WordPress, for all its amazing features and capabilities, can sometimes be a pain to work with, especially for the folks who are novices to the workings of web world. The challenges get bigger and tougher with WordPress-powered eCommerce websites.
The challenges, more often than not, have something to do with the security facets of website, or the problems that come tagging along with the updates made on a website or the unpredictability of the whole setup. Having said that, there isn’t a “serious” challenge that doesn’t have a solution to it and today we are going to have a look at the most bona fide and most effective of these solutions.
Solutions to Issues Associated with the Automatic WordPress Updates
The most typical automatic WordPress update issues include those with the custom settings made on a WordPress site, or more importantly, the lack of compatibility of the newly rolled changes with the existing list of plugins installed on the website.
However, the last few versions have made it possible for the webmasters to make a bulk of changes via the updates manually. The updates can be most seamlessly made by the users right on the dashboard. The wp-config.php file can be altered by adding some simple code that will dictate whether you wish to facilitate manual updates, or whether you are okay with automatic updates. You need to write true or false depending on the choice you make.
- To begin with, we will begin by enabling or disabling the updates made to the core structure of WordPress theme. For the same would would use the line: ( ‘WP_AUTO_UPDATE_CORE’, true );
- For the folks who wish to facilitate automatic updates to the plugins, they need to add the line, add_filter( ‘auto_update_plugin’, ‘__return_true’ ); to the wp-config.php file.
- And for those who are using a readymade theme available to you from the WordPress stack, for disabling the automatic updates, add this line: add_filter ( ‘auto_update_theme’,’__return_false’ );
The importance of themes and plugins is already well documented, and I cannot overstate it further. Therefore, it is only natural that you ensure at all times that they are working in a manner most smooth and glitch free. Compatibility can be a major issue in this regard, so it is recommended that whenever you are running a major update, you use on a child themes.
Solutions for the WordPress Security Pain Points
Again, this is a major concern for any eCommerce webmaster running his or her website on WordPress. Even considering the fact that WordPress is a formidable platform with plenty to go for it, the sea of themes and plugins often put it at risk. The websites that have plugins from the non reliable sources installed on them often find themselves at the wrong end of the hackers, since these plugins create loopholes in their structure that are more than inviting for the hackers.
The security threats become all the more dangerous in the case of eCommerce websites since these sites deal with confidential informational pieces like credit card details and so on. It therefore is critically important for the eCommerce website owners to protect their customers and keep their information from getting intercepted or misused.
Almost all WordPress security plugins are equipped with firewalls and some blockbuster algorithms that are tailored to meet the latest security needs of websites.
Now, from the vast repository of WordPress plugins, you just can’t go with the first plugin you come across. There are a variety of things that need to be taken into account before you hit that install button.
- A good plugin should keep the hackers who use brute force attacks at bay. The plugin should add a lock-down feature after it detects some random attempts made to sign in to your website’s dashboard.
- You should also look for plugins that check whether the right file permissions are set at the back end of the site or not. It is quite common a scenario where webmasters fail to understand the importance of file permissions, and this leads to a number of security discrepancies with their website.
- Database security should always be of prime importance and thus you should go for a plugin that can let you choose a custom value for database prefix and also enable automatic backups of the site.
- The WordPress plugin should protect you against threats like cross site scripting, SQL injections and so on.
By following best practices when it comes to WordPress security and installing Wordfence plugin, you will secure your website against potential attacks by hackers.
Once you are clear that the security of your eCommerce website is beyond the standard approach of changing username from admin to something else, it is time to scroll through a few WordPress themes that are tailor-made for online store management.
eCommerce WordPress Themes
Free WordPress.org themes go through rigorous theme check and can handle basic eCommerce needs. If creating a minimally designed eCommerce website is on your agenda, Gumbo is your go-to WordPress theme. Created with great attention to detail, Gumbo is not just visually appealing, but responsive to a great deal as it adapts seamlessly to different OS platforms and screen sizes.
Apart from the afore-mentioned WordPress themes, we also have a host of WordPress plugins to further enrich the site’s functionalities. WooCommerce is easily the most famed of those plugins that can well and truly bring about a complete transformation of your non-eCommerce theme and make it totally tailored to host an online store. There are also other plugins like WP eCommerce, iThemes Exchange and so on that can prove to be really handy.
eCommerce websites are always on the radar of hackers. So, if you’re running one, be sure you know how to protect it, because breached security is the biggest hassle you can experience.
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Many thanks for your review, very interesting and useful article on e-commerce.
Thanks for sharing the great review on e-commerce.
looking forward to hear from you more.
Thanks