12 June 2020

Reasons to update your WordPress Plugins

Submitted by: Chantel Venter
Reasons to update your WordPress Plugins

Update WordPress plugins to limit cyber risk, advises Domains.co.za

 As online activity has increased over the past few months due to Covid-19 regulations and social-distancing, so also has cybercrime. Domains.co.za advises the public to update their WordPress website’s plugins as the company has noticed a drastic increase in SPAM and malware attacks on websites that are behind on updates. 

 “A website is a precious asset to any company,” says Domains.co.za CEO Wayne Diamond. “ It is therefore well worth your while to ensure that it runs optimally and is free of any vulnerability. Running updates might be a mundane task but it is essential to ensuring the reputation of your company. A website that has bugs to fix and error messages displaying doesn’t leave a good impression on visitors and could cost you valuable leads,” Diamond adds. 

What is a plugin? 

A plugin is code that is added to the back-end of your website. When “plugged into” the website, this new coding adds specific functionality that wasn’t there before. It can be something small like a specific visual theme. It can also be something large and complicated like an eCommerce plugin with the ability to turn your website into an online store.

With a third of websites on the market powered by WordPress, the opportunity for plugins is huge. Developers are regularly rolling out plugins that contribute to user experiences and functionality. However, technology is constantly evolving, and in keeping with this, plugins need to adapt as well. Plugins, therefore, need to offer new features and functionality and fix any bugs that occur as time goes by. 

Top 3 benefits of updating WordPress plugins

  1. Updating plugins regularly improves performance and loading speeds of websites
    Updates ensure that all bugs are fixed and that plugins function optimally. All the functionality and performance of a website is dependent on the performance of the various plugins installed. Therefore, the more up to date the plugins the better your site will perform in general. Pages will load quickly, buttons will function perfectly and images will load clearly.

  2. Updating plugins regularly limits your SPAM and malware risks
    The online security threat side of having a website is perhaps one of the most critical reasons why it is important to run updates. As technology changes developers become aware of vulnerabilities in their plugins and develop updates that will patch them.  By updating your plugins you can offer an additional barrier to your website, reduce hacks, SPAM and malware risks.

  3. Updating regularly improves your ranking
    A website with functionality issues or exploited vulnerabilities is a flag for search engines. At the end of the day, it is the job of search engines like Google, to refer users to websites they feel confident referring people to. Ensuring your updates are up to date will assist your site in functioning optimally, making it less of a risk for Google to give your site its stamp of approval.

Automatic Plugin Updates with Domains.co.za’s WordPress Hosting

At Domains.co.za, we know many customers simply don’t have the time. Our WordPress Hosting packages, therefore, offer customers the benefit of high performance hosting servers coupled with automatic plugin updates. This way you get all the benefits of keeping plugins updated without all the additional admin. 

Domains.co.za is a local domains and hosting provider that specialises in providing small to medium-sized enterprises with advanced value-added solutions that are easy-to-use and quick-to-implement. All our products and services are fully scalable to allow companies to grow and thrive with one provider at their side all the way.