I’ve been building consignment websites and websites in general for over a decade.  I’ve stumbled, made mistakes, got hacked…and learned.  When you’re responsible for a server, databases, and clients’ data, you have no choice but to learn what it takes to manage a server.  From Apache to MySQL, to PHP versions and security best-practices, there’s a lot going on.

WordPress is software that you can install on a server and then have a professional website up and running relatively quickly.  A template is then installed + configured and with a higher-end template, Shortcodes provide convenient access to styling the site and building a complete website.  WordPress is famous for its “5 minute installation” and most anyone with a little time and some basic tech experience, can install WordPress.  This seems to attract a lot of people who really don’t know what they’re doing.

This week alone, we’ve worked with two clients whose sites were not properly handled by their previous *Web Developers.  One look at the WordPress installation and you could immediately see these were not professionals.  One of their developers who was “moving on to do bigger and better eCommerce sites,” hadn’t even activated and registered Akismet.  Scary to think that person is going on to manage sites that process credit card info.

There are so many moving parts to a website, especially a WordPress site.  Updates are constantly being released for WordPress, its plugins, templates, etc.  In addition to the front end of your website, the components that run a WordPress website – e.g. Apache, MySQL, and PHP – all have to be properly secured and maintained.

The fact that pretty much anyone can slap a WordPress site together, is actually quite the troubling notion.  Sites are hacked on a daily basis.  Just choosing the wrong host could lead to your site getting hacked.

Here’s a small glimpse of some of the uglies that are rubbing up against your site on a daily basis…

Just because WordPress is easy to install and easy to use, does not mean it’s easy.  If the proper measures aren’t taken during installation and if your WordPress site is not properly maintained, you’re simply asking to be hacked.  That can turn into a loss of real money for you, especially if your site ends up serving out malware.  That could lead to your customers’ and consignors’ systems getting infected, which could really end up blowing up on a business.  Also, a domain name that is associated with that kind of malicious activity can be blacklisted, effectively wiping your site off the web and making it virtually impossible to use for email.

Don’t get caught by surprise just because someone you know said they can “do WordPress” for you.

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Is your website secure?  Contact The Computer Peeps today for a free consultation.