You may find it very easy to start a WordPress site; you can get it done in a few minutes. The same cannot be said of its maintenance. A lot of challenges may put your site at risk. You may become a victim of hacking or lose your complete data, including your pages, posts, and comments. The objective of this post is to prepare you in advance for those challenges, especially how to prevent them. Take these simple but effective steps to maintain your WordPress site.

1. Regularly back up your databases and files

You may lose your data as a result of hacking. This is common to many website owners. Another problem that may lead to loss of data is accidental deletion of your files. As they say, accidents do happen.  Either of those problems can make all your contents disappear without prior notice. If that happens, you are back to square one. It’s a dreadful thing! The only prevention is to back up your files and databases regularly. Two effective ways to back up your data is by hosting it on a reliable hosting site or using some WordPress backup plugins such as BackWPUp, BackUpWordPress, or BackupBuddy.

2. Know about WordPress updates

Make it your business to know about updates for WordPress core and your installed plugins. WordPress comes with tons of plugins that are updated regularly. They are useful in extending the functionality of a website. On a regular basis, WordPress will update the core CMS. Same goes for the developers of plugins you have installed. The updates may come with minor or major changes. Always be abreast of any updates and use them as part of your maintenance routine.

As a precaution, take these steps:

  • Update your plugins regularly. You will have a better performance with each update you make.
  • If you have inactive plugins on your site, delete them. This saves your disk space, bandwidth and equally increases the security of your site.
  • Don’t use outdated plugins. Any plugin that has not been updated within the last two one year should be used with extreme care.

3. Optimize your website for speed

Another effective way to maintain your WordPress site is to optimize it for improved speed. Nobody likes a website that takes ages to load. Speed is the keyword here. Therefore, optimizing your website to load faster than before should be included in your maintenance plans. Consider doing these to increase your website speed:

  • Optimize your database with the right tools.
  • Optimize the images by using an appropriate image optimization plugin.
  • Host it on a fast web host.

4. Secure your site

In view of the prevalence of hacking and cyber crime, learn how to secure your site. Why suffer from loss of data, damaged reputation and liabilities for your small business,. You may consider using the services of a maintenance/support agency like Trimorph, for your WordPress peace of mind. Or the many other companies that also offer enhanced protection for your website.

For a lot more smarter and efficient ways of maintaining your website, get in touch with us today.