Keep Your Website Healthy – The Most Common WordPress Maintenance Issues

Like any piece of software (or hardware for that matter), a WordPress website relies on frequent software updates to continue functioning optimally. There are three main elements that updates apply to: the WordPress Plugins, WordPress Themes and the WordPress Core itself. Today, we’re explaining the most common maintenance issues that can compromise the health of your WordPress website.

The Most Common WordPress Maintenance Issues

Security Vulnerabilities

The most common issue that we have encountered during our Maintenance onboarding process are security vulnerabilities; which can cause the biggest negative implications if not resolved.

No safe is uncrackable, the same is true with the software and programs running on your website. As WordPress and the many themes and plugins continue to improve security, efficiency and features offered for your use, it is important to stay current with updates to maintain an optimal and secure environment for the visitors to your website. 

Examples of Security Vulnerabilities: 

1. Older versions of WooCommerce had a vulnerability which allowed guest users to create accounts during the checkout process even if the option ‘Allow customers to create an account during checkout’ was disabled. Meaning bots could create accounts, obtain system access, and place fake orders to look for vulnerabilities in other plugins on the site¹.
   
2. Older versions of Jetpack had a vulnerability in shortcode embeds, which would allow a remote attacker to embed and execute malicious code on your site.
   
3. Older versions of the MemberMouse Platform plugin were susceptible to SQL injection.  A successful SQL injection could get access to sensitive user data, including usernames, passwords and other sensitive information. It could extract, insert, delete, or corrupt any type of information stored in a database on your website.

Why Enabling Auto-Update Is NOT the Answer

While you may think ‘Amazing, I’ll just set up auto-update on everything!” that is not a great solution and you run the risk of BREAKING your site. 

A Technical Balancing Act: Knowing When to Update vs. When to Wait

Security patches are not the only types of updates that your WordPress environment will experience. 

As new features get added, and the backend language on which the WordPress software was written gets on overhaul, some plugins take longer to keep up – while others stop trying altogether. This is when errors start to happen. 

Websites often require interconnected plugins to support a theme and/or add functionality to the website. When one of the elements falls behind it triggers a break in communication affecting the performance and behaviour of your site.

Maintaining a healthy website often becomes a balancing act of knowing when to press the “update button” and when to wait for all the plugins to catch up so that nothing breaks. 

Updating PHP Memory: “The White Screen of Death”

With all these updates, the plugins, page builders and themes that run your site require more resources to be processed. Your host will often put a script processing memory limit in order to prevent a single website from overloading the server. To fix this you would need to manually update your PHP memory limit in the backend of your website. 

Recommendations

Before you venture to do your own website updates, we recommend completing the following checklist:

• Website Backup:
  • Make sure to get a full backup of your website before doing any updates – that includes all files and database entries

• Check the Fine-Print:
  • Read the plugin update details often provided when a new version gets released to make sure that your website meets the minimal requirements – this often includes a PHP and WordPress version

• Create a Staging Site:
  • If possible test your updates on a staging site to make sure that the styling and functionality of your website remains the same

Rosewood takes website security very seriously; not only does proper maintenance reduce potential downtime but it ensures that your website information and that of any clients remains safe and secure.

Rosewood offers WordPress Maintenance Packages to suit your website’s needs. Starting at just $87/month, we believe it’s worth the investment to be proactive and prevent a potential crash or hack event.

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