Is it Really Critical to Upgrade WordPress? 5 Things You Need to Know

WordPress has quickly become a go-to choice for a self-hosted website content management system. Easy to install and simple to learn, while still enabling users to integrate the latest technologies of the Web through plugins, themes and customization, WordPress can be the perfect solution for many websites. However, once it is installed, it can be tempting for many website owners to simply leave it alone, ignoring prompts for upgrades. Unfortunately, the old adage of “If it’s isn’t broken, don’t fix it,” does not apply to WordPress installations. Here are 5 things that you need to know now about upgrading WordPress:

1. The most important reason to upgrade your WordPress installation is the security aspect. Weaknesses and loopholes in the code are constantly being sought out and exploited by malicious hackers. This is especially concerning if your site collects any personal information from visitors or processes any purchases. The only way to keep your site as secure as possible is to install upgrades as soon as they come out to patch potential vulnerabilities.
2.  Upgrading WordPress ensures that your site is compatible with current versions of plugins and themes, preventing crashes due to clashing code. With the speed with which technology is advancing, this attention to compatibility issues in advance can save you from lost data, site downtime and expensive repairs down the road. Left unchecked too long, your site will inevitably run into these issues, making constant, gentle maintenance the best route to take.
3. Without upgrading, you’ll also find yourself missing out on the latest features and functionalities being introduced, which can easily give your competition an edge over you. Working with dated tools is giving yourself a handicap in the world of business, so keeping up with the latest trends are important if you want to stay relevant and offer your site’s visitors the best experience possible.
4. Even if it does not expose you to a security threat, no code is perfect, with bugs continually discovered in older versions of WordPress. New updates constantly work to repair these bugs, and clean up known issues. Even if a bug seems to not affect you, if it has been identified as an issue, there’s always a possibility that it can be triggered in the future. It’s best to save yourself the worry, and stick to the new versions.
5. Finally, upgrading WordPress ensures that your website’s performance will not be inhibited by outdated code and design. As new technologies and techniques are developed to boost page speed and loading times, device compatibility, page size and more, WordPress is adjusted to accommodate the latest improvements. Skipping upgrades can leave you using out-dated technology, which can not only leave you with an inferior website, but also affect your search engine ranking, as site performance is a key influence on this. Save your Google ranking, and start paying attention to your upgrades.

Neglecting WordPress upgrades can leave your website vulnerable, out-dated, and at risk, and by the time something breaks, it can require far more work to fix it than it would to simply maintain things in the first place. In the worst case scenarios, it can mean that content on your site is permanently lost or confidential information is leaked. It’s far better to save yourself the stress and consequences down the road, and start keeping up to date with your upgrades now!

Why Should My WordPress Security Be Hardened?

There’s no denying the massive popularity of WordPress. Today, this behemoth powers nearly 75 million websites around the world. Individuals and brands continually choose WordPress over its competitors due to the platform’s developer-friendly content management system, user-intuitive controls, and seamless plugin integrations. Websites powered with WordPress can do virtually anything a designer can code in. Unfortunately, such mass appeal and use also has its downsides, as this popularity has also attracted the attention of hackers and digital criminals.

While WordPress is adept at blocking a vast majority of would-be hackers, the staggering amount of websites running WordPress means that even the most minute vulnerability or security flaw is likely to impact thousands, if not millions of users and brands around the world. And such vulnerabilities are constantly evolving as users forget to update third-party plugins that aren’t monitored by WordPress’s tech team.

This is why the addition of a simple security plugin, no matter how flexible or robust it claims to be, just can’t cut it against the vast majority of evolving attacks, and in some cases may even open a backdoor to a future hacker. This is why when we talk about security, we don’t focus on installing and using standard plugins, but rather about how you can harden WordPress to make your security impenetrable.

Here are a few of the things you should check to harden WordPress:

• A secured site starts with a secured server.  Choose a server that offers the best in terms of security, stability, and reliable methods for safe backup and swift recovery.
• Keep your computer clean.  A computer rife with virtual infections should never be used to log into a server or WordPress site. Keep your operating system and software constantly updated to protect against security issues arising from spyware, malware, and other viruses.
• Harden WordPress with updates.  Just as with your operating system, it’s important to keep updated with the latest WordPress version. That’s because each regular update is done to address the new security concerns that have arisen. While it’s WordPress’s responsibility to keep abreast and resolve potential security issues, it’s the responsibility of the user to follow through with these updates.
• Establish a strong password.  It’s integral to use a strong and unique password that will be hard for both humans and bots to crack, and to make it difficult for any brute force attack. However, what most people generally know as a secure password is wrong. Frequently, websites will ask you to create an eight-character password using at least one lowercase, one uppercase, a number, and a symbol (ie. C@tch@22). However, while this is great at protecting against human attempts, it’s not so adept at escaping robotic and cracking software attempts as such ‘mangling tricks’ have been in play for more than a decade. Long enough for hackers to plan ahead. Instead, use a combination of at least four random words (ie. markerwindowleftpenguin). The higher number of characters and randomness of the words will make it hard for both humans and bots to guess at. To better understand how this helps harden WordPress and other secured access, check out this comic by XKCD.

For more help on how to harden WordPress, you might consider calling in the experts at Core4Secured.com. Our experienced technicians are adept at keeping your site safe while simultaneously increasing website traffic via redesigning and updating your websites.

Just read a few of our client testimonials to learn why businesses throughout a variety of industry sectors choose us when it comes to keeping their WordPress site secure. Contact us to learn what we can do for you.

The Importance of Keeping WordPress Up to Date!

WordPress is one of the most popular blog and website content platforms in the world, but its popularity has a downside that has recently been revealed. Even though WordPress is simple to use and provides an extraordinary number of powerful features, it has become a major target for hackers. WordPress security is of the utmost importance for anyone who uses the software, and the best protection against security breaches is keeping the platform updated.

Fortunately, we offer a “WordPress updates Security Package” and we can quickly and reliably do regular updates and security checks for WordPress by our team of experienced professionals.

The Need for WordPress Updates

Studies show that of the 30,000 websites that are infected with malware every day, 87 percent run on the WordPress platform, and many of the attacks are made directly through the front door. It is estimated that a seasoned hacker can crack the average WordPress administrator password in less than 10 minutes.

Most webmasters never worry about hackers and malware installations on their WordPress websites because the problem is not directly in front of their eyes. However, an infected website can be difficult to detect until it is too late. Securing your WordPress website is a task best left to experienced professionals who know how to discover security vulnerabilities and prevent them from being exploited.

How WordPress Updates Can Save Your Website

WordPress is an open-source software platform, but it is professionally maintained by teams of volunteers and, in some instances, paid programmers. When vulnerabilities are discovered in the software, these teams work diligently to plug the holes and make a fixed version of the software available to the public. However, with each version, notes are also released that detail exactly what was fixed, and hackers can use these notes to target websites running older versions of WordPress.

WordPress updates are critical because the information hackers need to attack old versions is being set right at their feet with each new release. Once the website is updated, only hackers who are clever enough to discover new vulnerabilities will be able to break into it.

Professional WordPress Updates Calgary

WordPress updates can be achieved with a minimal amount of work and frustration by hiring a company that does the job for you. For only $30 per month, Core4Secured.com will continually monitor your WordPress website in order to keep it updated and secure. In addition, five days of backups are always kept on file so that you can fully restore your website in the event of a disaster.

The Importance of Monitoring WordPress