Note: Added June 9, 2018.

Please read toward the later part of this post to learn more about why a maintenance plan can be a good idea for you. A yearly package is not necessary for everyone; however, maintenance is a good idea as technology continues to change and security issues appear unexpectedly. One reason, besides the obvious ones (to me anyway) of having a regular check-ups, in a similar way to having oil changes for our automobile, is this: If your website lives on a shared server, then there is a responsibility similar to living in a community where we maintain our homes and environment in a way that doesn’t affect other people.

Most websites use space on servers that house other websites. One reason is it is cheaper to share. It can happen that one unmaintained website has easy acccess for nepharious intruders. This can lead to security problems for other websites in the neighbor (on the shared server space.) Similar to the desire to live harmoniously on earth, we want our websites to be safe and live without problems on the same servers.

I’m not trying to oversell or create fear, only answer questions I get about why to have maintenance program in place as insurance. Not every site needs a monthly check-up. Not every site will have a problem. In most cases, webhosts will catch intruders. Sometimes software like plug-ins for WordPress will be updated by the programmer and contain an accidental bug. It happens. Following proper procedure, you can handle this yourself or call for assistance. (I offer WordPress training.)

Having a consistent strategy may save your site. Last year a client had his domain name stolen. Luckily we had backups that allowed us to restore the site when the webhost was unable to. This was a first-time experience for me. To learn more about security matters and subscribe to an email list, consider Wordfence to stay on top of things if you are interested.

End of June 9, 2018 note.

Planning for 2018 rooted in knowledge gained in 2017.

It’s been a while since I’ve written. That’s because it has been an exciting, full year with some lovely websites to prove it. Below are a few images of some of diverse sites that have come through Luminous Moon.

As always, I continue to learn more, fine-tune my programming and design skills. This year I created a tool for an internal business website that allows each employee to create their own customized link lists. This means they have shortcuts to websites and links which they needed on a daily basis, rather than a long list of links covering a large amount of space on the home page. That was one of the fun, successful experiences using Advanced Custom Fields.

We’ve also been dealing more with trouble-shooting than usual this year. In one incident, I was so grateful that there was an original backup, so that a website that disappeared in thin air could be revived.

In another project, after a WordPress update, we had the mystery of why the Text widgets were not editable any longer. Not every site owner reported that problem. A stumper! Still, for this specific site, I was glad there were backups available so we could revert back to the previous version of WordPress.

Having a regular maintenance checks, keeping software up-to-date and making backups is more important than ever. Even if your web host makes regular backups, using them should be thought of as a last resort. A backup of just your WordPress site and the content, the database, images, other media and plugins is a better option.

Plan maintenance for 2018. Care for your website investment and save $60.

Consider a maintenance package with Luminous Moon.

It is worth the time or money it takes to maintain and back up your investment whether you “Do It Yourself” or have someone else care for it. Even if the worst happens, there is security in knowing you have your valuable content in a safe place.

We recommend logging in to your website at least once a month and saving the backup on a memory stick, external hard drive or other place — just not your web hosting account.

Can you anticipate a sales pitch coming on? Yeah, you’re right, but think of it as a soft pitch. Take this in. See where it takes you.

Luminous Moon has a WordPress Maintenance Package. It is very economical— only $25.00 a month for a 1 year commitment. The price is going up next year. Not by much, just $5.oo a month.

What care will your website and you receive for this package?

A monthly backup of your website sent to you with a password-protected download link (or other method to be mutually agreed upon).
A monthly check up which includes necessary software updates of WordPress and plug-ins.
The general health of the website will be reviewed including watching for security issues.
In between the check ups, if there are security developments that need attention, you will be advised, and we will decide on appropriate measures.
Included as a bonus. An installation and set up of the Wordfence security plugin.

Note: New clients with pre-built websites have a one time $50.00 fee to become familiar with your website.

The Rate for this service will increase in 2018 to $360 for one year.

Buy or renew in advance and save $60.00!

Contact me today to discuss your website & website maintenance needs.

Other Support Packages.

Other ways to keep your website healthy and secure.

Passwords

Plan maintenance in 2018 — Put a task in your calendar to change your password.

Keep unwanted guests out of your website, by changing your passwords regularly and make sure that they are strong passwords. Ask your other users to do the same.

Security

Currently I’m using the Wordfence plugin. The free version has exceptional features like the Firewall that stops hackers and a live feed of who is scanning your website. Alerts are sent to your or your administrator’s email. The Wordfence newsletter and blog is also quite informative on security trends.