Why do websites need regular maintenance and updates?
Your website is your shop front:
Would you neglect it?
Websites, like any piece of software, require updates. Each piece of software lives in an environment that is constantly changing.
There are a number of reasons for upgrades & updates:
- Improved security
- Changing software coding practices
- Adding new features
Maintenance is essential without which your website will be vulnerable to hacking or just cease to operate.
Monthly Maintenance:
Scheduled every month each of our customers websites go through a maintenance session:
Website upgrades & updates carried out on:
- Content Management System
WordPress is currently on Version 6.3.2 (28/10/23) there have been 46 major updates and approx. 650 minor updates since its inception in 2003 and are available almost monthly. - Plugin Updates
Plugins are 3rd party developed software that carries out most of the functions on your website and these also have to be kept updated. - Security Patches
Keeping one step ahead of hackers is a huge international fight. - Database Backups
All the content of your website, including customer order information are all contained within the website’s database. This is the most valuable part of your site so keeping regular backups is essential.
GIT Version Control
We use “GIT version control” to manage all websites and software, This is considered Best Practice in software management.
This ensures all changes to the code is run and checked on the local server before it is commited to the live website.
Local: local.website.ie
A website or any software is developed on the company Internal Server named “Local” once this is completed the codebase is then sent to a remote GIT Repository.
A GIT Repository (GIT Hub, Attlasian Bit Bucket) stores the entire code base and records (Commits) each change to the code base by a hash number. This provides a full history of all code changes.
Staging: dev.webiste.ie
This is a remote live intermediate server where the client can review the site. Once this is passed we then move to publish the site on the live “Production” server.
Production: www.website.ie
This is the term for the “live” website. From the live web server the code is published from the GIT repository. Then SSL certificate is added and the site is live.
The production server code base is never edited live but must go through the GIT version control method. This avoids any downtime that could be caused by errors in coding or in updated software before testing on the local server.
Below a screen shot of multiple “commits” of each code change recorded with a hash number and time stamped for reference and retrieval:
