Read on to learn why we believe it’s best for you should leave your WordPress support tasks to the experts.
In years gone by, businesses needed to hire designers and developers to create bespoke websites. They couldn’t update their own websites without knowledge of coding.
WordPress changed all of that by giving ordinary businesses access to themes and functionality they could edit themselves. It now powers 30 percent of the top 10 million websites in the world.
The platform is so popular because it’s easy to get set up with its content management system (CMS). They devised a 5-minute installation to get you up and running.
But once you’re set up, what next? The endless possibilities of WordPress are one of its attractions. Yet those same possibilities can lead to frustration if you don’t know what you’re doing.
For small businesses and solopreneurs, figuring out how to manage WordPress can become a drain on time that you simply don’t have. One solution is using a WordPress maintenance service.
Not sure if you should outsource your WordPress maintenance? Read on to learn the benefits of leaving things to the experts.
What Does WordPress Support Involve?
WordPress is by far the best platform for your website. But there are different aspects of the maintenance process. Some of them need to be checked and performed on a regular basis.
Others are daily or weekly scheduled tasks. And others are on more of an ‘as and when’ basis. So what would a maintenance plan involve?
Updates
Regular maintenance starts with keeping WordPress up-to-date. That includes both the version of WordPress and all of the extras you’ve installed.
At the time of writing, there are 54,273 plugins available for WordPress. You won’t have all of them, but the ones you do have will need updates.
And then there is your theme.
Keeping this up-to-date gives you extra security protection since hackers can exploit holes in the code of earlier versions. Even if you’re not using particular themes, they can act as a back door into your installation.
Automatic upgrades are available but it’s better to update them manually to check the updates worked correctly.
Sometimes a plugin update can be incompatible with something else and your site becomes unusable. If you don’t have the right web development skills, untangling the problematic code is time-consuming and confusing.
General Security
Keeping plugins and themes up-to-date contributes to the security of your website. But you also need to stay vigilant about other security threats.
New members of staff will need login credentials with the correct level of access.
And you can install firewalls or plugins to limit log-in attempts. But you still need someone who can interpret the regular security reports. They’ll be able to identify holes in your set-up and apply fixes.
Making Backups
Even the most seasoned WordPress users sometimes need to refer to backups. Maybe their host went down. A new member of staff might have made a mistake. Or hackers gained access and trashed some pages. Perhaps someone installed malware on the site. And we’ve seen updating plugins can sometimes cause problems.
In all of these cases, restoring a backup is the quickest way to solve the problem.
There are different ways to take backups in WordPress. Many plugins will backup the website to cloud storage or even an email account.
Or you can regularly download all of your website files and save them on a different server.
All of these options are doable for regular users. But staff can forget to perform backup tasks. And plugins sometimes fail.
Without someone monitoring if backups are happening correctly? You risk trying to fall back on a backup that doesn’t exist.
Why Should I Outsource My WordPress Support & Maintenance?
Your website support and maintenance isn’t your top priority. But it is the top priority of your maintenance provider. Let’s look at what they can do for you.
Provide Peace of Mind
They’ll create regular backups to restore your site in case the worst happens. And because they’re up-to-date with security issues in the WordPress space, they can use pre-emptive strategies to keep your site safe.
Your support team will also monitor your website for downtime, able to intervene in case your website goes offline. The longer a website is down, the more potential revenue you lose.
A maintenance provider can also carry out regular audits on your website and optimize it for performance.
That speeds up your website, improving the user experience for visitors. Good user experience is a key signal to Google when it assembles search engine result pages.
Create Continuity of Service
Some businesses look to their web developer to provide ongoing support. Not all developers have space in their schedule – or the inclination – to do this.
And if your developer changes career, gets ill, or just quits their job, you’re left without support.
You have a similar problem if you delegate your WordPress maintenance to a member of your own team. Do you have a deputy to take over when they’re away? And how would you handle a handover if they leave?
Choosing a support provider creates a safety net because there’s always someone who understands your business needs and website. If one member of the support team is ill, another can take their place.
Save Time
If problems arise during updates, the support team can fix them before you even realize there’s an issue. No more spending hours on the phone to a developer, or hunting through forums looking for an answer.
And you won’t have to spend time researching which plugins to install for particular tasks. Your maintenance team will do it for you.
Outsourcing your maintenance frees up your staff to focus on what they do best. Just think of all the time you’ll save by handing over these repetitive tasks to someone else.
If you have a small web design project, the mechanics of doing things would be very challenging. Especially the collaboration and communication part. That’s the reason I would recommend outsourcing your web design projects to save some time because overseas agencies normally have one point of contact and you can request changes pretty fast. They usually use internal collaboration tools to move projects faster as compared to having an in-house team.
WordPress Support and Maintenance is Essential
Most users are capable of performing simple WordPress maintenance tasks. But as you can see from the list above, there are a lot of them to be done.
You don’t always have the time (or available staff) to ensure all of these tasks are done regularly.
Our team at Innovative Solutions Group definitely has the time and staff to provide the maintenance and support you need. With 25 years of experience, we can be your best ally.
Contact us today to find out how we can help you optimize and maintain your website.
