Maintaining a WordPress website is crucial to ensure the site’s security, performance and usability. In this article, i provide you with a comprehensive guide to WordPress maintenance that not only covers the most important aspects, but also offers detailed instructions and best practices. Our aim is to help you keep your WordPress website up to date and to recognise and resolve potential risks at an early stage.

Regular updates: core, plugins and themes

Why are updates important?

Regular updates are of central importance for the security and functionality of your WordPress website. They include security improvements, bug fixes and new features that protect your website from attacks and optimise its performance.

Best practices for updates

  1. Enable automatic updates: Make sure automatic updates are enabled for WordPress core. This minimises the risk of your website becoming vulnerable to outdated software.
  2. Check plugins and themes manually: While the WordPress core can be updated automatically, plugins and themes should be checked and updated manually. Some updates can cause conflicts, which is why it is important to check them in a test environment.
  3. Backup before every update: A full backup of your website should be created before every update. This allows you to restore the previous version in the event of an error.

Security measures for WordPress

Important security practices

The security of a WordPress website depends on several factors that should be regularly checked and optimised.

  1. Use strong passwords: Simple passwords are a common gateway for hackers. Use long, complex passwords and change them regularly.
  2. Two-factor authentication (2FA): 2FA provides an additional layer of security. Even if a password is compromised, the website remains protected by the second authentication step.
  3. Security plugins: Install security plugins such as Wordfence or Sucuri to protect your website from attacks. These plugins offer protection against brute force attacks, malware scans and firewalls.

Avoid security vulnerabilities

  1. Deactivate file editing: In the WordPress configuration, file editing can be deactivated in the admin area to make it more difficult for attackers to access files.
  2. Limit login attempts: By limiting the number of login attempts, brute force attacks can be effectively prevented.
  3. SSL certificates: Make sure that your website is secured with an SSL certificate. This encrypts the data transfer between the server and the users and protects against data loss.

Database maintenance: optimisation and security

Why is database maintenance important?

The database is the centrepiece of every WordPress website. It stores all content, settings and user information. Regular maintenance ensures that the database works efficiently and minimises the risk of data loss.

Optimise database

  1. Remove orphaned data: Over time, orphaned data such as revisions, spam comments and transients accumulate in the database. These should be removed regularly to improve performance.
  2. Optimise database tables: Database tables can become fragmented over time, which can lead to performance issues. Tools such as phpMyAdmin or plugins such as WP-Optimize help to optimise the tables.
  3. Regular backups: It is essential to create regular backups of the database. This protects against data loss due to technical errors or security incidents.

Performance optimisation: Speed is crucial

Important performance factors

A fast website not only improves the user experience, but also the ranking in search engines.

  1. Activate caching: Caching significantly reduces the loading times of your website. Use plugins such as W3 Total Cache or WP Super Cache to store pages, database queries and objects in the cache.
  2. Image optimisation: Large image files slow down the loading time. Use image optimisation plugins such as Smush or ShortPixel to reduce the file size without compromising image quality.
  3. Content Delivery Network (CDN): A CDN distributes the content of your website to several servers worldwide, which shortens loading times for visitors from different regions.

Regular backups: your life insurance

Why are backups important?

Backups are essential in order to be able to restore your data and content in the event of data loss. They provide an additional layer of security and should be performed regularly and automatically.

Backup strategies

  1. Automatic backups: Use backup plugins such as UpdraftPlus or BackWPup to create regular automatic backups of your website.
  2. External storage: Store your backups externally, for example in the cloud or on another server. This protects your data even if your main server fails.
  3. Test the recovery: A backup is only as good as its recovery capability. Test regularly whether your backups can be successfully restored.

Conclusion

Comprehensive and regular maintenance of your WordPress website is essential to ensure security, performance and stability. By implementing the above best practices and measures, you can ensure that your website functions optimally and is protected from potential threats.

Image credits:
Photo courtesy of Gratisography