Website updates and backups, done in the right order

What this service is

Most heating company websites run on a content management system such as WordPress, with a theme and a dozen or more plugins. Each piece is updated by its own developer, on its own schedule. Some updates fix security holes. Others change how things work.

This service keeps all of those pieces current on a planned schedule. Before each round of updates we take a complete backup. After it, we check the pages that make you money.

Who it is for

• Companies whose site dashboard shows a long list of pending updates
• Owners who switched on automatic updates and have not checked the site since
• Sites built by a freelancer who is no longer available
• Any business that cannot answer the question "when was the site last backed up, and where is that copy?"

What is included

Your written scope sets the schedule. The routine generally looks like this:

1. Backup first. Files and database copied to a location separate from the live site.
2. Update in a sensible order. Core software, then the theme, then plugins, watching for conflicts.
3. Check the money pages. Home page, emergency or no-heat page, contact page, and any quote or financing page. Click-to-call and email links are tested, not just looked at.
4. Record what changed. A short log, so if something odd appears next week there is a record to check.
5. Retire dead plugins. Plugins that are abandoned by their developers are flagged, and we suggest a replacement or removal.
6. Test a restore from time to time. A backup is only real once it has been brought back successfully.

Timeline

• First month: catch-up. Old sites often need several rounds of updates, done carefully, one step at a time.
• After that: a regular rhythm, set out in your scope, with security patches applied as they appear.
• Before the heating season: a final round of optional updates in early autumn, then only essential changes once the cold arrives.

Our website care checklist shows how this fits into a full year of upkeep.

How results are measured

• Number of pending updates, which should fall to zero and stay there
• Date of the last backup and the last test restore, both on record
• Any update that caused a problem, with how long it took to fix

These are dull numbers on purpose. A well-kept site is one where nothing interesting happens.

Why order matters

Updating plugins before the core software, or the theme after the plugins, can trigger conflicts that are hard to trace. Following the same order every time, and checking between steps, makes problems easy to spot and easy to roll back.

What a restore looks like

If an update does break something, the fix is usually to restore the backup taken minutes earlier, confirm the site works again, and then try the update more slowly, one piece at a time, to find the culprit. The customer-facing site is back in its working state quickly, and the investigation happens without pressure. Without that backup, the same problem becomes an emergency repair on a live site, often during business hours.

Mistakes to avoid

• Updating everything at once on a Friday afternoon. If something breaks, nobody is around to fix it over the weekend.
• Keeping backups only on the same server. If the server fails or is compromised, the backups go with it.
• Ignoring the theme. Outdated themes cause as many problems as outdated plugins.
• Keeping plugins "just in case". Every unused plugin is another thing to update and another possible way in. Remove what you do not use.

Updates and backups come with managed hosting and security monitoring in every care tier. The pricing page has the details.