WordPress Plugins are apps that allow you to add new features and functionality to your WordPress site. Plugins keep everything running smoothly, give websites a professional appearance, and make it possible to do almost anything with a WordPress site, such as tracking SEO. These plugins, however, are quickly forgotten once the site content is up and running. Unfortunately, that can spell trouble for your site. These are the top reasons to keep your plugins updated.

1. Old Plugins Provide Poor Security

One of the main reasons to keep plugins updated is because outdated plugins are more accessible for hackers to infiltrate. When hackers can infiltrate a plugin, they can use it like a door to get into the rest of the site. This leads to stealing valuable customer information, payment information, and possibly personal records. A quick update can help keep your site secure.

2. Outdated Plugins Slow Down the Site

When plugins are not updated, it leads to slower loading times for your site. This can frustrate visitors, resulting in them finding information elsewhere. When this impacts your bounce rate, Google and other search algorithms will conclude that visitors don’t enjoy the site and rank it lower in SERPs. Overall, it leads to fewer visitors, bad ranking, and a lower click-through rate.

3. Plugins Can Stop Working

Plugins that aren’t adequately updated can stop working. That means that anti-spam plugins, SEO plugins, and other critical plugins for your site will simply not function. Security plugins that don’t function leave your site vulnerable to attacks. When plugins don’t function correctly, it can make the site seem like it has a glitch. For example, pictures might not load properly. This can drastically impact the site’s security and user engagement.

4. Stay on Top of SEO

SEO, also known as search engine optimization, is the link between you and your customers. On average, over 12 million searches are conducted daily in the United States, according to Hubshout. SEO plugins require regular updates to keep up with SEO trends, such as algorithm updates. Failing to update these plugins results in poorly optimized content that users will never know existed. It can also lead to poorly ranking pages.

WordPress plugins help a site to function seamlessly so that you can achieve your goals. If you need to remember to update them, give us a call today to learn how we can help you!