Top 10 WordPress website maintenance tips
WordPress website maintenance tips are here:
1. Delete unused themes and plugins
Why is WordPress the most widely used CMS platform worldwide? This is mainly because there are so many third-party plugins and themes available, all of which can be created independently and quickly included in any WordPress website.
Using plugins, you may greatly enhance the functionality of your WordPress website.
A website’s speed may suffer if there are too many plugins installed because they add to the website’s source code.
Other plugins and themes are not maintained by third-party developers, despite the fact that many of the well-liked WordPress plugins and themes get routine maintenance and security updates. Keeping these out-of-date components can put your website’s security in danger.
Only keeping plugins and themes that are often utilized on your website is advised. A cleaner website that operates at its best can be achieved by removing unwanted or outdated components.
2. Keep your WordPress core, theme, and plugins up to date
Updates are a crucial component of WordPress site maintenance. WordPress gets regular updates, just like any other piece of software, and they’re not just for fun.
However, millions of WordPress websites continue to use outdated WordPress versions. They are perhaps concerned that something might go wrong while updating.
It is true, though. You have a backup in case an upgrade doesn’t go as intended. The benefits of modernizing your website exceed the drawbacks by a wide margin.
The same is true of your plugins and themes. The majority of WordPress hacks were the result of plugin vulnerabilities. Update your plugins and themes as necessary to avoid this.
Install only dependable plugins and themes. Look for frank evaluations and reviews before installing a theme. Additionally, see if the WordPress community generally accepts it.
To check if a plugin or theme contains malware, you can also scan them. In this aspect, online resources like VirusTotal are beneficial.
3. Performing regular backups of your WordPress website
To many webmasters, this seems irrelevant—until life happens. See, backups for WordPress are like spare tires. We do not know when we will require them, but we are confident that they will assist us if there is a problem.
For any reason, the material of your website could be deleted. It can be a malware infestation, a failed update, or a cybercriminal action. Whatever it is, starting again with content is never a good idea. If you don’t have a current backup, make one. It will assist you in getting your website back to how it was before an error.
Thankfully, a backup plugin may be used to back up a WordPress website. Start by installing and activating any of the plugins.
4. Approve and Reply to Comments
If you have blog entries on your website, comments are crucial. Receiving comments on your posts is a sign that readers find your content engaging. Additionally, it has a favorable effect on the search engine.
Every time someone comments on a post, you should respond in a way that can spark a discussion in order to increase involvement. It facilitates the development of a connection between website visitors and you. You can complete this task every week.
5. Test your forms from time to time
Every website contains features like forms that need to function properly. Your website will suffer if they stop working because your users won’t be able to contact you. From your users’ perspective, this will lead to trust concerns.
You should remember to check each form and other required website elements at least once each week.
6. Check your site security
A secure website is what everyone wants. Your WordPress website will be hacked if sufficient security isn’t in place. The user experience of your website is enhanced with a secure website. These websites are even recommended to users by the search engine.
Because of this, you ought to perform a security scan on your website once every month. You can also test out a few of the security plugins for WordPress to complete this task.
7. Optimize Your Website Database
The WordPress database is structured and spotless when first installed. As a website expands, it progressively gets unwieldy, which could slow it down. This is because all of your posts, pages, comments, categories, users, tags, custom fields, and other WordPress settings are stored in the WordPress database.
Clean up your database before it becomes disorganized. WordPress database plugins include WP-Optimize, WP-DBManager, and WP Database Backup, for instance. To improve your database, install, and set up them.
Of course, whenever you undertake improvements, make a full backup of your website and database.
8. Check and fix broken links
Links that take you to a “404 error” page are broken links. They happen when a webpage is moved or renamed without updating its internal links. You should periodically check for them and rectify them.
Your SEO efforts can be ruined by broken links, which will turn visitors away. Therefore, you must make sure that your internal link structure is cleaned up. If your website is small, manually fixing it is simple. However, when your website expands, you might not have the resources to test each east link individually.
Thankfully, tools like Google Analytics can come to the rescue. You can get a thorough list of links that lead to 404 pages if analytics are enabled on your website. Then, you can correct these links by directing them to the proper page.
9. Run Website Performance Tests
Everyone desires a website that performs well. These kinds of websites, which load quickly and offer a better user experience, are also popular with search engines. You must therefore enhance the functionality of your website using Google Core Web Vitals.
However, you should execute a performance or speed test on your website once a month. You will be able to determine how well your website operates as well as the actions you need to do to make it perform better. This is one of the top 10 WordPress website maintenance tips.
10. Check Google Search Console
The best tool to check your website is Google Search Console. Because of this, we advise checking the Google Search Console at least once each month. You can learn about user demographics, which blog articles or pages on your website are receiving traffic, and which of your web content is performing poorly in Google Search Console.
Google Search Console can be used to examine the data that Google has indexed about your website and to identify any mistakes that are currently on it. Most significantly, Google Search Console serves as a data repository for your website that you may utilize to expand it.This isTop 10 WordPress website maintenance tips.