- Update WordPress for better security
- Improved functionality (and fewer bugs)
- Higher performance, faster site
- Three key factors that together improve your SEO
- How to update your WordPress site
With age comes wisdom. Usually, that is – but not when it comes to WordPress.
There are many reasons why you should keep up with the latest WordPress updates. This is true even if you may feel your time is best spent doing something else. Understanding why can significantly reduce security risks and improve your website.
Below we list three reasons why you should always update your WordPress.
Spoiler: the security aspect stands out as the most important.
The importance of updating WordPress to the latest version
WordPress is the world’s most widely used CMS (content management system) for managing content on the web. It is estimated that over 43% of all websites use WordPress.
It may seem trite that what appears to be a “simple update” would solve all your problems, but there is a large dose of truth to it. We don’t mean to sound overly dramatic, but in the worst case scenario, ignoring your WordPress updates altogether could cost you dearly. We say this to emphasize the importance of one parameter in particular – that of your site’s security.
Update WordPress for better security
An unfortunate side effect of being by far the most popular option is the attention it draws. And we’re not talking about new potential customers who know about the product, but about the flip side of the internet: the hackers and scammers. Those who want to exploit your and others’ vulnerabilities to access sensitive, critical information.
Before each update, WordPress releases a change log, i.e. what’s been done since the last update. This information is available to everyone, including hackers. They use this information to identify risks and then find old versions that, because they’re not updated, have yet to be secured. If your site is an older, outdated version, it may be at risk of being targeted.
In short: By making sure to update your WordPress installation, you reduce your vulnerability and the risk of being hit by cyberattacks is significantly reduced.
Improved functionality (and fewer bugs)
A new update enables new, important features – but despite frequent updates, bugs and errors still happen. Because the WordPress community is so big, users help find and report bugs. They are fixed in the next update, whereupon new small errors can be discovered, which in turn are fixed in future versions. And so it continues.
If you’ve found that something isn’t working properly, in many cases, the only way to fix the problem is to update to the latest version of WordPress.
Plus, you’ll make life easier for yourself: With all the benefits that come with the latest tools, you can save yourself time and energy in daily management of your site. New features that make things easier and simpler are released every now and then.
Higher performance, faster page
With the latest versions, you get better compatibility and improve the user experience for your customers and end users. Having the latest version also often enables a faster page.
However, note that the factors that affect how fast your site performs are many. It’s not as easy as pointing to just one action that solves that bit. But keeping your WordPress updated is one such measure that in this context is fairly easy to fix.
Three important factors that together improve your SEO
If your site has higher security, good functionality and good performance, it usually leads to a better user experience overall. It is also an important recipe for getting a better ranking high up on the search pages.
Search engines, which are constantly crawling (searching and analyzing) your site, prefer sites that are up-to-date. This is because an updated site is usually safer and faster than one that hasn’t been updated. Updating your website can therefore improve SEO.
How do you update your WordPress?
There are several ways to update your site. Update directly in the admin panel of your WordPress site or solve it via the wp-config file. There you can control what should be updated automatically and which updates you want to be checked manually. We also have a step-by-step guide to help you update your WP via cPanel (in swedish).
So treat your website with the respect it deserves. After all, it’s there to support you in what you spend your precious time on.
