Reasons to Update your WordPress Plugins
Regularly receiving SPAM or is malware an issue… check your WordPress Plugin updates, chances are you have several updates ready to be installed.
With one in every three websites on the market powered by WordPress, the market for WordPress plugins is huge. Developers are regularly rolling out new or updated plugins that contribute to users’ experiences and websites’ functionality. By making sure your plugins are up to date you can ensure that your site functions optimally, from a front-end as well as back-end perspective.
Why updating WordPress Plugins is essential
It will improve your website’s security
Perhaps one of the most critical reasons why it is important to run updates, is to protect your WordPress website from security vulnerabilities. As user experience and technology develops, plugin developers become aware of issues their plugins may have and develop updates that will patch these vulnerabilities. By regular updating of the plugins you have used on your WordPress website, you can be assured that you have an additional barrier to reduce hacks, SPAM and malware risks.
It will boost your site’s performance and loading speed
Updates ensure that all bugs are fixed and that plugins function optimally. All the functionality and performance of a website is dependent on the optimal performance of the various plugins installed. Therefore, the more up to date the plugins the better your site will perform in general. Pages will load quicker; buttons will function perfectly, and forms will load cleanly.
It will enhance your website’s SEO ranking ability
What does Google ‘love’ in a website? The answer is simple. Google loves the same things humans do. Humans enjoy a pleasant, helpful experience when browsing a website. Humans like to feel safe and secure when clicking through pages or when making a purchase online. And humans like it when pages open quickly, images display optimally, and buttons work efficiently. In making sure that your plugins are updated you will address all of these aspects, and Google will ‘love’ you for it.
How to update WordPress plugins:
Step 1: Login to the backend of your website.
Step 2: Underneath your Dashboard, click on "Updates". The number of available updates to run will be indicated in a red circle.
Step 3: Click "Update" next to each available plugin.
Automatic plugin updates with Domains.co.za’s WordPress Hosting
Running updates is very important whether you do it manually or automatically. At Domains.co.za, we know many customers simply don’t have the time. Our WordPress Hosting packages therefore offer customers the benefit of high performance hosting servers coupled with automatic plugin updates. This way you get all the benefits of keeping your WordPress Plugins updated without all the additional admin.
Chantél Venter is a creative writer, strategic thinker, and a serious gesticulator. She’s passionate about storytelling, small businesses and bringing color to the world – be it through her words or wardrobe.
She holds a four-year degree in Business and Mass Media Communication and Journalism. She’s been a copywriter and editor for the technology, insurance and architecture industries since 2007 and believes anybody can run a small business successfully. She therefore enjoys finding and sharing the best and most practical tips for this purpose.