Why You Should Always Keep the School Website Plugins Updated.
Updates are crucial for better website performance. We are constantly being told to update our mobile phones or the operating systems we use on our laptops that we use, and more. But if you use a WordPress website, you might be asking why are updates for a WordPress website so important?
The WordPress platform is regularly tested and updated for the best possible performance. Just like the updates for our phones, these WordPress updates can help us discover new features, reduce the number of problems we run into, and maintain a positive user experience. Along with the website updates, plugins that run on your WordPress website are also being tested and updated as often as WordPress itself and if not more.
But because they come so frequently, it can be easy to forget all about them as the usual school day takes over and so convince ourselves that an update isn’t something we really need. However, if you want to get the most out of your WordPress website, you need to regularly update your site and the plugins that are used.
Features Are Released for Three Reasons
- To improve features. New features make WordPress easier to use or more useful.
- For your safety. New security features prevent hackers from breaking into your website and inserting malicious code.
- To fix bugs. New updates can fix functionality bugs in your site. So if something isn’t working properly, you may just need an update.
Backup your site BEFORE you run updates!
Before you run any updates, it is critical that you have a current backup of your site & database. From time-to-time, there will be compatibility issues between new versions of WordPress & different plugins. These compatibility issues can take your site down and you’ll need to be able to fix the problem at a code level or restore the site or plugin from a backed up copy.
Elemental Education backs up your website on a daily basis if you are currently part of our Maintenance package. If you aren’t using it then I would strongly recommend it.
Why is old WordPress software so vulnerable to attack?
Whenever a new plugin or WordPress update is released, a bug fix report accompanies it. Hackers find out the vulnerabilities of old WordPress versions by looking at these reports. Then, they can target outdated sites and hack them. The easiest way to avoid being targeted by hackers is by updating often. It’s much easier to prevent damage than restore your site later.
Still haven’t clicked “update now”?
Elemental Education can update your website for you to prevent it from breaking. Call us at 0800 772 0547, and we can schedule in a 15-30 minutes talk about updating your site. It only costs £47 per month for peace of mind. Remember it also gives you an hour of other updates so we can help with the following:
Update images on the website to keep it fresh and up to date
Add new policies
Add weekly newsletters to the site for parents to view
Change staff photos should they leave or if new ones arrive
Update Calendars or the school term times
Add content immediately to warn of any sudden school closures
Keeping you in the loop to ensure your site is up to date with ever changing regulations, such as GDPR.
Not bad really for £47 per month!
