FAQs on Website Updates
Thank you for subscribing to a website care plan. Here are answers to some some common questions about updating your website, an important component of website care.
How often / when does ClickWP update my website?
ClickWP will update your website’s plugins and themes the beginning of the week, past midnight in your local timezone. We update WordPress a little more slowly, just in case there are bugs in the new release.
How does ClickWP handle website updates?
ClickWP applies updates to your website cautiously. We read the changelogs to look for any warnings before proceeding.
We always ensure we have a full backup before updating you website. In case of an error, we will roll back to the backup immediately.
Some plugins require a little more care before updating, so we may create a staging site to test updates there before proceeding to update them on your live site.
Why is it important to keep website components updated?
The most common reason for your website to malfunction are bugs in WordPress or your website components. These bugs also causes WordPress websites to get hacked because attackers gain entry through the bugs.
Therefore, updating your website components frequently is the most important thing you can do to protect your website from bugs and hackers. You also receive bug fixes and new features as well.
Why is my website is behaving strangely / is broken after updating?
The components on your website may have compatibility issues with other components, or with WordPress itself. The updated component may also need a settings update to work correctly again.
ClickWP does our best to catch any issues after updating, but sometimes mistakes slip through the cracks. Please notify us when you discover issues after updating and we will resolve them as soon as possible.
What are the website components that need to be updated?
Your website is made up of the following components:
- WordPress - the foundation of your website.
- Theme - the design layer of the website.
- Plugins - add-ons that brings new functionality to your website.
All of these components will receive new features and security patches periodically. To apply these features and patches, they need to be updated.
What if I don't want my website to be updated?
What if I cannot update my website because of compatibility issues?
We strongly discourage skipping updates as it will expose your website to security problems.
However if it is really not feasible to update your website, we suggest one the following options.
Convert your website to static HTML. This removes WordPress from your site, thereby removing any security risks. However, all dynamic functions that rely on WordPress will cease to work e.g. contact forms, comments, some email subscribe forms, etc. You may replace these with alternatives that don't require WordPress e.g. replacing your contact form with a Wufoo form.
Add Sucuri firewall to your website. The Sucuri Web Application Firewall (WAF) sits between your website and the internet, checking each request to your website and blocking those it deems are risky. This helps boost your website's security since you are no longer applying website updates. Learn more.
Optionally, replace your website care plan with a backup plan. As ClickWP can no longer provide one of the essential elements of our website care plans (website updates) you may wish to downgrade or cancel your website care plan and replace it with a backup-only plan. This will allow you to restore your website in the event of a hack, while saving costs on your website care plan. We recommend Sucuri Backups or Blogvault.