The moment a business decides to introduce themselves to the online market is a moment in which that business can blossom or wither. With the age of technology and communication upon us, having an online presence is incredibly important, but it can be dangerous if you don’t know what your doing.
The first decision any business must make is which platform to use for their online debut. In this regard, many are choosing Wordpress. Wordpress CMS development is by and far one of the more popular online platforms for businesses and for good reason. The platform is free to install, deploy and upgrade and offers thousands of plugins and templates making it suitable for any need.
But even the best platforms come with their risks, and if you don’t know what you’re doing, opening your online storefront can be more curse than blessing. Our team at Savvior has pulled together this list of the most common pitfalls facing businesses using Wordpress CMS development and how to battle them. This article will explain the common challenges of
and explain how you can overcome them or hire our expert help in the battle.
Poor SEO
One of the first things you learn when moving into the online marketplace is the importance of Search Engine Optimization or SEO. SEO is the lifeblood of any online business. Without it, your page can go without any traffic causing your business to suffer. With it, your page can exceed even your expectations.
The number one reason why SEO is so vital to an online presence is that organic search is the greatest contributor to website traffic. This means no matter how much you market or get the word out, the best way your business will be found online is from random searches people make every day. When users search for their needs on engines like Google, those first 5 links are the ones they’re most likely to click, and you want to be one of those 5. That’s what SEO does for you. The problem is, because Wordpress CMS development is completely user-controlled, if you don’t know what you’re doing, your SEO can plummet leaving you in the dark and desolate second page of search results.
There are a number of ways to improve your SEO, but the fact is: if you’ve never done it before, building SEO can be quite a task, and you have a business to run. That’s where Savvior comes in. Our team of experts have years of experience helping build SEO for Wordpress CMS development users. With our experience and expertise behind you, you’re free to run your business while we handle the tricky task of making your online business as findable and trafficked as possible.
Web Design and Accessibility
Another vital aspect to any online presence is a site’s aesthetic. Studies have shown that the way a site looks, it’s ease of use and accessibility value can make or break a business’ online success. With the right look a website can foster product interest, motivate interaction, bolster interest and even create credibility in a visitor’s relationship with a business.
There’s also the matter of site accessibility. It’s not usually the first thing businesses think about when creating a webpage, but ADA compliance is a huge aspect of page aesthetic and use. Obviously, businesses want their sites to be as accessible as possible. User satisfaction is a key factor to success. But did you know having a inaccessible page can land your business in legal troubles? Web pages found in violation of ADA guidelines have been the growing target of lawsuits in recent years. There are a number of sources that can help your business improve aesthetic and accessibility on your Wordpress CMS development, but much like improving SEO, teaching yourself web design from scratch is a task few businesses have the time for.
Again, this is where Savvior can help. With our years of experience and intimate knowledge of both web design and ADA guidelines, we can be the tool your business needs when working with Wordpress CMS development.
Poor Page Speed
Where our last two challenges were generalized to all online content, these next two are specific to working with Wordpress CMS development. The first of these being poor page speed. Many Wordpress users have reported glacial loading times and visitor frustration. This frustration can translate into decreased traffic, a withered relationships between businesses clients, and eventually, a decrease in business.
The cause: remember those multitudes of plugins we mentioned before? Wordpress CMS development is so appealing because of its many user options, but some of these plugins can actually cause negative web experiences for your customers and clients.
Wordpress has attempted to combat these issues by releasing another plugin. P3 Profiler was designed to scan the plugins your page uses and report back to you which are the largest burdens on your site. As with a lot of in house solutions, however, it’s limited. P3 hasn’t been updated is several years and often misses those newer plugins that wreak havoc on page speeds. Some charitable Wordpress CMS development users have gone so far as to create their own lists of burdensome plugins that can be helpful guides to combatting unacceptable loading times. Both of these solutions, however, are either incredibly time consumer or unsatisfactory. This is where Savvior can help. We know what we’re doing when it comes to online content, especially with Wordpress CMS development. Let us relieve your page of these plugins that drag your business down. It can save your business untold problems without having to waste the time to sift through the mess yourself.
Security
Arguably the most severe challenge facing Wordpress CMS development is the platform’s history of weak security. To be clear, every platform has its history of security issues. To exist on the internet is to be at least somewhat vulnerable to cyber attacks. For now, we’re focusing on Wordpress and the 5 most common security challenges users face.
Brute Force Attacks
A brute force attack is the least sophisticated hacking attempt there is, but that doesn’t mean it won’t work. When a hacker wants access to administrative functions for a web page the simplest way to do that is to walk right through the front door, and that’s what a brute force attack is. These attacks are characterized by the repeated attempt at simply guessing the right username and password. Often hackers will use software that does this for them at lightning speeds until, eventually, a combination clicks, and they’re in. Because Wordpress does not currently have a limit on login attempts, the platform is the perfect environment for brute force attacks.
File Inclusion Exploits
After brute force attacks, the vulnerability built into Wordpress’ PHP code are the next easiest path for security risks. This kind of attack is characterized by including malicious code that allow hackers to load remote files and gain access to your site’s wp-config.php file.
SQL Injections
Next are SQL injections, which take advantage of Wordpress’ use of a MySQL database to simply add new administrator accounts to a webpage. This would allow hackers to simply login to your site as if they were one of you and make changes or syphon information at will.
Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)
XSS attacks make up 84% of online attacks. They’re so common because any web application that uses input from users in the output it creates are vulnerable to these kinds of injection attacks, and Wordpress CMS development is just that kind of web application (as would be any platform like it). The way they work is a hacker will inject malicious code in otherwise benign or trusted input such as the things you and your fellow administrators would feed Wordpress. Wordpress then executes the malicious code that allows hackers access to any number of administrative actions, critical or private information and even cookie information.
Malware
Malware is a portmanteau of the words “malicious” and “software”. It’s the bread and butter of hacking, and examples of malware are seemingly endless. Wordpress CMS development does a lot of protect its users from it, but it still remains vulnerable to certain types of malware such as
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Backdoors
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Drive-By downloads
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Pharma-Attacks
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Malicious Redirects
because of the nature of the web application itself.
Just because Wordpress CMS development is vulnerable to these types of attacks, doesn’t mean you’re guaranteed to be targeted, and if you are, there are ways to combat attacks from hackers. Like any other aspect of an online presence, however, if you aren’t well versed in such things, the time and money associated with teaching yourself how to protect your online business can be more than most people have access to. Even then, knowing the tips and tricks can still result in a lot of trial and error, and with that can come major problems. This is where Savvior can step in. We know how to protect your interests and information in the often dangerous environment that is the internet. Let us shoulder the burden, so you can focus on what really matters.
Savvior and our team of experts have been helping clients and their businesses move into the online marketplace since there was an online marketplace to move into. Let our experience and expertise be the tool that moves your business into the 21st century and watch your performance soar. We’ve faced the challenges with Wordpress CMS development and are prepared to combat them.
