At the Bright Side of Life, we understand the challenges of managing website maintenance updates for WordPress and Drupal. Hackers regularly target popular open-source products, so keeping your CMS and any plugins up-to-date is essential. With a maintenance agreement, we take care of all the updates and security patches, leaving clients free to focus on creating content for their sites.
Security updates
As millions of websites make use of standard CMS systems such as WordPress and Drupal, they are popular targets for hackers. After all, the code is open-source, so they can analyse the CMS code and identify any weak points. Naturally, CMS developers aim to keep ahead of the hackers, and they usually produce security patches and improvements when made aware of any weaknesses. However, to keep sites secure, you must install these updates quickly and then carefully test that the changes do not affect your website.
Performance and compatibility updates
Along with security updates, developers and open-source contributors continually optimise their code, fixing bugs and improving performance. Website quality, performance and stability are critical to enhancing your ranking on Google, so we recommend deploying new releases as soon as possible.
How often are website maintenance updates needed?
Perhaps once a year, there will be a significant new release, such as the transition from WordPress 5 to version 6. Between these major updates, there will be many minor updates. Some will resolve security issues and fix bugs. Others will improve the performance.
As an example, WordPress 6.0 arrived in May 2022. At the time we wrote this blog (early September 2023), there had been ten further WordPress updates. Each release must be tested (typically on a Staging server) before deploying the release live.
If this sounds like a lot of work – it is. But there is more.
Extensions and Themes
WordPress and Drupal are extremely popular because of their ease of use and the “thousands” of plugins, modules and themes available for each platform. Third-party plugins (WordPress) and modules (Drupal) extend the CMS, adding new features and functions, while themes will transform the website’s appearance and add new layouts or widgets. Advanced themes such as Divi and Elementor even offer complete website builders.
There’s usually one or more that can meet your needs, either commercial or open-source. Moreover, we can develop new extensions if we can’t find plugins or themes to do what you want.
So, how does this affect website maintenance updates?
Developers of commercial and open-source extensions and themes also need to issue regular updates. Once again, this can be due to reports of bugs or security issues, or sometimes, they just need to update their code to remain compatible with the latest WordPress or Drupal release.
How often does this happen? It’s difficult to say. A typical (advanced) website from BSL may include 10-20 extensions; on average, 4 or 5 of these will require an update each week. Under our standard maintenance agreement, we commit BSL to test and update extensions and themes within seven days of release.
How vital are website maintenance updates?
Many competitors don’t take this as seriously as BSL, which may leave websites open for exploitation. It may surprise you, but we’ve seen websites from multinationals showing evidence of hacking.
We believe that by taking a systematic approach and creating a system to ensure that we test updates and patches quickly, open-source websites can be just as secure as any other website. As a result, our clients can rest easy, knowing that we are committed to keeping their sites up-to-date and safe.
Drupal CMS
Drupal, a leading content management system (CMS), provides a secure and efficient platform for websites. Its versatility allows us to create customised and visually appealing websites using modules that enhance functionality.
At Bright Side of Life, we prioritise your site’s continuous protection and well-being through regular updates and vigilant security measures. With our expertise in Drupal, we ensure that your website remains up-to-date and protected against emerging threats.
Our team is committed to keeping Drupal and any extensions secure by testing and installing updates as soon as possible.
WordPress CMS
Experience the power of WordPress CMS with our expertise in Divi and Elementor. These leading page builders offer many modules to help you create stunning and functional content effortlessly. But what truly sets WordPress apart is the extensive selection of available plugins that provide additional functionalities.
With our team of experts, rest assured that we can guide you in choosing safe and reliable plugins that elevate your website’s performance. And just like Drupal, we prioritise your website’s security. Our weekly maintenance updates, encompassing the CMS, WordPress themes, and any additional plugins or extensions, will keep your site safe.
Let us take care of you
Under our all-inclusive maintenance agreements, we undertake to keep your sites up-to-date and safe. We carry out weekly checks, meaning that any updates will be installed and tested within seven days, and only then will we install them on the live site.
If any problems occur with your themes, modules or plugins, we will promptly reach out to the developers and work closely with them to resolve the issue as soon as possible.
Our dedicated team will ensure that your website functions seamlessly, allowing you to sit back and relax. Trust us to choose safe and reliable plugins that enhance your website’s performance. Above all, rest assured that BSL will keep your website secure while you and your team focus on crafting consistently outstanding content for your audience.
Contacting BSL
Contact the Bright Side of Life for hassle-free website maintenance and weekly updates. With a support contact in place, you can offer a seamless online experience to your end-users. Let’s schedule a meeting to discuss how we can enhance your website.
