. In future articles, I will describe in detail the consequences of a website hack.
Why are regular WordPress updates important? 5 key reasons
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Updates enhance security
First and foremost, updates enhance the security of WordPress. This is undoubtedly the most important reason why you should maintain regularity in this aspect.
Secure access to your WordPress site? Take care of your passwords!
Login URL, strong password, and two-factor authentication – see what methods you can use to enhance your website’s protection!read moreDespite numerous warnings and reports of attacks online, many site owners still pay little attention to their site’s security. Unfortunately, this is a big mistake, because hackers are not a fictional threat, but a real menace in today’s world. The scale of the problem is truly enormous, as evidenced, for example, by Wordfence data. According to the report, over 13.7 million attacks originating from 16,000 different IP addresses targeting more than 1.6 million WordPress sites were blocked in 36 hours (December 8-9, 2021)!
It is worth noting that these are data from just under 2 days and concern sites with Wordfence installed. Impressive, isn’t it?
As you can see, websites are exposed to various attacks every day. You might be wondering – is my site also at risk? Of course it is! And it doesn’t matter whether you own a simple business card site or a thriving online store. No CMS or plugin is perfect, and any vulnerabilities in software are exploited by hackers on a daily basis.
So how do you secure your site? By ensuring regular updates of WordPress and its plugins! And while it never gives you 100% certainty, it does minimize the risk to a minimum.
Warning! Serious issue with Google’s Site Kit plugin
read moreWhat could be the consequences of a WordPress site hack?
The consequences of a website hack are many. Both big brands and small local businesses have experienced this. Among the most common effects are, for example:
- a drop in search engine rankings – Google does not favor infected and “unhealthy” sites that are dangerous for users, so it lowers their ranking. As a result, your site receives less traffic, generates fewer leads, and makes fewer transactions;
- being placed on a spam list (blacklist) – if the hack enables hacker bots to send automated “advertising” emails (simply SPAM), then email servers (including the powerful Gmail) will add your domain and/or IP address to exclusion lists… Your messages will then cease to reach recipients, or at best, end up in the spam folder;
- a loss of brand credibility – when running an online business, you are responsible for your customers’ and users’ data. If that data is intercepted by third parties due to an attack, customers will lose trust in you, and it may even have legal consequences;
- loss of your website – this is the worst-case scenario, where hackers simply delete your site or take away your access to it.
Doesn’t sound encouraging, does it? Especially when you consider that fixing these consequences can take weeks, months, or even years! Remediating the effects of an attack is typically also a significant financial burden for a company…
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WordPress updates = new functionalities
New standards emerge on the Internet every day. Developers sometimes have new ideas and want to evolve their products to meet market and customer demands. Thus, a WordPress update not only provides enhanced security, but also brings newer and better technology to your site! For example, WordPress 3.8 introduced the new MP6 admin interface, and version 5.0 marked the beginning of the Gutenberg content editor.
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Bug fixes
Although every major release of WordPress undergoes extensive testing, it is not always possible to eliminate 100% of issues. That’s why, for each major system version, smaller updates (indicated by additional numbers – e.g., 4.2.3) are released to fix these bugs. For example, WordPress 5.4.2 eliminated over 20 bugs detected in version 5.4.
New WordPress 5.5 version – a brief summary of updates
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WordPress updates improve site speed and performance
With each new release, WordPress specialists do everything they can to speed up its operation. Every new version of the system contains several performance enhancements that help sites based on this CMS operate faster and more efficiently.
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Regular WordPress updates mean lower costs
Sounds absurd? The answer is: no! Keeping your WordPress site updated significantly lowers the costs of running it. The reason is simple – spending time updating your site is much cheaper than completely rebuilding it after a hacker attack. Not to mention the effort required to regain lost search engine rankings or restore the trust of your customers…
What to pay attention to during updates?
CMS is not just a website; it is a sophisticated system for managing content. Therefore, you must exercise extreme caution before installing any update. Always remember to first make a backup of the entire site.
Hastily installing a “faulty” update can affect the entire system’s performance! Moreover, you could lose important data in the process!
Regular site updates in the hands of professionals. We’ll take care of it for you!
Although updating your WordPress site has enormous advantages, it is not without its issues. If you don’t have the time or fear that something might go wrong, leave that task to the experts.
At WP Care, we take care of our clients’ sites every day. We constantly monitor their availability, updates, and security. We have the appropriate tools, knowledge, and experience, ensuring that your site will not disappear or break overnight.
Check out what we can do for you!
