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If your WordPress website is not updated consistently , 3 consequences as below will happen soon. 

Even though WordPress is the most popular platform for website creation, there are still a lot of customers resistant about updating WordPress and even purposefully leave their WordPress website severely outdated. This means they are leaving themselves open to problems. So, we put together this article explaining why every WordPress website owners should get their website maintained, especially to update the latest version of WordPress and Plugin on their website. Hopefully, by the end, you will be convinced of the importance of keeping your WordPress website properly updated.

Maybe your motto is “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”.For a lot of situations that’s a commendable philosophy, however not when it comes to WordPress, or software in general.

So why do you need to update? Three reasons:

  • Website Security
  • Bug fixes
  • Site Speed

Website Security

Website security is arguably the most important reason why you should keep your WordPress website up to date. WordPress powers more than 30% of all websites in the world. Due to its popularity, WordPress is a common target for hackers, malicious code distributors, data thieves, and hackers.

Every WordPress update includes release notes, listing what has been fixed and changed in this update. Hackers read the release notes and then try to exploit them by searching for sites that haven’t been updated yet. If your site is running on an older WordPress version, this means that it has known vulnerabilities, where below will happen to your WordPress website soon.

Deceptive site ahead warning

Website Security - Deceptive site ahead warning

Warning from Google about unsafe site. Caused by nulled theme / plugin.

Japanese keywords hacks

Website-hacked

Japanese title and descriptions. Caused by vulnerabilities.

Malicious files

Malicious-files

Unbeliever of malicious files. Caused by vulnerabilities.

Besides the core installation of WordPress, plugins and themes can also be exploited by hackers to cause conflict with each other and your themes.  This will be the long process to be done in order to patch vulnerabilities and update the plugins, so that your site isn’t open to attack.. You need to make sure that all your WordPress plugins, themes, and the core itself is always up to date.

Bug Fixes

All software has bugs, WordPress too. Bugs are mistakes in a computer program or system that make it behave in an unintended way. WordPress community will launch the new release to fix the bugs. For example, the most recent WordPress 4.2.3 update fixed 20 bugs from the 4.2 release. If you insist on not updating WordPress, then you will be unable to receive help.

Site Speed

Besides resolving security vulnerabilities, WordPress updates incorporate small improvements to website speed and performance. Therefore, by not  updating your WordPress website, website loading speed will getting slower and slower. Slow website speed will affect your website SEO as well. Since speed is a huge factor in SEO, you should definitely keep your WordPress updated to ensure maximum performance benefits.

Compatibility

Without regular updating, any update can break your existing website if the latest update version is not compatible with one of the plugins or theme. This is why it is crucial that you keep regular WordPress backups.

In sum, the only downside without regular update is that in some cases your site will break. Then a total website revamp must be done. However the upside is that you have:

  • Improved WordPress security
  • A bug free WordPress website
  • Faster WordPress experience
  • Better compatibility

Now that you know why it’s important to keep your WordPress site updated, let’s take a look at how to update WordPress.

Final Thoughts

In this article, we outlined the most important reasons why it’s best to always use the latest version of WordPress. These include improving your website’s security, solving bugs, improving website speed, and remaining fully compatible with all accompanying software. Other than looking at the benefits of making regular updates, we also touched on the different ways you can use to perform the updates properly. Avoid missing out on amazing benefits offered by the latest version of WordPress and start practicing regular updates and backups.

Last but not least, 50% Matching SME Digitalization Grant that enable you to claim up to RM5,000 can now apply through us, Karuna. This sum will be sufficient to update your WordPress Website and sign up for one year maintenance package with one year SSL certificate.  Kindly contact our sales or fill in the application form here.

FAQ

Questions and Answers from Goggle Search Engine

Is it necessary to update WordPress?

Source: The main reason to keep WordPress updated is for security. … Updating to the newest version of WordPress will ensure that you have the latest security fix. Not updating your version of WordPress may leave your site open to hackers.

Why is it important to keep WordPress updated?

Source: Every so often, themes, plugins, & WordPress itself will require updating. WordPress updates help keep your website safe and bug free as well as make sure you have the newest features, better compatibility, and a smooth WordPress experience. A big part of WordPress updates are security releases.

Why you should keep WordPress up to date?

Source: Security is arguably the most important reason why you should keep your WordPress website up to date. WordPress powers more than 30% of all websites in the world. Due to its popularity, WordPress is a common target for hackers, malicious code distributors, data thieves, and hackers.

How often should WordPress be updated?

Source: Major upgrades usually happen two or three times a year and minor releases happen as needed. Depending on where your site is hosted, some hosting companies will automatically update your WordPress core.

What happens if you dont update WordPress?

Source: Not updating runs the risk of having a insecure site. Prolonging updating can snowball into more and bigger problems such as site failure because you never updated your theme. Now you have to start from scratch

How often should get my WordPress site update ?

Source: You should update WordPress at least twice or once a month. This will allow you to rectify any problems, and will also give plugins time to fix updates. Make sure you update anything that needs updating, from WordPress itself to its plugins and themes.

What does website maintenance include?

Source: Website maintenance refers to the tasks required to keep your website functioning properly and up to date. It involves regularly checking your website for issues, correcting any issues, and making updates.

How is website maintenance done?

Source: What Are the Steps in Website Maintenance? A Quick Checklist

  • Check that all of your pages are loading without errors.
  • Run a backup and make sure a previous version of your site is stored.
  • Make updates to website software and plugins.
  • Check that all of your forms are running properly.

Why is a website so costly to maintain?

Source: There are many things that make a website expensive, the first one being the number of pages – the bigger your website, the more time it will take the developer to code it. There are also good performance and speed, which contribute to the length of the website building process and therefore, the cost.

How much does it cost to maintain a website each year?

Ongoing Website Maintenance – range from RM1,000 to RM5,000+ per month as depend on the type and complexity of website, contract period and other factors.

One Man-hour (RM150 RM300 per hour)

What is Karuna WordPress website maintenance cost?

We have few options in order to cater for different needs. You can either subscribe for monthly package to have your website updated consistently, or pay hourly for our ad-hoc service. Latter simply mean that you are seeking a doctor consultation only after you sick, which could be too late. 

Kindly contact our salesperson for the quote.