WordPress is an excellent tool for creating sites. It’s easy to use and has a large community of people who can help you if something goes wrong. However, there are also problems with the software: Many plugins and themes have been left unused or need to be updated.
This means that they may contain vulnerabilities and bugs which attackers can exploit. In addition, old plugins can cause compatibility issues with newer versions of WordPress. Finally, outdated plugins can make your site vulnerable to attacks. To avoid these issues, we recommend updating your WordPress installation regularly.
Reasons why your WordPress plugins and themes are not updated
- No websites support/customer service plans implemented;
- Intentionally deferred WordPress upgrades;
- Absence of plugins/themes license keys;
- Plugins/Themes don’t get updated (by their developers).
Install an outdated plugin or theme; you open yourself up to security risks. Outdated plugins and themes are a standard way for hackers to get into your website.
One of the worst security threats facing WordPress websites is the presence of outdated third-parties plugins. Although their developers may update these plugins, they often need help to update themselves when new versions become available. As a result, many WordPress websites continue to use old versions of plugins that contain known vulnerabilities.
However, updating plugins is one of many problems. Updating plugins has been crucial to keeping up with the latest version of WordPress.
Top four reasons why you should keep your WordPress plugin updated
Outdated WordPress plugins can cause serious security risks and even create compatibility errors for your website. It’s essential to keep track of your WordPress updates to avoid falling into any traps.
Reason #1:
Updating to the newest WordPress version can help protect against potential problems. However, updating also prevents you from being vulnerable to newly discovered issues. For example, an update may fix a vulnerability in one part of WordPress but introduce another problem somewhere else. To avoid these situations, we recommend keeping up to date with the newest versions of WordPress.
Reason #2:
We’ve seen a pattern with many WordPress plugins: They work fine for a while but eventually break down completely.
Reason #3:
Updates improve the performance of your plugins by making them faster and more efficient. When you perform updates, the updated versions of your plugins automatically optimize their codes, speed up their functions, and eliminate unnecessary codes.
Reason #4:
Updating plugins helps keep them compatible with the latest versions. You can check the plugin’s repository to find out what versions they support. If a plugin doesn’t list any versions, it may not have been updated recently. A lot of the work behind WordPress.org is making sure that the plugins they maintain are kept up to date and working correctly.
Other issues include website crashes, personal or client info loss, webpage defacement, data loss, or auto-redirects.
Related: 20 WordPress Maintenance Tasks For Your Website
How to make sure you’re using safe and compatible WordPress plugins?
Backing up WordPress before updating
All-In-One WP Migration is a popular WordPress plugin for migrating sites from one platform to another & backups. It makes the entire migration experience more accessible by providing tools that allow you to migrate your website without being technical.
Updating Plugins
You should only install updates from the official WordPress repository. Few easy steps to help you do so: First, click the “Plugins tab” in your WordPress dashboard. Next, click “Update Now.” The updated plugin will then appear in your listing of installed plugins. To check if an upgrade was successful, visit the plugin’s home page.
Updating Themes
Updating a WordPress theme is very similar to updating a plugin. First, go to Appearance Tab >Themes. You can then select one of the updates that you wish to apply. Once installed, the new version of the theme will replace the old one.
Updating WordPress
Upgrading WordPress is a significant undertaking. You’re not only upgrading the software itself but also any plugins and themes you’ve installed. Before starting, back up your database and website files. Also, if you have multiple sites hosted on one server, consider moving them to separate servers.
Choosing your plugins carefully
Before deciding which plugin to use, always look at its latest update date and see if any customer support is available. Spend more effort finding the best ones!
Securing your website
Converting your site from HTTP to HTTPS is straightforward. However, there are some additional steps involved. But that’ll be worth it if you care about security.
Related: Most Common Causes Of WordPress Website Hacks And How To Stop It
How frequently do you want to keep up with updates for WordPress core, themes, and plugins?
It’s up to you whether you update every day, weekly, monthly, quarterly, or even less frequently. Each site is unique, so there isn’t one correct answer for everyone.
Remember that updating is essential, and you must do it at the right time to avoid causing trouble.
Related: The 21 Best Website Security Tips: How To Make Your Website Secure
What if something goes wrong when updating a WordPress plugin or theme?
What to do when you see an error message?
This is often the most straightforward and best approach. You should identify what plugin is creating the problem and then disable it. The issue code frequently includes a path to the plugin triggering the issues.
To fix the issue, go into the plugins tab of the dashboard and look for the offending plugin. If you cannot find it there, contact the developer of the plugin and describe the situation as best you can.
What to do If the error messages don’t tell you which plugin is causing the issue?
To figure out which plugin is causing the error, you need to identify which plugin is causing the issue. You can do so by disabling each plugin individually and eliminating them one by one until the error disappears.
- If you want to disable all plugins at a time, click on the checkbox of the plugin column at the top;
- Under Bulk Actions, select Disable from the drop-down menu;
- Click Apply.
After disabling all your WordPress plugins, you need to reactivate them one by one (one at a time). Once you’ve done so, go back to your site and look for any issues. If you find the problem(s), don’t use it; find a new one and get in touch with the developer of the plugin.
If this method does not work, then it is likely that the problem lies within your theme. Try to figure out what is causing the issue and correct it. If you cannot identify the source of the problem, consider contacting your hosting provider. They can help you track down the issue.
What to do if you see a “white screen of death” instead of the wp-admin page?
If you see the “white screen of death” instead of the WordPress admin panel when accessing the site, you cannot deactivate the plugins as described in the previous procedure. The following procedure may appear complicated at first glance, but it is pretty simple in practice.
But BE CAUTIOUS! This is because if you do break something, you’ll lose your data. So make sure you back up everything before doing anything. Don’t panic, but go slowly through these steps.
Disable plugins via FTP (File Transfer Protocol)
If you want to avoid the “white screen of death” when accessing WordPress, use an FTP client to connect to the server. I recommend using the FTP FileZilla Client. You can then log into the WordPress dashboard and disable all active themes and plugins.
Deactivating plugins via phpMyAdmin
You can disable plugins through phpMyAdmin.
- In the wp_options table, in the option_name column, search for active_plugins (Sort them by name, so they’re easy to find).
- Change the option_value field to a: 0: {}
Related: How To Secure Your WordPress Website Against Malware Infection
More Tips and Tricks
- Read the doc, change log, and support forums;
- Re-save options and then choose the right shortcode;
- Clear the cache of the web browser & website;
- After updating the WordPress themes or plugins, troubleshoot style problems;
- After updating WordPress, if your website doesn’t load, then perform WordPress troubleshooting.
Conclusion
Plugins are great. They’re easy to set up, and they add functionality to your site without having to touch any code. However, if you’ve ever had to deal with an inactive plugin, you know how frustrating it can be. Removing an inactive plugin would be simple enough, but often it needs a lot of work. So before you go ahead and delete an inactive plugin from your site, make sure you understand what you’re doing.
Remember that every plugin adds lines of code to your website. Professional programmers write some plugins, but inexperienced developers write others. Be careful when installing new plugins; check out the source code before you install them. Check out the plugin author’s support forum if they have one. Most plugin developers welcome feedback and bug reports on their forums and try to help solve problems.
Read through the documentation, check out the forums for any issues, and see if there are any known compatibility issues.
If a plugin causes problems on your website, remove it and look for an alternative. You can use something else instead.
Consider what you want in your website – and what you need – before installing anything. You might be able to obtain away with less than you think.
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