Update Your WordPress Website
Or Risk Breaking It...
If your WordPress site isn’t updated regularly, you’re not just “missing out” on new features—you’re leaving the door wide open to security issues, bugs, and performance glitches.
And no, updates aren’t optional.
Whether you’re running an author site, a digital shop, or a portfolio for your services, your website is only as stable as your maintenance habits.
Why WordPress Updates Actually Matter
WordPress is open-source, which means developers from all over the world contribute to making it better, faster, and more secure. That’s great news—unless you ignore the updates.
Here’s what gets updated regularly:
The WordPress core system
Plugins
Themes
When you skip updates, you don’t just miss out on new features—you create gaps in security. Hackers actively exploit outdated code to:
Inject malware
Gain admin access
Steal data
Think it won’t happen to you? It’s not if. It’s when.
What Are Bugs (and Why Does WordPress Have Them)?
All software has bugs. Period.
A bug is simply a glitch or flaw in the code—something that slipped through during development. It’s not intentional, but it is inevitable.
That’s why your phone and computer ask for updates regularly: to patch those bugs, fix errors, and keep your system running smooth.
WordPress is no different.
If you’ve ever experienced weird formatting, plugin errors, or pages not loading properly—it’s often a result of skipped updates.
You’re Not Just Updating for Security
While updates do patch vulnerabilities, they also:
Improve performance
Fix broken features
Add brand-new tools and functionality
In other words: you’re not just avoiding disaster—you’re upgrading your site.
If your theme looks outdated, or if you want to take advantage of cool new blocks and layouts, those updates are how you get them.
How to Update WordPress, Plugins & Themes
👉 Step 1: Log into your WordPress dashboard
Go to Dashboard > Updates to see everything that needs attention.
👉 Step 2: Select all
Check the boxes next to plugins, themes, or core files.
👉 Step 3: Click update
That’s it. Most updates complete in under 60 seconds.
⏱ This takes 5–10 minutes, tops.
But if you’re not logging in regularly, it’s easy to fall behind. That’s where auto-updates come in.
Enable Auto-Updates (So You Never Have to Think About It)
If you want WordPress to do the work for you, turn on automatic updates.
✅ Auto-Update Plugins
Go to Plugins > Installed Plugins
On the right-hand side, click Enable auto-updates for each one
✅ Auto-Update Themes
Go to Appearance > Themes
Click on your active theme and choose Enable auto-updates
✅ Auto-Update WordPress Core (via SiteGround)
If you're hosted with SiteGround, they make this even easier.
Sign in to your SiteGround dashboard
Go to Websites > Site Tools
Click WordPress > Autoupdate
From there, you can toggle auto-updates for:
Major releases
Minor releases
Plugins
💡 Tip: I recommend enabling auto-updates for plugins and themes BUT you should always check back with your website, once it updates to make sure that the new updates didn’t break your site.
💡 Final Thought
You can have the most beautiful author website in the world—but if it’s outdated, vulnerable, and slow, none of that matters.
Updates are your first line of defense.
They’re your silent performance boost.
And they take less time than making your morning coffee.
So stay sharp. Stay secure. Stay updated.
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