Key Takeaways

  • Regular WordPress maintenance helps keep websites secure, fast and functioning properly for both users and search engines.
  • Outdated plugins, themes and software can create security vulnerabilities that expose websites to malware, hacking and performance issues.
  • Website speed, security and reliability are important factors that contribute to user experience and search engine rankings.
  • Professional maintenance processes include testing updates before deployment to reduce the risk of website errors or downtime.
  • Security tools, backups and proactive monitoring help protect websites from emerging threats and unexpected technical issues.
  • Ongoing website maintenance is an essential investment that supports long-term website performance, SEO and business growth.

 

We all know how important it is to take our cars for a service. If you don’t, eventually the the car will slow down, seize up and potentially stop functioning altogether. But did you know that WordPress websites are exactly the same?

WordPress website maintenance keeps your site secure, running smoothly and loading fast, which ultimately helps maintain your rankings on Google.

Why? Because ongoing maintenance improves user experience, site performance and crawlability. These are all are key ranking factors on Google.

We see it time and time again where a business will invest a lot of time and money in a new website, SEO and content but fail to keep their website up to date. This means your WordPress website will progressively slow down and will become exposed to spam and bugs if the security and speed are not maintained regularly.

Stay Virus-Free!

Site speed and security are critical to a website’s performance and user experience, which means keeping plugins updated and removing outdated or defunct ones.

A Georgia Institute of Technology study has found that over 25,000 WordPress websites are currently infected by malicious or compromised plugins. This can cause a whole host of issues that arise from plugins not being maintained, including data hacking, malware and crypto-jacking to ransomware and website malfunctions.

“Plugins should be thoroughly vetted and tested by experienced developers and security teams before being utilised in a production environment”, notes Senior Cybersecurity Consultant from NVISIUM, Cory Cline.

Creating a WordPress website isn’t a set-and-forget process, which is why to stay virus-free and keep your site and code clean, regular web maintenance is a must.

 

Don’t DIY WordPress Web Maintenance!

We cannot stress enough the importance of having a professional manage your web maintenance. You would be shocked to see how many times business owners, unqualified marketers and even IT Professionals (yep, them too) attempt it themselves, and fail. This can hurt the back pocket when you subsequently need to have a professional fix it, or worse, need to completely redo something on the site that was broken.

When conducting web maintenance and upgrading plugins, our developers at 80/20 ALWAYS test these in a staging environment before deploying it on the live site. This provides an opportunity to check everything works as it should and scan for any bugs.

Get Premium Protection for Premium Performance

In addition to having a professional web developer manage your WordPress website maintenance, it’s important to have the right security tools in place too. We recommend Wordfence Premium to all of our clients as it doesn’t slow the site speed down and does a great job at detecting any threats that may be active on the site or attempting to access the site. Securi is another excellent security tool but in tests, we’ve found that it slows a site down more than Wordfence Premium. Neither are infallible, by the way, but they are both as good as it gets for WordPress Security.

To help you stay on top of your web maintenance, we offer a dedicated monthly website maintenance package to keep your website in top shape and converting well.

Get in touch with the team at 80/20 Digital today on 0400 677 202 and see how our website maintenance can keep your site in tip-top shape.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is WordPress website maintenance important?

WordPress maintenance helps keep websites secure, updated and operating efficiently. Regular maintenance reduces the risk of security breaches, performance issues and compatibility problems.

Most WordPress websites should be monitored and maintained on an ongoing basis, with updates, backups, security checks and performance reviews completed regularly throughout the month.

 

Yes. Outdated plugins and themes are among the most common causes of website vulnerabilities. Regular updates help protect websites from malware, hacking attempts and software conflicts.

Website maintenance supports SEO by helping ensure fast loading speeds, strong security, reliable uptime and a positive user experience, all of which contribute to search performance.

Website maintenance commonly includes software updates, plugin management, security monitoring, malware protection, backups, performance optimisation and troubleshooting.

While some website owners handle basic maintenance, professional website maintenance can help reduce risk, prevent costly mistakes and ensure updates are tested and implemented correctly.

Colm MacGowan is a multi-award-winning digital marketer, growth strategist, and Founder of 80/20 Digital. Specialising in lead generation for service-based businesses, Colm helps brands scale through brand-led, data-driven SEO, AI SEO (AIO/GEO), Google Ads, social media, conversion strategy, and commercially focused digital marketing systems. Over the past three decades, his strategies have generated more than $100 million in revenue for clients across Australia, the UK, Ireland, Canada, and the US.