Once your WordPress site is beautifully customized and published, keeping your WordPress site up to date should also be considered as a monthly activity. No matter what WordPress theme you use there are always plugins and other information that need attention on a regular basis. Keeping your site programming up to date will assure you will gain the attention of top search engines as a leader in your field.
Cost for monthly updates to WordPress:
Monthly update costs could run from our basic coverage of $79.95 to a higher rate if you receive more services. If you have chosen a simple WordPress drag and drop site you could update your site with a few clicks here and there but to do this you must know the process. However, if your site is customized by a professional design company you will need one of their team to keep it updated for you.
Updating WordPress and Theme
Most WordPress websites are developed using a Theme. A Theme provides page layout options, image presentation styles like slideshow, carousel, and lightbox methods. Updating your WordPress software usually doesn’t affect the theme, however, keeping your theme updated should be done to ensure compatibility with the version of WordPress you are using.
Unfortunately, some of our clients feel they can do their own site by developing a WordPress theme and choosing a domain name. This is simply not the case. Monthly updates should be considered for a well-functioning website. Each time you update your WordPress software it is also a good idea to create a backup before and after the update. The ‘before’ backup is insurance that the backup will go without problems and the ‘after’ backup is for future issues that may arise where you need to restore or move your website.
Our basic WordPress monthly $79.95 update cost:
This is our most cost-effective monthly update plan. It will keep your website security and information updated and current. As we update your site monthly we will pick up any new software online suggested for security improvement as well. We pay close attention to any special website functionality such as photo galleries, new software plugins and make sure the latest versions are always current.
It is good to consider at least this basic plan since outdated sites are the first sites to be targeted by unscrupulous hackers bent on corrupting the website. With this basic WordPress backup plan, we backup your site monthly and this keeps the database in good working order. As we backup your WordPress site, we keep the backup files in WordPress folders located in the File Manager section of the web hosting area.
We suggest to our clients that they should consider keeping at least five to six backups. This will ensure we have the information should a hack occur. It almost never happens and especially not to websites that are backed up and current.
How WordPress backups are important?
The best way to recover from a website hacking is to restore your site to the latest backup. You may not get everything you have done since the last backup but you will have less worry than having to restore from an earlier copy. You’ll also need to find out how the hacker got into the website and make the fix (close the security risk area) so it doesn’t happen again.
What if I don’t have backups?
With no backups handy, you will need to manually clean your hacked website or call a professional web designer to do this for you. Our team is available for this situation and we may need to do a completely new re-design if you have not saved your content, images, etc. Keep the site backed up to avoid this situation entirely. That is the best advice we can give you. It could become costly.
Will my site lose search engine rank if hacked?
Yes, it has been our experience that if your site is hacked you could face losing some of the rank held prior to the site being hacked. It could affect both the organic listings and cause you to lose sales. The faster you recover your website content will minimize the damage.
Find out whether or not your hosting company offers backup services. If they do offer a backup make sure you ask how often they will back up the site and how much of the site they backup. If they don’t back up all data, it is time to find someone to help. If you are not going to do this yourself you could consider a monthly backup plan.
Costs for WordPress sites over time:
WordPress site owners should also consider the cost of the website over time. Ads online can easily mislead the user to believe you can simply get a “free” WordPress theme (CMS) Content Management System and be done. Free is not always “free.” There are customization options that require advanced WordPress knowledge.
If you have a WordPress site and you are expecting your site to include these advanced features or additional SEO elements, please contact our WordPress team to discuss the cost for these additional functions https://insidedesignseoservices.com/. These options may need a professional WordPress developer to implement them. There are also additional options for hosting and security.
The WordPress platform is a very flexible system and can be completely transformed into an online store (an e-commerce site). Another option for the WordPress platform is to be developed as a personal blog site. The sky is the limit with WordPress capability.
Conclusion: Keeping your WordPress site updated:
Thank you all for stopping by today and we encourage all of you to keep your WordPress sites updated at all times. Along with keeping your site files updated, considering a great new website re-design or setting up social media will go a long way toward your online success. Our team of award-winning designers and programmers are here to help you every step of the way. SEO is our specialty so don’t fail to contact us for any service you are needing. Enjoy the days ahead and hurry back for everything design and programming.
Jean Holland-Rose
Chief Creative Officer & SEO Professional
Inside Design Orlando (An Orlando Website Design Company since 2001).
