WordPress website maintenance
Website framework technology
WordPress
The Ethical Agency are WordPress website development specialists – WordPress is used by 40% of all websites globally. WordPress is a great success story for the open source community but it also means that as the most popular website planet on earth, its also therefore a popular platform (i.e. your website) that hackers are trying to hack. But don’t worry, we take security very seriously and your website is safe with us.
WordPress is constantly updated as a platform and provides for thousands of plug-ins to enhance/upgrade/expand your website’s capabilities which makes it a suitable choice in relation to scalability.
WordPress is also very well suited for responsiveness – providing for seamless user experiences on mobile and tablets as well as Desktop computers and laptops.
With contiguous updates and changes to browsers and browser standards, and CMS platforms that are regularly updated, this helps to really extend the longevity of your site, making it much more forwards compatible and responsive than traditional hand-coded websites could ever be – for literally a portion of the effort (and cost).
WordPress provides for an intuitive CMS (Content Management System) which is well known globally by clients needing to edit aspects of their website. Not every aspect of the site will be editable by the client. We can provide training for WordPress editing.
Being WordPress specialists we are able to provide your website with ongoing best practise improvements through ongoing discovery, research and implementation from all other ongoing projects.
You can feel rest assured that WordPress development is widely practised should the need arise to change suppliers.
Does maintenance include content updates?
Website maintenance includes a specific set of technical tasks that are all related to website maintenance, and therefore does not include content updates. Content updates can be provided before or after maintenance but does not form part of a maintenance contract or SLA.
Monthly maintenance is a mandatory service that we provide and is included in the price of monthly website hosting.
Maintenance includes firstly research to ensure the proposed updates will not break the website, then backing-up of the site, updating of software, and then checking the website once completed.
We receive regular updates from three independent industry sources on all WordPress eco-system vulnerabilities (plug-ins, themes, WordPress itself)(of which there are dozens each month), from which we use to update our client’s websites on a monthly basis, or make emergency updates where required.
The theme and plugins are being updated by their own developers, on a regular basis, and often monthly for various reasons, not limited to plugging vulnerabilities and increasing security. Not all software developers will have the same standards and often vulnerabilities are found.
Monthly WordPress maintenance plans
Websites are like cars with thousands of moving parts that connect in the back-end to make your website work well. Just like cars – we undertake mandatory monthly maintenance on all websites. At The Ethical Agency we take security and maintenance very seriously and our maintenance process includes the running of security scans and the provision of a monthly report of the specific maintenance work undertaken.
The reasons for maintenance are two fold:
- A WordPress website is made up of the WordPress platform, PHP framework, theme, and plug-ins. These four elements are continually being updated and it is essential to update these all regularly and together to ensure compatibility.
- In addition as a result of WordPress being the most widely used platform on earth, it is also the most susceptible framework to hacking. It is therefore essential to keep WordPress, the theme, and plug-ins up to date to mitigate security threats. A hacked website can have a costly effect on your brand’s reputation as well as be a potentially expensive exercise to fix.
Our WordPress maintenance plans are a fixed monthly cost to ensure the software behind your website is secure, compatible and up to date.
Our monthly WordPress maintenance plan includes:
- WordPress core software updates when applicable
- WordPress plugin updates when applicable
- PHP update when required
- Theme updates when applicable
- Security scan
- Uptime monitoring
- Daily backups (saved for three months)
- Delete spam content
- Testing user submitted forms
- Website Optimisation
- Maintenance report
Our digital marketing services
Digital Marketing
Digital marketing services – digital marketing strategies & campaigns: social media, SEO, Google Ads, PPC/Paid media, content creation, influencer marketing, video marketing.
Brand Strategy
World-class branding and graphic design services for both digital and print. Specialising in brand development, stationery, publication design, social media, digital and website design.
Website Development
Experienced WordPress website design and development, website maintenance and renewable energy powered hosting. Ensuring security and stability of your robust website at all times.
References
- https://www.steckinsights.com/why-a-wordpress-maintenance-plan-is-important/
- https://xneelo.co.za/insights/why-wordpress-website-maintenance-is-essential/
- https://www.wpbeginner.com/beginners-guide/wordpress-maintenance-tasks-to-perform-regularly/
- https://www.wpexplorer.com/wordpress-website-maintenance/
Satisfied clients
Katharina Gihring2024-03-20Wonderful team to work with that goes out of their way to create a beautiful digital product.
Kia Kids-innovate-africa2024-01-11We received an impecable service from Brett and the team. We received exactly what we've ordered at a really good price. As a rising social impact organisation, every penny spend without the exchange of value could paralise our mission. But, The Ethical Agency, even though they work with global organisations, they were flexible to support us and we are very happy with their service. Bret went above what the briefing required, by taking his time to call/ virtual meet with us to provide added support. The team live up-to their organisation's name and values. A big thanks to you Brett and the team. We hope to work with you guys again in the near future!
Christo van Schalkwyk2023-12-13What an absolute pleasure working with the TEA team! Professional, friendly and always willing to help. Highly recommended.
Scott Peter Smith2023-12-13We've worked a number of times with the Ethical Agency now and they have always delivered, on time, on brief and have been available for any tweaks. Lovely to work with
Just SA2023-12-13Fabulous, committed team! TEA are always willing to go the extra mile to do what is right.
Michelle Shields2023-11-08I have really enjoyed working with The Ethical Agency. They have been professional and friendly and really helped elevate the brand identity of our new venture. Thank you to Brett and his star team.
Evariste Umba2023-08-18Good feedback from the Switchboard and CEO
Joette Emerton2023-05-23I've worked with The Ethical Agency for a few years now, the team is always friendly and helpful and they produce great work! They're always mindful of costs with us being a non-profit, which we really appreciate. All round a great design agency that I highly recommend!
Kira Erwin2023-05-20The Ethical Agency recently designed and developed the Africa Zero-Waste Hub. They were very professional and responsive. I was really impressed by both the creativity and development skills. I would use them again in a heartbeat!