hands-typingSo here I go again on one of my rants.  I fume over issues for a few days and if it doesn’t go away I know it is time to take it to the blog.  I am going to chalk this one up to the old saying “You don’t know, what you don’t know.”  I am also going to blame myself for not properly educating my clients and prospective clients.

Website developers are not security experts and most website developers DO NOT manage website hosting. More importantly, they don’t manage security on a website.  It doesn’t mean they CAN’T manage it, it just means they wouldn’t be the best person to manage it. It is like saying an Internist can help you manage back pain, but you should probably go see an Orthopedist for expert care.

We love WordPress and so do our clients, but it is a breeding ground for hackers because it is the #1  open source content management system (CMS). I could mange the security on my site, but it is just one of those things I don’t know enough about and I don’t have the time to keep up with the ever changing environment. I hire experts to manage security on my website. For as little as $20 a month you can have a hosting provider or an IT expert add managed WordPress to your current hosting package. It is a little amount of money for piece of mind.

Here is a list of reasons why you need Managed WordPress on your website NOW and why you need to leave it to the experts.

  • Websites require regular maintenance, just like your computer.
  • Managed WordPress will give you daily back-ups of your site (double check with your provider and make sure they offer daily back-ups)
  • A website that’s not maintained will quickly become outdated. This will have an effect on your visitors experience with broken links, slow page loading times, and outdated content leaving visitors with a bad impression of you and your business.
  • Unfortunately, there are bad people out there who are constantly trying to exploit and benefit from sites that are not taken care of and have security holes with outdated software.
  • More often than not, website owners are not aware of these issues and choose not to consider regular website maintenance because “everything looks OK” so why spend money when we don’t have to.
  • The cost of a hacked or broken website out-weighs the cost of preventive maintenance on your website. Not only is there a direct cost to have the site cleaned up and restored, but the indirect of cost of lost customers and a damaged brand.
  • You do not want a prospective customer or client to call you and say “I just got a virus on my computer from your website” or “I clicked on your site and it took me to a Russian porn site…” By the time that happens, you have already started paying for NOT maintaining your website and you didn’t even know it.
  • Your website is your “storefront” on the internet. You wouldn’t let your office or your business become dirty, cluttered and undesirable to visit so don’t let your website look bad.

So, a finished website is not a final product to be put on some cheap hosting plan and forgotten about. It should be treated as an evolving entity within an ever changing environment. To be an effective business tool, your website must get ongoing attention.

Nothing is guaranteed, but think of it like an insurance policy.  For a small amount of money you can rest assured that if your site is taken down by a hacker that you can be back up and running quickly.

For more information about Managed WordPress visit Bluegrass Web Works or call us directly.