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What do you do when it’s time to update your WordPress plugins? Do you dread the process, or do you find it relatively painless? Updating WordPress plugins can be a bit of a chore, but it’s important to keep your site up-to-date for security reasons.
Here are 7 tips to help make updating and keeping your WordPress plugins and website safety a breeze.
Only install plugins from reputable sources
Always make sure only to install plugins from a trusted source. This will help reduce the risk of a plugin containing malicious code and vulnerabilities that could compromise your site’s security. So how do you know if your plugin is from a reputable source? If you download it from the official WordPress Plugin Directory, you can be sure it’s legitimate and secure.
Update your plugins regularly
Just like updating WordPress itself, it’s important to keep your plugins up-to-date. Not only will this help protect your site from security threats, but it will also ensure that the plugin is functioning properly. To make this easier, you can enable auto-updates for plugins in the WordPress Dashboard.
While keeping your plugins up-to-date is a must, it’s also important to pay attention to what changes are being made with each update. Some developers may be introducing features you don’t need or want on your site, so if you’re not comfortable with them, you should consider looking for an alternative plugin.
Delete unused plugins
As we just discussed, keeping WordPress plugins up to date is an important part of ensuring the safety and security of your website.
However, it’s just as important to delete unused plugins cluttering your dashboard. Unused plugins not only waste time while they update themselves, but they also are one of the lowest-hanging fruits for hackers looking to gain unauthorized access to your site — so deleting them will reduce your chances of being hacked. If you have any doubts that a plugin should stay or go, do a quick audit and ensure it is giving value back to you; if not, delete it and secure your website.
Use strong passwords
Using strong passwords is one of the tips for keeping your website and plugins safe. This means avoiding common words that could be easily guessed, such as ‘password’, avoiding using personal information or dates of birth, and utilizing a combination of numbers, upper and lower case letters, and special characters when creating passwords for WordPress plugins.
Even though it can be tempting to go with the same word or phrase for all your admin accounts, it’s important to protect yourself from vulnerability and hackers by demonstrating password variety among all accounts. Utilizing strong passwords made with complex phrases and numbers that don’t use complete words is the best way to keep your WordPress plugins safe – plus, it’s much more difficult for someone else to guess!
Backup your site before updating plugins
Before pressing that update button, it’s essential to back up your site in case anything goes wrong. That way, you can always restore it if necessary. You’ll want to pay attention to whether plugins are compatible with different versions and keep them up-to-date when new versions become available. Finally, monitor any changes after updating plugins and be prepared to roll back if needed.
Scan your site for malware and viruses
Malware and virus protection for an online business is no laughing matter. If not properly taken care of, these malicious programs can wreak havoc on your website and cost you thousands in losses. Scanning websites for malware and viruses is necessary to safeguard against digital threats that could infiltrate your system.
Several plugins or outside websites and programs are available to do this for you.
Keep your Themes Up To Date
Remember to install any updates as soon as they become available regularly, and don’t forget about backing up your data in case something goes wrong. Also, double-check what permissions are enabled on core programs and plugins used to run the site.
Wrapping UP WordPress Plugins
In this post, we discussed the importance of keeping your WordPress Plugins and site secure. These are all relatively simple tasks that can help secure your WordPress site and ensure it continues to function optimally. So don’t be alarmed if WordPress security is something you’re unfamiliar with. Doing these things will help you become familiar with the process quickly!
If these are tips that seem daunting or too difficult for you to handle yourself, contact us for a quote–we can certainly offer some assistance so that you don’t have to face this challenge alone!
