Tested updates, backups, monitoring: what serious maintenance should cover, especially for a WooCommerce store. I provide this service through Wycan, the studio I run with John.
WordPress, the theme and the plugins are updated every month, then tested before going live. Security fixes do not wait for the next month.
A backup stored with the same host disappears with the site if the server fails or the account is hacked. A copy kept elsewhere, with a tested restore, is the real safety net.
Uptime, certificate, security alerts: a problem should be spotted before your visitors report it.
After every update, a test order goes all the way to payment. A store can look online while nobody can pay.
An update of WooCommerce, a payment gateway or a plugin can break the checkout while the site still looks fine: visitors browse, but nobody can pay. Testing after every update avoids losing sales without knowing it. A typical example: the “There was an error processing your order” error.
It helps, but it shares the server’s fate: if the server fails, the account is hacked or there is a dispute with the host, it disappears with the site. You also need a copy stored elsewhere, and a restore tested at least once.
Security fixes as soon as they are released, everything else every month after a test. For a store, the test first runs on a staging site, a copy of the site that customers do not see.
First change every access: WordPress administrators, hosting, database. Do not restore a backup blindly, it may contain the same flaw: the entry point has to be found, the site cleaned, then updated. For help, write to Wycan.
Wycan, the WordPress studio I have run with John since 2021: three plans with no commitment, from the simplest to the one designed for e-commerce, prices on request. See the plans.
Wycan looks at your site and tells you which plan suits it. No commitment, prices on request.
