Plugins are important tools on WordPress since they are used to make different websites unique from one another. Since they are so important there are several queries that arise about them. One of which is whether to update your WordPress plugins. Answering this question I’m the simplest of words would be yes. You do need to update the plugins.
Importance of Updating Plugins
Updating your plugins on WordPress is important since there are a lot of risks and disadvantages that come with not updating them. WordPress needs to be updated every now and then and there is a good reason why.
Security Issues
One of the biggest reasons for you to update your plugins should be the security issues that WordPress comes with. There can be a number of different issues that may leave your site open and vulnerable to outside parties. With its new updates, WordPress updates usually fix a number of security issues and basically make your site safe from others. These updates increase the level of security and patch up any sort of gap in the security that there may be. If you choose to not update then you are putting your site along with the content on it at risk of being hacked by outside parties.
Hackers tend to keep an eye on any notice about a gap in the security and take that opportunity to hack into other people’s sites, making them lose all the work that they worked so hard for. In order to keep your contents secure and to avoid any inconvenience, you should update your WordPress plugins.
It is reported that almost 83% of the sites that are hacked on WordPress are those that were not updated and were running on an outdated version. This means that they were still running on the versions that had some flaw insecurity which made their sites vulnerable to being hacked into. Malicious individuals take advantage of such vulnerabilities as they target those sites that may be left unprotected.
It is important to take note that not every single update fixes security issues. So it’s not necessary to update as soon as possible for every update. It’s just nice to keep an eye on the motives and if you see any news on an update that fixes security issues then quickly go and update. For others, it’s okay to wait a little before you update.
New Features and Add-ons
Certain updates on WordPress may be there to add on new features that enhance user experience. There may be some new functions that have not yet been introduced in newer updates. You might have wanted some features on WordPress but it is not there, however, there may be new updates that may come with the feature that you want so do keep track of the notices of updates so that you can update once that new feature is added.
There may also be other features which you yourself might not be familiar with but they may be just the thing that you want. To know if those features are useful for you, you will need to update to try them out. If you never update then you may never find out about those new features and you might spend a long time missing out on something potentially useful. So, do go and check out the update.
Bugs
A number of updates on WordPress are these to fix certain bugs in themes and plugins. These bugs can be the cause of halting your work and may be troublesome so to get rid of them all you need to do is to update once it is available~
Instead of using an outdated version that is full of bugs and that is not working properly, it is important to keep your WordPress core along with plugins up to date so that your workflow can be seamless and you do not have to be bothered by unwanted bugs in the system. Updates that fix bugs are specifically made to aid you in your work so do take advantage of that and update!
Updating WordPress is quite simple. You can see notices about new updates on your email or you can login to your WordPress site and go through the notifications to find out about a new update. Just go through the notice and see if the update fits any of your needs. If there is something that you need all you need to do is to install that update and enjoy the new changes to your plugins and themes.
It would be recorded to back up your site before installing the update just to be safe and then you’re good to go. Install your update and get the perks of a new update.