There are so many situations in which WordPress bloggers and site admins that use the platform end up with a huge list of installed plugins. In many situations many are outdated while others are not necessary anymore but they are still activated. When you have too many plugins, the performance of your blog is affected and you can also end up with security problems because of the outdated plugins.
In order to help you out, let us take a look at some really easy to remember WordPress maintenance tips designed to solve plugin related problems.
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Make Sure You Have The Latest WordPress Version Installed
There are various people that simply update the plugins but they forget about the actual blogging platform. Various problems that are common can be solved by updating WordPress. Make sure that you always have the latest version. You can use the one-click update feature for that.
Eliminate Unnecessary Plugins
The plugins that we use change in time. For instance, in the past a lot of people used All In One SEO and now some made the switch to SEO Ultimate. It is normal to change what we use since we want the best results. However, it is a bad idea to leave the plugin that we replaced.
Once per month make sure that you go through the plugins list and see what you do not need anymore. Be honest and do not keep some just because they are cool. That list should only feature the items that you actually need and use.
Is The Plugin Still Supported?
Sometimes updates do not appear with plugins since the developers no longer work on the project. It is possible to end up with something that does not work or does not work properly after you update WordPress. If you notice that you installed a plugin around a year ago and there was never an update, you should be sure that the developer still works on that add-on. This is especially important for security reasons. Sometimes it is better to just look for an alternative if there is no support.
Delete Plugins You Do Not Use!
It is quite interesting to notice the fact that people simply do not delete the plugins that they do not use anymore. It is as if you keep buying paintings for you home and you store them in the living room. When you do not need a plugin, deactivate it and then delete it. There is no concrete proof that this will speed up your site but those files right there may end up being backdoors for hackers, especially when there is no update done in a long time. Just delete them to be sure. You can even have PCI cloud hosting packages from SingleHop right now and end up with all information gone if a hacker discovers a backdoor.
Do You Update Your Plugins?
We used to do this in the beginning. WordPress nowadays tells us when there is a new version of a particular plugin available. When that message is seen, you have to update. This basically ensure that the site will function properly and you increase your protection by reducing the vulnerability of the site.
Be Safe! Create Backups!
You never know when something might go wrong or when you encounter problems during the actual update phase. It is a very smart idea to back up the site as often as possible or at least before you make any technical change like updating the plugins. If you never did a backup in your life, do it as soon as possible. There are various plugins that are designed to help you with that. You do not want to end up in the unwanted situation in which you lose everything that you did in the past few years.
