Last Updated on May 29, 2020
I offer a WordPress update service. Every three months I update the client’s WordPress software, plugins and themes.
I look a the site before and after the update. So if a plugin or theme update breaks the site, I’ll be able to deal with it right away.
The WordPress update service includes a malware scan to make sure that your site isn’t compromised.
I look at the plugins to see if any are abandoned and need to be replaced. I make sure that your site has security software as well as a plugin for database optimization.
If you’re wondering what it’s like, here’s an example of an email that I send to customers. Note that I use security plugins on every WordPress installation I work on. (Most sites actually have two different security plugins.) However, I don’t name them here for security reasons.
I did your WordPress update today. It went great!
Since this is your first update, I thought I’d point out a few things.
When I do updates, you’ll get emails like this. It tells you what I did and points out the important items. There’s also a lot of boring, technical details. You can read the whole thing if you’d like, but the part above the “details” section is the part to focus on.
Part of the email (part of the boring technical details section) has a list of plugins both before and after the update. I do that so if a new version of a plugin causes an issue, I can find a copy of the plugin before the update and reinstall it.
Important: I updated the plugin that powers your contact form. Can you test it to make sure it still works?
Also Important: PHP is a scripting language used by WordPress. Like everything else in software, it needs to be updated periodically. I did that today. The site was using PHP 5.6 and is now using PHP 7.3.
Last, but not least: One of your security plugins, is going to start sending you reports every Monday. Let me know if you ever see anything that you have questions about.
Details:
- Backed up theme and database
- Updated theme
- Updated plugins
- Scanned for malware. No malware was found. Hardened site.
- The second security plugin showed me that some of the hackers were trying to access your WP-SpamFree plugin. It looks like that’s no being updated any longer. I deleted that and installed Antispam Bee instead.
- Optimized database.
- Looked at the site in 3 desktop browsers and a cell phone to make sure that it was okay after the update. I didn’t see any problems.
Plugins before update:
Caldera Forms (caldera-forms) – Version 1.8.10
Classic Editor (classic-editor) – Version 1.5
Easy Social Icons (easy-social-icons) – Version 3.0.7
Feature a Page Widget (feature-a-page-widget) – Version 2.1.1
Optimize Database after Deleting Revisions (rvg-optimize-database) – Version 4.8.8
Page-list (page-list) – Version 5.2
Really Simple SSL (really-simple-ssl) – Version 3.2.9
Widget Shortcode (widget-shortcode) – Version 0.3.4
WordPress Database Backup (wp-db-backup) – Version 2.3.3
WP Edit (wp-edit) – Version 4.0.4
WP-Spam Free
Plugins after update:
Antispam Bee (antispam-bee) – Version 2.9.2
Caldera Forms (caldera-forms) – Version 1.8.11
Classic Editor (classic-editor) – Version 1.5
Easy Social Icons (easy-social-icons) – Version 3.0.7
Feature a Page Widget (feature-a-page-widget) – Version 2.1.1
Optimize Database after Deleting Revisions (rvg-optimize-database) – Version 4.9.1
Page-list (page-list) – Version 5.2
Really Simple SSL (really-simple-ssl) – Version 3.3.3
Widget Shortcode (widget-shortcode) – Version 0.3.5
WordPress Database Backup (wp-db-backup) – Version 2.3.3
WP Edit (wp-edit) – Version 4.0.4
If you’re interested in having this service for your website then contact us.
