Your WordPress site can never be completely error-free, but you can take steps to reduce the chances of problems. Before discussing common WordPress issues, let's consider minimizing these risks.
Choose a Reliable WordPress Host
A WordPress website needs a reliable web host to be successful. You must choose the hosting server for your website before launching it. Hosting providers may affect a lot of your website's impression, so think carefully about your options.
Here are some of the best hosting providers for 2024, as per the recent Forbs Advisor document:
Many businesses and people always prefer managed hosting providers. For better performance, we are considering Kinsta and WP Engine. While managed hosts will not build your website, they will perform routine maintenance.
Maintain Frequent Site Backups
It is risky not to back up your WordPress website regularly. If something goes wrong in the server or your site is hacked, you may lose all your data and posts. To avoid this, back up your site automatically using free WordPress plugins such as UpdraftPlus.
You can create daily backups of your themes, plugins, and database, which contains all of your content. It will save you from having to start over in the event of an unforeseen error.
Perform Regular Updates
Regularly updating your WordPress site will not only remove some errors but also raise awareness of them and reduce risk. A strict update procedure for plugins and themes can help avoid mistakes and conflicts.
You can check the updates page in your WordPress dashboard for updates to themes, plugins, and WordPress's core code. Ensure you use the most recent versions and update them as needed. Ignoring updates and running websites in old versions increases the risk of website vulnerability to security threats and low performance issues.
Test Changes on a Staging Site
Always test new features on a staging site before implementing them on your live WordPress website. A staging site is a private version of your WordPress site. Plugin tests, theme changes, and other modifications can be made without impacting your live site's users. Implementing this strategy allows you to track and solve non-working new feature bugs before implementing them on the live website.
Clear Cache Regularly
Clearing your cache regularly ensures that all of your changes take effect immediately. The cache sometimes fails to recognize updates and loads an older version of your site. Clear the cache in both your WordPress and your browser to ensure the most recent version of your website is up to date. This will reduce errors and keep your website up to date.