Outdated WordPress Plugins: Why Do They Always Need Updating?

If you have a WordPress website, you may have noticed something puzzling: Plugins often seem to be “out of date” even if they’ve just recently been updated. So why does this happen? And is it really that important that your plugins stay updated? (Hint: Yes!)

Why do plugins need to be updated so often?

There are a huge number of reasons plugins need updates, but there are a few that tend to come up more often than others.

• Rapid Development Cycles – The world of WordPress plugin development is fast-paced and constantly evolving. Plugin developers are continuously working to improve their products by adding new features, fixing bugs, and staying in sync with the latest WordPress updates. As a result, updates are released frequently, sometimes even multiple times a month.
• Security Vulnerabilities – When security vulnerabilities are discovered, developers work diligently to patch them as quickly as possible. These updates may be released urgently to address critical security issues, and keeping things up-to-date is key to protecting your website from potential threats.
• WordPress Core Updates – WordPress itself frequently receives updates that affect plugin compatibility, requiring plugin developers to make updates to maintain compatibility and avoid conflicts.
• Improved Performance – New technology often opens the doors to improved overall performance – from faster load times to a more consistent experience on the latest web browsers and devices. Staying up to date means you’ll be able to deliver a better experience for your users.

How critical are plugin update notifications in WordPress?

We host hundreds of WordPress websites for our clients, meaning that we’re dealing with thousands – if not tens of thousands – of plugin updates each month. Here are a few things we do to keep things under control and running smoothly:

• We perform updates on a regular basis, typically once a month. These include plugin updates, theme updates, and WordPress core updates. This helps us ensure that nothing ever gets too out-of-date, and, by updating things in batches, we’re able to avoid certain code conflicts.
• We have an alert and prioritization system for severe vulnerabilities or issues. When something breaks or becomes a significant target for hackers, we make those updates as soon as possible.
• We use staging and development environments to test updates before going live. You never know when the latest version of something, no matter how big or small, will cause unexpected results. The last thing you want is broken code showing up on your live site.
• We take frequent backups. While it doesn’t happen often, every now and then something unexpected will slip through the cracks – a home page will go down, a navigation menu will get wonky, or, worst case, a bad actor will inject malwa

If you’re struggling to keep your WordPress plugins up to date, or you’re just sick of battling code conflicts and security threats, feel free to reach out to see if we’d be a good fit to help. If not, we can always point you in the right direction.

For those of you who already host with us: We’ve got you covered. If you notice updates are available, no need to worry or run them yourself – we’re paying attention to the severe stuff, and for all the other things, we’ll make sure your updates are handled on a regular schedule.

Need help keeping your WordPress site updated?

We can help.