7 Reasons To Update Your WordPress Website

WordPress is a software that is constantly being upgraded and improved upon and if you’re wondering whether you should update your website to the latest version of WordPress, then the answer is yes! Why should you do so? Well, the seven reasons you will read about below will surely convince you as to why it is so crucial for you to stay up to date when it comes to your WordPress website.

In fact, neglecting updates will put your website at risk of inconvenience and attacks. Here are the top seven reasons why you should have your WordPress website updated:

1. Superior Performance

Everyone wants their website to be equipped with high-speed performance and ease of usage. Upon having your website updated, you will experience exactly that. An update will ensure that your users experience a superior and smooth performance each time they visit your website. Here are some examples of how previous updates have helped with enhanced performance:

• Sites using complex queries were at ease after WordPress 4.1
• With WordPress 4.2 came a superior JS performance for the navigation menus

When it comes down to SEO, quality performance is essential and after having your website upgraded, you will ensure it performs to the best of its potential.

2. An Enhanced Set of Features

When you update your WordPress website, you will gain access to a whole range of new and improved features that will make your website a lot more versatile, and robust. You will be at liberty to perform tasks that you may not have been able to perform with older versions. WordPress 3.0 came with custom navigation menus and multi-site installations while 3.1 made it easy to navigate between sites by adding the Admin Bar and also improvised internal linking.

As the updates keep rolling out, WordPress development escalates and the features get more and more impressive. WordPress 4.1 brought with itself inline image editing while much quicker plug-in updates were introduced with the arrival of 4.2 and many more features come now after WordPress 6.0.

3. A Website Richly Secured

WordPress as we all know is open source software and 42.6% of websites from all over the world are powered by WordPress. Its popularity makes it more targeted by hackers and data thieves who can study source codes and use the information to break into websites. Security experts are capable of studying codes and they also report security fixes and bugs. Each time the security reaches a stage of vulnerability, it gets reported after which the WordPress team gets to work so that an update can be released that is helpful with having the issues fixed.

To put it in simpler words, if you are using a version of WordPress that is not the latest, the software in use will be highly prone to security vulnerabilities. So stay up to date with WordPress themes, its core, and plug-ins so that nasty and malicious hackers can be kept at bay and you can rest assured that your website is safe and secure.

4. Guaranteed Compatibility

You need to know how to update your WordPress website properly so that you can make sure the software is compatible with plug-ins. If you install a plug-in that is brand new while using an old version of WordPress, it may not be compatible with the new plug-in and you will most likely be required to update the version you are currently using so as to ensure its compatibility with the new plug-ins you’ve installed. In addition to this, you will not be able to take advantage of the latest features associated with the updated version either.

5. Bug Fixtures

One of the main reasons for upgraded versions of WordPress is to have the bugs fixed. At times it so happens that bugs seem to slip in through the cracks which is why minor releases of WordPress seem to take place so that the bugs can be cleaned out. Why was the recent update of 4.2.3 released? So that it could fix up some 20 bugs that had got into the 4.2 release. If you are facing some issues, you know it’s time to make the change to the newer, latest version of WordPress.

6. Adaptability to Change

Some of you may be comfortable with the version you are using and may not want to make the shift to the newer version of WordPress on your website. But you must understand that the updated versions hold the best of everything WordPress software is capable of delivering and for this reason you must make the shift. At some point or the other, you will need to make a change, and keeping your website updated will make you more comfortable with experiencing changes that are so necessary to ensure the effective and efficient functionality of WordPress.

7. Visitors Well Treated

Websites are not created aimlessly. No matter what the reason, be it simply for fulfilling the content appetite of your readers, or for generating income, in order to satisfy the needs of your visitors, you will need to stay on top of your game. One crucial way of doing so is by updating your WordPress website.

If the version you are currently using is old, it will obviously not be equipped with the newest features, bug fixes, or security needed for enriched performance. This will no doubt lead your visitors to get frustrated with your website and do you think they will be visiting it again? Well, you know the answer to this question. And if your website traffic seems to be facing a decline, it’s needless to say that your business won’t exactly be performing very well. So use the updated version of WordPress and keep your visitors happy.

Conclusion:

Today, we live in a digital world where technology can be seen in almost everything. In this world of technology, updates for any software are of utmost importance as it is responsible for security and better performance. We are continuously updating our smartphones, computers and laptops, applications that we use, etc. If we do not update our phones with the newest updates, it becomes slow, their security is at risk and we may face many other issues.

So is the case with WordPress websites. The WordPress community is constantly testing and updating new ideas and features on a regular basis to maintain its security and deliver the best performance. Hence, just like our phones or laptops, it is very important that we keep updating our WordPress websites for optimum results.

The reasons mentioned in this guide are clear-cut motives loaded with an abundance of benefits associated with updated versions of WordPress. So move on to better performance, security, features, and compatibility and ensure visitors keep coming back to you by staying up to date with your WordPress website.