WordPress: It’s not as simple as some make you believe

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WordPress is one of the great tools available in web development today. It offers many out of the box solutions and gives small to medium sized businesses a professional and functional website building tool without a huge bill.

As website designers/developers we at CM2 Media have noticed some trends in the industry and with our clients. It is very important that when you start the process of building a Wordpress website, you know what you are getting into, and what you should be getting out of it.

Here are some of the most notable common myths and realities about owning and operating your WordPress website:[/two_thirds_column] [third_column][simple_graph text=”According to W3Techs 25% of websites now use WordPress” percentage=”25″ width=”150″ height=”150″ first_color=”#ff0a0a” second_color=”#000000″ class=”alignright”][/simple_graph][/third_column] [/row]

 


Myth: You can update plugins whenever they require it

Reality: Plugins can be very sensitive. It is important to know that some plugin updates can harm your website. They may have code and scripts that are shared with other plugins, or within your theme.

Solution: Hire an expert that knows the ins and out of WordPress to keep your site safe, updated and secure.


Myth: All WordPress websites are the same and can be updated by anyone.

Reality: Out of the box, WordPress websites are the same. Once you select a theme, you immediately begin the customizing process. This can be limited to simple menu changes, or can expand into full customization of a site that looks and acts nothing like the initial theme.

Solution: If you are going to hire someone to edit, or maintain your WordPress website, make sure they are experienced in all elements of WordPress, not just the out of the box sites. All themes are different and require many different scripts and plugins to function properly.


Myth: You can update WordPress at any time.

Reality: Most WordPress updates will be harmless to the integrity of your site and plugins… However, sometimes there are much larger updates that should be tested before they are rolled out.

Solution: Having a WordPress Pro clone your website and test it before updating will ensure you do not lose anything from your site when updating.


Myth: You can update your theme whenever it is required.

Reality: Theme updates can have new functionality and different placements of objects built within the theme. They may also have corrections to known bugs. If you have not backed up your site and created a proper child theme, you will lose all of the customizing from the previous theme version.

Solution: Every developer should begin with a child theme. Setting this up properly helps ensure that updates will not eliminate a lot of time and effort that was put into building the site in the beginning.


Myth: WordPress is easily hacked

Reality: Keeping your theme and plugins updated is very important to limit the potential for hacking and spamming.

Solution: Have an experienced WordPress developer install security software that notifies you of any attempts to hack, or fraudulent logins to your site. Common security software solutions will notify you of theme and plugin updates as well.


“Your online reputation is critical. Your website is the place where people find you. Make sure you take care of it, just as you would a real store, shop or office.”

Hopefully this puts you on the right track with some of the daily ongoings of owning a WordPress website. Most business owners do not have the time, or expertise to understand the backend of their website, and how to update it. We strongly recommend hiring an experienced WordPress developer like CM2 Media to handle your website. A regular monthly maintenance plan is a great to start to keep things running smooth and stress free. We offer affordable plans with friendly, reliable service.

If you have any comments or questions about our services or this blog, please contact us using the form below:

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