Website owners are probably familiar with WordPress updates that appear on their dashboard. It might seem odd because there is often very little visual change. But there are actually good reasons for these updates.
There Is A Lot Behind The Scenes
If you are familiar with HTML, then you probably know that the very page that you are reading has pages upon pages of hidden coding that make the website functional. Sometimes there can be little errors in this coding that will create bugs and compromise the user experience. When WordPress updates their versions, they are fixing these bugs.
Protection From Hackers
Hackers are always trying to gain access into WordPress’s system. They are pretty good at sifting through the encryption. If WordPress gave them a year with no updates, the hackers would probably get in. So updating your website is important to protecting your website.
In fact, since hackers are familiar with the vulnerabilities of the previous versions, website owners who do not update could be targeted by hackers because they still have the old system.
Better Experience
WordPress listens to the critical reviews from their clients and does what they can to accommodate. These adjustments are often implemented in the updates. For example, if WordPress users report that searching for new themes is too complicated, the next update might include a simplified method. If you are not updating your website, then you are probably missing out on new features.
Better Performance
Your website’s speed will be a major factor when building your brand. Viewers are less likely to remain on a website that loads slowly. Beyond that, a faster website will have a higher SEO score. Consequently, every updated version will come with speed adjustments.
Plugin Compatibility
Some users report that when they download a plugin, it interferes with the performance of their website. That would partially be the responsibility of the plugin developers (which is why it is important to update plugins too), but WordPress does what they can to make everything compatible.
Managing your WordPress Website
Typically, WordPress will inform developers when there is an impending update and give them the opportunity to ensure that everything is compatible. That is why plugin updates will often correspond with an updated version of WordPress. It is important to install the plugin update first. If you install the WordPress update first, the outdated plugin might be incompatible and could crash some aspect of your website or you could even lose your blogposts.
That is one reason that it is important to keep a backup of your uploads somewhere off-site. There are plenty of plugins available, such as VaultPress, which also offers security features.
A functional website is an important aspect of your business or blog. If you want people to take you seriously, then you will need to be vigilant about updating & managing your WordPress website. Also if you have a newsletter or customers who make payments through your website, updating will be necessary to protect their information.