Upgrading WordPress is easy – just check some boxes and click a button. But it’s actually more complicated than that. Upgrades don’t always go smoothly, and they could potentially break part, or all, of your site.
Read MoreHow to Safely Upgrade WordPress, Themes, and Plugins
The WordPress software is free, and you can get basic web hosting and a domain name for $5-10/month. So your total cost of ownership should be less than $100 per year, right?
Only if you’re willing to endure slow load times, intermittent downtime, and are willing to devote hundreds, maybe thousands, of hours into learning the ins and outs of WordPress so you can maintain and fix your site. You might think that once you install WordPress, choose a theme and plugins, and add in your content, you’re done. But that’s only the beginning.
Regardless of what kind of website you have, you need to make sure you have proper backup and security procedures in place. And if you are using any kind of software, such as a content management system like WordPress, you also need to be attentive to upgrades. If you have ever managed a website or had the unfortunate experience of being hacked, you know how important these three aspects are, and how disastrous the consequences can be.
There are lots of options for web hosting, so which one do you choose? They’re not all equal, and you shouldn’t look at cost alone. There are different levels of server performance, uptime, security, and level of customer support, for example. If you have a WordPress site, you can consider a managed hosting provider that specializes in WordPress.
The WordPress software is constantly being improved, and your installation should be upgraded as often as possible. There are pros and cons to upgrading your WordPress installation after successfully launching a website; however, the benefits greatly outweigh the risks.
Note: If your website is hosted with EfficientWP, you do not need to do any of this; we take care of the upgrades for you.
