WordPress is the most widely used Content Management System. As a front-end developer, I recommend it to everyone that needs a great working website that is easy to edit. However, because WordPress is so commonly used, it’s prone to a lot of hackers and attacks! Since there are so many attacks on WordPress sites every day, updates are constantly being released in an attempt to thwart these attacks. If you use WordPress on a daily, or even weekly, basis then you are all too familiar with that orange bubble.

Updates to plugins, and updates to themes, and updates to WordPress itself. In this sense, WordPress is a double-edged sword. But those updates are crucial to having a healthy, functioning site. However, one single update can also cause your site to explode! Ok, I’m being dramatic, but many people are familiar with something on their site not working after a WordPress update. This is why it is very important to make backups of your site files and database before updating to avoid issues.

These malfunctions can be caused by a variety of things. One of the most common issues occur when a theme’s core files have been changed. When trying to update the theme, those files can get changed back to the original files, thus explosions. Another major problem is updating plugins, and it can be caused by the exact same thing, this time updating a plugin’s core files. Editing a plugin’s files is never a good idea, it is almost a guarantee that when you update the plugin…you guessed it, explosions.

In order you avoid all of these problems, you can either buy yourself a bunker or have someone build your website who actually knows what they’re doing.