wordpress maintenance - keeping it all running smoothly

Keeping  It  All  Running  Smoothly  

Kelli  Wise  

Who  Am  I?  

•  Kelli  Wise  •  Website  designer  •  Support  Moderator  @  Headway  Themes  •  Blogger  

Why  Bother  With  Maintenance  

•  Security  •  Safety  •  Performance  

CriDcal  Maintenance  Tasks  

•  Backups  •  Clean  Ups  •  Updates  

First  Things  First  

Back  It  Up  

2  Types  of  Backups  

Database  Backup  •  Posts  •  Pages  •  SeIngs  •  Users  •  Categories  •  Tags  

Full  Backup  •  Database  Backup  

•  Themes  •  Plugins  •  Photos  &  Media  

Plus  

Store  your  backups  offsite  

Backup  Plugins  

•  Backup  Buddy  $$  •  WP-­‐DB-­‐Backup  •  BackWPup  •  BackupWordPress  

Schedule  for  Near  Idiot  Proof  Automated  Backups  

Second  Thing  

Tidy  It  Up  

Delete  Things  You  Don’t  Need  

•  Delete  all  unused  plugins  •  Delete  all  unused  themes  except:  – keep  the  default  WordPress  theme  

Third  Thing  

Update  It  

Updates  

① Plugins  Ø 1  at  a  Dme  

② Themes  ③ WordPress    

This  is  my  preferred  order  

Other  Maintenance  

•  OpDmizing  the  database  •  Malware  scans  

How  OYen?  

It  Depends  

Frequency  RecommendaDon  

•  Minimum    – Monthly  – Best  for  StaDc  sites  

•  Be[er  – Weekly  – Best  for  acDve  blogs  with  regular  updates  

Frequency  RecommendaDon  

•  Best    – Daily  – Best  for  very  acDve  blogs  with  daily  updates  

•  Over  the  Top  – Hourly  – Best  for  news  aggregators  and  sites  like  ICanHazCheeseburger  

TroubleshooDng  

I  updated  a  plugin  and  broke  my  site  

Step  1  

Don’t  Panic  

Step  2  –  Flow  Chart  Can$you$access$

WordPress$Dashboard

?$ Deac3vate$ALL$plugins$

Does$the$site$

work?$

Yes$

Ac3vate$1$plugin$

Do$the$site$&$plugin$work?$

Yes$

Ac3vate$another$plugin$

No$$

No$$

Ac3vate$Default$Theme$

Delete$Plugin$

Ac3vate$another$plugin$

Does$the$site$work?$

Yes$No$$

FTP$into$site,$rename$plugin$

folder$

Does$the$site$

work?$

Yes$ No$$

Move$1$plugin$into$Plugin$folder$

Do$the$site$&$plugin$work?$

Yes$

Ac3vate$another$plugin$

No$$

Delete$Plugin$

Ac3vate$another$plugin$

Contact$Theme$

Developer$

Reinstall$WordPress$

No$$ Yes$

If  you  have  access  to  the  Dashboard  DeacDvate  ALL  

plugins  

Does  the  site  

work?   AcDvate  1  plugin  

Do  the  site  &  plugin  work?  

Yes  

AcDvate  another  plugin  

No    

AcDvate  Default  Theme  

Delete  Plugin  

AcDvate  another  plugin  

Does  the  site  work?  

Yes  No    

Contact  Theme  

Developer  

Reinstall  WordPress  

No     Yes  

If  you  DON’T  have  access  to  the  Dashboard  

FTP  into  site,  rename  plugin  

folder  

Does  the  site  work?  

Yes  No    

Move  1  plugin  into  Plugin  folder  

Do  the  site  &  plugin  work?  

Yes  No    

Delete  Plugin  Folder  

Do  you  know  broken  plugin?  

Yes  No    FTP  into  site,  delete  plugin  

Folder  

If  you  DON’T  have  access  to  the  Dashboard  

FTP  into  site,  rename  plugin  

folder  

Does  the  site  work?  

Yes  No    

Move  1  plugin  into  Plugin  folder  

Do  the  site  &  plugin  work?  

Yes  

AcDvate  another  plugin  

No    

Delete  Plugin  

AcDvate  another  plugin  

Where  to  find  Plugins  Directory  

Regular  Maintenance  Tasks  

•  Backup  – Store  backups  offsite  

•  Clean  Up  – Delete  unused  plugins  &  themes  

•  Update  – Plugins  – Themes  – WordPress  

Where  to  get  this  info?  

PintSizedSites.com  

QuesDons?  Comments?