Tips for businesses using WordPress who are concerned about security
I have a client that I affectionately call “The WordPress Worry Wart”.
Why?
Because the entire business, product line, brand, and web presence of this kind is completely wrapped up in your WordPress website. All of which was very good at the beginning 5 years ago. But the bigger you get, the more you trust everything to work, and the more your income is tied to the software, the more vulnerable you feel, the more your business is at risk of being wiped out by a jealous enemy or a hacker, and the more you worry. that’s why.
However, I can’t say I blame him for the worrying part.
Personally, I think WordPress is a great asset for online sellers. Its simplicity is unmatched. And I’ve used it myself for years, and still use it at some companies. But it is also plagued with security issues, especially since it is the number 1 platform and is the most attacked by hackers.
Not a big deal if you’re a blogging mom doing it for fun.
But what if your entire business is linked by blood to WordPress?
It is definitely a problem.
And the reason it’s a problem is because of all the security “holes” it has, and they constantly have to be plugged in and fixed. And my client is (rightfully so!) scared because he comes in and updates it and all of a sudden his server crashes. This has happened to him numerous times where he has updated a plugin and the whole thing crashes. This is nothing against WordPress, it’s just the nature of the software. I’ve seen it happen when I served my time as a nuclear engineer for the Navy, as well as when I managed a $12 million budget working for Encyclopedia Brittanica as a software developer.
And then there’s just this anxiety that you have about WordPress.
It’s supposed to be simple and it is. But when it comes to managing an ever-growing and expanding business, with multiple plugins and security patches, it doesn’t always work in perfect harmony.
The solution?
Mobile apps.
Mobile apps are Web 3.0 in my opinion. And in five to ten years, companies will have some kind of application if they want to remain competitive. They have very few, if any, of the security issues that web-based content management platforms have. They make consuming content ridiculously easy as everyone has their phones with them all the time, wherever they go. And whether someone likes it or not, the statistics don’t lie. The most recent statistics show that the average person touches their mobile phone 2617 times a DAY. They are always within 3 feet of their phones, even when eating, driving, traveling, exercising, dressing, shopping, waiting for appointments, sleeping, or in the bathroom. That’s why more than 70% of digital content is consumed on a phone. And 92% of the time people are on their phone, they’re in a mobile app.
That means it’s where your customers are.
It does not mean not to use WordPress or an HTML website for some of your business needs.
But when it comes to content consumptionwhy not go where they already go and do it in a way that is protected from the hackers who are always trying to kill off good business?