Do You Use The Most Current WordPress Website Plugins?
Today, a variety of WordPress websites assist companies marketing goods and services online. Yet an Achilles Heel (of sorts) sometimes poses problems for website administrators. Outdated WordPress Plugins impact some businesses adversely.
About Updating WordPress
The issue of updating WordPress deserves widespread attention. First released in 2003, the open source WordPress platform has now served as a popular online resource for website builders for nearly two decades. It still relies extensively upon the PHP software coding language. However, plugins assist many developers in creating excellent apps to display WordPress websites on a variety of mobile devices.
Over the course of time, PHP, HTML, and CSS contributed significantly to the development of WordPress software, including plugins. Updating WordPress plugins assists website administrators in keeping sites current. Numerous development teams support plugins. Yet some outdated WordPress plugins enjoyed widespread utility several years ago, but no longer receive ongoing developer support.
Three Reasons Why Updated WordPress Plugins Matter
Why should WordPress website administrators ensure they update WordPress plugins used on their websites? At least three excellent rationales support taking this action. Implement regular plugin updating for these reasons:
Software Compatibility
Many websites used different combinations of software to implement important features. In most cases, software programs don’t conflict with one another. Yet occasionally, a problem arises because code used in one program hinders the smooth operation of another program. This issue sometimes occurs when a website uses a combination of outdated software and new, cutting edge products.
The issue of software compatibility proves significant in the case of some WordPress plugins. Recall this popular platform has assisted website builders for nearly two decades. Plugins that received wide use on WordPress sites several years ago sometimes grow less popular as software development teams release new types of plugins. In certain cases, developers have completely stopped creating updates for some older plugins, for instance. Website administrators should consider obtaining regular plugin updates in order to help minimize potential software compatibility problems. Installing brand new plugins on a site with outdated versions of popular plugins sometimes results in troublesome performance issues.
Security
A second reason to consider updating WordPress plugins routinely relates to the need to maintain website security. Today, many online threats pose challenges for website owners and administrators. In some situations, hackers seek to exploit known vulnerabilities in older versions of software programs, including WordPress plugins.
By failing to keep WordPress plugins in a current, updated condition, a website administrator may unwittingly open the door to some types of hacking attacks. This problem proves especially concerning in cases in which a development team no longer supports a plugin by creating new, improved versions to overcome identified problems. Consider updating (or removing) aging but unsupported plugins for security reasons.
Optimizing Performance
Another strong motivation also inspires plugin updates. It relates to the utility of new versions of software. In some cases, development teams enhance the capabilities of plugins during updates.
WordPress website administrators may desire to upgrade their site’s performance. Software revisions sometimes increase speed. Consider updating plugins regularly!
Seeking Technical Support
WordPress website administrators frequently discover value in seeking maintenance assistance from a full-time web hosting company. Keeping some sites in optimal condition encompasses a wide array of daily responsibilities. Yet obtaining WP premium support often proves surprisingly cost-effective. Businesses benefit by exploring convenient website maintenance programs to obtain commercial website software updating on a turnkey basis!
