35 Interesting WordPress Statistics 2022

WordPress is the most popular content management system on the Internet with a 61.9% market share. It powers a whopping 30% of all websites and also boasts a community of 98 million people.

WordPress has had a considerable impact on the way that people create, consume, and share information online.

Plus, WordPress can serve 10-20x more traffic than the average personal website powered by using other platforms that are available online, making it the natural choice for a self-hosted platform on a limited budget.

WordPress has a community of more than 60 million people and has been translated into over 60 languages. 

In this article, I want to share some exciting WordPress statistics for 2022.

 

35 Interesting WordPress Statistics 2022

 

1. WordPress is used by 43.2% of all websites on the Internet.

WordPress is a free and open-source WordPress content management system or CMS. It powers more than 43% of the Internet. WordPress is used by more than 200 million websites across the world and has been translated into over 100 languages.

Source: W3Techs

 

2. WordPress usage has increased on an average of 12% per year since 2011

WordPress is a blogging platform used by over 30% of all websites on the Internet. It is an Open Source CMS for publishing content and managing a website.

In recent years, WordPress has become more centralized to combat the usage of proprietary platforms like Facebook or Google Docs, and there the use has increased by an average of 12% per year. 

Source: W3Techs

3. WordPress is used by 65.2% of all websites using a content management system.

WordPress is a content management system (CMS) software used to create, edit, and administer websites.

It is also the most widely used CMS on the market, powering 65.2 % of the websites whose CMS we are aware of, and this equates to 42.4% of all web pages – over half of the Internet.

Source: W3Techs

 

4. WordPress powers 36.28% of the top 1 million websites.

WordPress powers over 36% of the top 1 million websites, including Bloomberg, Nike, and The New York Times. According to BuiltWith statistics, the ‘top’ sites are determined by traffic.

Source: W3Techs

 

5. Roughly every two minutes, another top 10 million site starts using WordPress.

In 2021, it was estimated that the top ten million websites began utilizing WordPress every two minutes. Every day of the year, more than 1000 WordPress sites are generated in the top 10 million sites.

Source: W3Techs

 

6. WordPress has been the fastest-growing content management system for 12 years.

According to W3Techs statistics, WordPress has been the fastest-growing content management system since 2010. WordPress grew the most websites in 2021, adding 9.3 % to its already solid user base.

Source: W3Techs

 

7. 20.4% of WordPress websites use WooCommerce.

Many WordPress websites also use WordPress subcategories like WooCommerce, which is used by the vast majority (20.4 %).

WooCommerce is an open-source WordPress e-commerce plugin. It is intended for small to medium-sized online shops that use WordPress.

Source: W3Techs

 

8. There are almost 60,000 free plugins in the official WordPress plugin directory.

There are presently 59,825 free plugins in the official WordPress plugin directory. Some of the most popular plugins are:

• Elementor
• Askimet
• Jetpack

Source: WordPress.Com Blog

 

9. There are over 9,000 free themes in the official WordPress theme repository. 

There are presently 9,124 free themes available in the official WordPress theme library. Some of the most popular free themes are:

• Astra
• OceanWP
• Neve

Source: WordPress.Com Blog

 

10. There are over 31,000 WordPress themes in total, including premium options. (Scepter, 2020)

According to Scepter’s research, there are around 31,010 WordPress themes available for download or purchase, and the count includes topics that are known or anticipated to be current and child themes. 

Note: Themes with free and premium versions are counted just once.

Source: Sceptermarketing.com

 

11. Divi and Astra are the two most popular active WordPress themes used by the top 1 million sites.

Divi and Astra are the most popular active themes among the top 1 million WordPress sites. They are both popular high-quality WordPress themes that should provide you with everything you need to develop a professional-looking website.

These themes may be used to build any sort of WordPress website since they are prebuilt with ready-to-go content and have many modification possibilities to guarantee your site can fulfill the criteria of your project.

Source: Trends Builtwith WordPress

 

12. Wordfence blocked 18.5 billion password attack requests on WordPress websites in the first half of 2021. 

In the first six months of 2021, Wordfence, a popular firewall service, stopped over 86 billion password assault queries. The amount of password assaults is projected to rise further.

Wordfence Security is one of the market’s most comprehensive WordPress security plugins. It allows customers to supervise their site’s security from top to bottom and, in the case of premium users, even automate it.

Source: Wordfence.com

 

13. The Wordfence Web Application Firewall blocked 4 billion requests from blocklisted IPs and attackers attempting to exploit vulnerabilities in the first half of 2021. 

WordPress plugin and theme vulnerabilities remained one of the top objectives for threat attacking WordPress sites in 2021. During the first six months of the year, the Wordfence Web Application Firewall prevented nearly 4 billion requests from blocklisted IPs and attackers seeking to exploit vulnerabilities.

Some of the features of Wordfence Web Application Firewall are:

• Allows you to examine your WordPress site for security flaws.
• Notifies you via email if any dangers are detected.
• Advanced login security mechanisms are supported.
• IP addresses can be automatically blocked based on questionable activities.

Source: Wordfence.com

 

14. WPScan recorded 602 new vulnerabilities across WordPress plugins, themes, and core in the first half of 2021.

WPScan discovered 602 new vulnerabilities in WordPress plugins, themes, and core from January to June 2021, exceeding the total number of disclosed vulnerabilities in 2020.

Source: Wordfence.com

 

15. WPScan recorded over 550 plugin vulnerabilities in the first half of 2021. 

WPScan cataloged 552 plugin vulnerabilities in their WordPress vulnerability database during the first six months of 2021. Moreover, I believe this is far greater than the amount of core and theme vulnerabilities disclosed, which makes sense given a large number of plugins and extensive functionality, implying a larger attack surface.

With this, we will be able to examine the current trend of assaults on WordPress and assess the current status of WordPress-based software security using vulnerability data from WPScan’s WordPress vulnerability database and attack data from Wordfence’s internal threat intelligence platform.

Source: Wordfence.com

 

16. WPScan recorded 47 theme vulnerabilities in the first half of 2021.

WPScan catalogued 47 theme vulnerabilities in their WordPress vulnerability database during the first six months of 2021. Moreover, this recounts far lower than the 552 documented plugin vulnerabilities, and this is normal because there are fewer themes and more simple functionality, enabling lesser attack surface.

Source: Wordfence.com

 

17. Approximately 90% of WordPress vulnerabilities are plugin vulnerabilities. 6% are theme vulnerabilities, and 4% are core software vulnerabilities.

Plugin vulnerabilities provide a significant threat to WordPress websites, accounting for 90% of all WordPress vulnerabilities, while theme and core vulnerabilities account for 10%. So, the best and simplest strategy would always be to use the most recent versions of your WordPress plugins, theme, and core.

Source: HubSpot

 

18. Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities accounted for 52% of plugin vulnerabilities in the first half of 2021.

The most prevalent vulnerability affecting WordPress plugins is cross-site scripting (XSS). WPScan cataloged 216 XSS vulnerabilities, accounting for 52% of plugin vulnerabilities in the first half of 2021.

Plus, Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) was responsible for 16% of plugin vulnerabilities.

Source: Wordfence.com

 

19. In 2022, WordPress has a market share of 64.1%, considering the websites whose CMS we know.

This figure has increased by more than 10% throughout the years. WordPress was known to be utilized by 1% of websites in 2010, which is still more than half. Aside from that, WordPress usage has increased by 1% since January 2021, rising from 64.1 to 65.2 % in seven months.

Source: Manaferra.com

 

20. WordPress.org has been translated into 160 languages.

WordPress.org has thus far been translated into 160 languages, with 52 being more than 50% complete, while the others are still in the early stages of translation. 

Source: Manaferra.com

 

21. 409 million people visit more than 20 billion WordPress.com pages monthly.

According to real-time WordPress activity data, over 409 million individuals read over 20 billion WordPress pages each month, with over 70 million new posts and 77 million new comments.

Source: Thrivemyway.com

 

22. 70 million new posts are posted on WordPress.com monthly.

Every month, 70 million new posts are published on WordPress blogs alone. They generate lively debates, as evidenced by 77 million comments.

 

Source: Thrivemyway.com

23. 1.2 million domains are registered for WordPress every six months.

According to a recent CMS use survey, at least 1.2 million domains are registered for WordPress every six months.  The figure keeps rising year after year.

Source: SEMrush.com

 

24. WordPress 5.7 has been downloaded over 36 million times.

This figure is growing by the day, and the newer versions will always be the most popular ones. As a result, a significant disparity in the percentages of the utilization of older and more recent versions is expected and familiar.

Source: Manaferra.com

 

25. Freelancing WordPress jobs in US – 32% charge an hourly rate of $10-19, 28% charge $20-29.

Regarding freelancing WordPress employment in the United States, 32% offer an hourly fee of $10-19, while 28% charge $20-29.

 

26. 30.3% of the top 1000 sites use WordPress.

This number may not appear impressive at first glance, but keep in mind that adopting off-the-shelf content management systems is exceedingly unusual when it comes to huge sites with exceptionally high-performance needs.

Source: Digital.com

 

27. The latest version of WordPress has been downloaded over 54m times.

This statistic represents only a tiny portion of the total amount of WordPress downloads across all versions.

Source: WordPress.org

 

28. 43.6% of WordPress sites are running version 5.7.

The most recent version of WordPress is 5.7, yet as this figure demonstrates, most WordPress site owners have neglected to upgrade their sites to the new software. Even though about 90% of sites are on Version 5.0 or higher, nearly half have yet to upgrade to the most recent version.

This is troublesome in terms of security. Using an outdated version of WordPress exposes your site to more security concerns. If you’re among the 56.4 % of WordPress site owners who haven’t yet updated to 5.7, do it today. 

Source: Digital.com

 

29. WordPress Dominates Google’s SERP with 2.28 Billion Results.

That’s nearly two and a quarter billion WordPress-related Google search results. 

Source: Digital.com

 

30. The top 8 most popular plugins each have over 5 million active installations

Do you want to discover which WordPress plugins have over one million active installs? You may have used some plugins to create a WordPress website. However, you may be unaware of the famous ones with over one million active members. This list can assist any WordPress user, new or old, in sorting through it and selecting the best one for their needs.

Source: Digital.com

 

31. The most popular GPL themes in the WP directory have over 1m+ active installations each.

Astra, Twenty Twenty, and Twenty Seventeen are among the themes that have reached one million views. Astra is a lightweight, page-builder-friendly theme that is among the most popular.

It should be noted that the default WordPress themes are Twenty Twenty and Twenty Seventeen. Every year, a default WordPress theme is created and named after the year it was introduced.

• OceanWP
• Neve
• Hello Elementor 

These are the three more popular themes that have approached the one-million mark. 

Benefits

• Lightweight
• Compatible with page builders
• Feature responsive designs

Source: Bloggingwizard.com

 

32. 93% of themes sold on Envato Market are responsive themes

Responsive WordPress themes alter their layout and design to accommodate multiple screen sizes and resolutions, allowing the text to be seen well on desktop and smaller displays.

This result should be no surprise, considering the importance of flexible, mobile-friendly websites. This is especially true considering Google’s mobile-first approach to indexing websites.

Source: Bloggingwizard.com

 

33. 39.3% of hacked WordPress websites are running an outdated version

According to experts, neglecting to upgrade your WordPress version can put you at greater risk of hacking and harmful activities. 

Here, it is essential to note that over half of all hacked websites use an out-of-date version.

 

34. 8% of WordPress websites are hacked due to weak passwords

Weak passwords aren’t as risky to WordPress users as plugin and theme breaches, but this figure indicates that it’s still worth picking a password strong enough to keep hackers out.

Source: WP Hacked

 

35. 71% of WordPress.com blogs are written in English.

The most popular language for WordPress blogs is English. Spanish is the second most prevalent language (4.7 %), followed by Indonesian (2.4 %), Portuguese (2.3 %), and French (1.5% ).

Source: Bloggingwizard.com

 

Checklist of 15 WordPress Facts

 

1. WordPress Is Available in 196 Languages

WordPress supports 196 languages, with 40 of them fully translated. It may also be translated into over 65 different native languages.

WordPress plugins make it simple to construct a bilingual blog. Thus, it can be said that WordPress is now available in your favourite language.

 

2. WooCommerce is the most popular eCommerce plugin.

WooCommerce is frequently regarded as one of your most acceptable options when building and expanding an online business quickly. You may develop a blog store with five things or a vast collection of thousands of products. 

Here, the plugin’s price is free. As long as your hosting and infrastructure can handle it, you may accommodate an infinite number of goods and visitors.

 

3. Akismet is the most downloaded plugin of all time.

Akismet is the first plugin on ManageWP’s list of the most downloaded plugins. It is the most popular anti-spam plugin, with over  75 million downloads and 4.8-star reviews. It is created by Matt Mullenweg’s Automattic team, which also owns WordPress.

Akismet employs a web service provided by cloud servers to detect spam in comments. All comments left on your website are instantly forwarded to Akismet’s servers. If its highly advanced algorithm finds spam, it puts the remark in the spam queue. Otherwise, the remark is placed in the moderation queue, and you must decide its fate manually.

 

4. WordPress Is More Visited Than Twitter

WordPress has 163 million unique visitors per month, which is greater than Twitter, which has “only” 156 million unique visitors per month, according to Automattic.

 

5. WordPress Has 501 Times Fewer Employees Than Amazon

It is remarkable to state what WordPress has accomplished with only 1,148 people. Furthermore, these personnel are dispersed worldwide and manage to do their task remotely.

 

6. The Average WordPress Developer Earns $51,000

According to Payscale.com statistics, the typical WordPress site developer earns more than $50,000.

 

7. There Have Been 1,063 WordCamps To Date

WordCamps are informal, locally organized conferences that cover anything WordPress-related. Matt Mullenweg organized the inaugural WordCamp in San Francisco in 2006; there have since been over a thousand more.

 

8. One WordPress Theme Has Earned Over 12 Million Dollars in Sales

Avada is the most popular and bought WordPress theme on ThemeForest (a marketplace for premium WordPress themes and plugins). Avada costs $59 and has sold over 200,000 copies, totaling more than $12,000,000 in sales.

 

9. 11 of Fortune 500 companies use WordPress

WordPress is utilized by some of the world’s largest and most well-known corporations, celebrities, and brands.

 

10. 115 WordCamp events took place in 41 countries in 2016

Over 36,000 WordPress aficionados gathered in 2016 at 115 different WordCamps to spend a day or three discussing WordPress, the free and open-source software that runs 27% of the Internet.

In 2016, 41 countries hosted WordCamps, with events taking place on six continents: Africa, Asia, Australia/Oceania, Europe, North America, and South America.

 

11. There are 1,269 meetup groups for WordPress all over the world.

WordPress is an open-source, free software project that powers the application you know and love. These clubs, which volunteers run worldwide, represent WordPress aficionados’ local meetings. 

These events are for those who love WordPress and want to share their expertise and experience with other WordPress users in the region, from developers to designers, entrepreneurs to publishers.

 This WordPress Meetup is accessible to all WordPress enthusiasts.

 

12. Wapuu is the unofficial WordPress Mascot.

Wapuu is the WordPress project’s unofficial mascot. They are available under the GNU General Public License (GPL), implying that anybody may access the original Wapuu files to tweak the character and build their own Wapuu variant. There are hundreds of unique wapuu versions available.

 

13. Twenty Seventeen-the latest WordPress default theme, uploaded in June 2017, has 1M+active installs. 

In 2017, WordPress’s default theme was Twenty Seventeen. Its business-focused design has new video headers and a front-page layout that can be customized by merging page parts. The theme may be further personalized by adding a site logo, social menu, widgets, and specific color choices.

 

Summing Up

 

WordPress has been around since 2003 and is the most widely used blogging software. 

WordPress is still the most popular CMS platform. It’s easy to use, has many resources, and is very configurable. It has also become the content management platform of choice for non-blogging websites in recent years.

Many companies in India can help you switch to WordPress for your business site, and I believe it will be worth trying.

 

13 WordPress Security Issues & Vulnerabilities You Should Know About

WordPress has made the process of developing a website quite easy for the mass. At present, this popular CMS has been questioned on its security issues and how they are planning to deal with them. 

According to a report, in 2020 Wordfence had declared 2,800 attacks per second on WordPress.

Among 2 billion websites, only 45% are powered by WordPress because, at present, it has been subjected to so many attacks. Thus, to minimize WordPress security issues and vulnerabilities, they are trying hard to evolve into a much more secure system.

13 WordPress Security Issues & Vulnerabilities 

Cyber attacks are a waste of resources like time, energy, and money but it is impossible to quantify day-to-day threats to a site that has been subjected. 

Plus, it can even disdain your reputation and threaten your authority most adversely. Thus, 13 WordPress security issues and vulnerabilities can be listed as:

1. Unauthorized/ Unethical access

The process of unauthorized login is like a traditional cracking the coding process done to gain unethical access to your computer. The attackers generally perform these operations through a bot and quickly run through billions of user password combinations.

WordPress sites can be vulnerable to these attackers for two reasons:

1. Anyone may reach the login page by taking the site’s main URL and appending /wp-admin or /wp-login.php to the end easily.
2. Attackers can obtain access quickly by using the default “admin” account and a basic, popular password.

2. Doubtful user roles

When you establish a WordPress site, you may select from six distinct user roles, such as Subscriber or Administrator and there each role includes native rights that enable or disable users from performing specific tasks on your site, such as changing plugins, uploading content, and others and this pose a threat to WordPress sites.

 If brute-force assaults are successful, poorly defined admin roles expose your site to additional danger, as admin roles can allow a hacker entire access to your site making it extremely vulnerable. 

3. The outdated and old core software 

WordPress developers fail to enhance the functionality and security of the platform for their users. The reason behind it is that the developers release updates roughly every three months. 

It is strongly advised that all WordPress users download these updates as soon as they become available as this does not happen automatically.

4. Multiple outdated Themes/Plugins

Numerous types of themes and plugins are created by developers for WordPress site owners to utilize and modify their sites but this requires the site owners to take appropriate security measures.

Both outdated software and themes/plugins are susceptible to risks and attacks and it requires proper security measures. 

5. Malware attack

Malware is a wide word that encompasses any harmful software. To steal from websites and their users, hackers might insert malware files inside genuine website files or insert code into existing files.

Moreover, the virus might also use “backdoor” files to try illegal logins or cause widespread chaos. Malware typically infiltrates WordPress sites via illegal and outdated themes and plugins. 

Hackers exploit security flaws in plugins and themes, replicate existing ones, and even develop new add-ons for the sole goal of injecting malicious code into your website.

6. Improper usage of Structured Query Language (SQL)

SQL is a computer language designed to easily retrieve data stored on a given website. It is the recommended language for database management on WordPress.

During a SQL injection, a hacker has direct access to and modification of your website’s database. SQL may be used by attackers to create new accounts on your site, add illegal links and content, and leak, change and delete data.

WordPress sites are vulnerable to this sort of attack since most are designed to generate a sense of community. SQL injections are widely used by attackers in visitor-facing submission forms such as contact forms, payment info fields, and lead forms.

7. Spamming of Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Hackers exploit your top-ranking pages by stuffing them with spammy keywords and pop-up advertising.

WordPress sites are vulnerable to these cyberattacks in the same way these multiple outdated plugins, themes, and the core software are.

As WordPress is SEO-based, these spammy keyword additions are exclusively placed on your high-ranking pages and then they get undetected during a site-wide assessment.

8. Occurrence of Cross-Site Scripting

Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) occurs when an attacker inserts malicious code into the website’s backend code.

Once attackers get access to your front-end display, they may attempt to damage visitors by, for example, providing a disguised link to a malfunctioning website or showing a bogus contact form to steal user information.

9. Increase in Denial of Service (DOS) Attacks

Denial of Service Attacks (DOS) generally block site administrators and visitors from accessing a website and they go about this by sending innumerable traffic to a target service and pushing them to take out all the websites from it. 

WordPress requires hosting and their DoS and DDoS tend to attack such WordPress hosting and put a threat to its security. 

10. Introduction of Phishing

Phishing is a process where hackers send out a truckload of spammy links and if one user accidentally clicks on it, then your privacy and information get compromised. Here, WordPress gets mostly targeted. 

11. Unnecessary hotlinking

Hotlinking occurs when anyone uses anyone’s work without permission. Other websites can take advantage of it by embedding content, images, and others from your website. 

Hotlinking cannot be termed as direct spamming because those who practice hotlinking are not professional hackers but have poor internet handles. 

WordPress is vulnerable to hotlinking because here users tend to copy/paste a link of an image or a digital file on the site without giving any proper credit and preventive measures are not available to stop this. 

12. Numerous Supply Chain attacks

The supply chain mostly attacks themes and plugins of WordPress’s themes and plugins, how? There are two ways for such attacks:

1. Plugin owners can install malware on customer’s site 
2. Hackers can purchase popular plugins and enable spammy code

13. Cross-site Request Forgery (CSRF)

Cross-site Request Forgery (CSRF) is regarded as a vulnerability, allowing attackers to influence and encourage users to take necessary actions.

Plugins of WordPress like check_url(), and WP Fastest Cache are vulnerable to such attacks. 

5 Reasons Behind The Popularity of  WordPress 

Mike Little and Matt Mullenweg introduced a blogging tool known as B2/catalog in 2003. This superb logging platform is erected on the original B2 code base equipped with more robust features and later on it is named WordPress. 

Since then, it gained popularity and got recognized as the most versatile and user-friendly CMS platform which can be accessed by all. 

5 reasons behind the popularity of WordPress :

1. WordPress is free and open-source software that makes it easy for users to find, use, edit and redistribute. 
2. WordPress plugins make the operation simple and autonomous, keeping a low budget maintenance cost. 
3. WordPress is equipped with a gamut of themes with pre-populated content and images and this feature makes it quite lucrative for users. 
4. WordPress provides a logically arranged menu of options and multiple mouse-click selections.
5. WordPress is a versatile platform which holds a rating of 99% SEO-friendly approach and due to its well-designed structure optimization can be done quite easily. 

How to fix WordPress security issues?

If your website is cited as vulnerable and requires immediate attention, then you can go for some preventive measures to anticipate future attacks.

1. Give priority to maintaining an effective backup routine.
2. Maintain a regular backup of your database to ensure a quick and easy return service.
3. Perform a complete overhaul of the unattended issues on your website.
4. Redesign your site to prevent WordPress Security vulnerabilities.
5. Keep an update on your technologies daily.
6. Hire a WordPress developer to keep your website up-to-date and take care of all the above-mentioned tasks to make your website secure.

Thus, these above-stated measures can be an effective step toward preventing your WordPress security issues and increasing the ranking of your website.

Some facts to note on WordPress Security

According to WordPress statistics 2020, WordPress is acclaimed as one of the leading content management systems which power over 34% of the websites currently ruling the internet. So, some of the noted facts of WordPress can be enlisted as:

1. WordPress security mostly depends on the admin and not on the CMS.
2. Single programs like Bot developed by attackers mostly creep into the WordPress website and create trouble.
3. Hacking and black hat SEO are sometimes used by attackers to reroute visitors to their illegal or spammy domain.
4. Limiting login attempts in WordPress can discourage brute-force on your website.
5. It is better to change the WordPress URL and default username to increase your security. 

Taking care of your WordPress website by securing it from threats and vulnerabilities is not a tough task if the user can handle it cautiously in an organized manner. 

FAQs you might have before or after reading this blog on WordPress security:

1. Does WordPress have good security?

WordPress is secure as long as web hosts take website security seriously and adhere to recommended practices.

2. What are the vulnerabilities of WordPress?

The list of vulnerabilities and security issues of WordPress are:

• Brute Force Attack.
• SQL Injection.
• Malware.
• Cross-Site Scripting.
• DDoS Attack.
• Old WordPress and PHP versions.

3. Is WordPress easily hacked?

Hacking efforts may be made on every website on the internet. WordPress sites are a popular target since WordPress is the world’s most popular website builder. It powers roughly 31% of all websites, which translates to hundreds of millions of web pages worldwide.

4. What percentage of WordPress sites are hacked?

According to statistics, 8 percent of WordPress websites are hacked owing to weak passwords.

5. Why is WordPress not secure?

Google declares your WordPress website insecure because it lacks an SSL certificate or has an SSL certificate that is improperly set.

6. How often does WordPress get hacked?

Many websites are hacked without the awareness of the site owners or management. According to WordPress hacking statistics, an attack occurs every 39 seconds on the web on average, however, an assault does not automatically indicate a hacked website.

7. What are some of the potential security risks of using a CMS like WordPress?

Updates are one of the most serious hazards linked with CMS. CMS change at a quick pace, thus updates must be done frequently. Furthermore, new vulnerabilities are discovered and corrected regularly, which is why it is critical to install updates as soon as possible and to check the available patches regularly.

8. Why is WordPress security important?

A hacked WordPress site can seriously harm your company’s income and reputation. Hackers can steal user information, and passwords, install dangerous software, and even disseminate malware to your users.

9. Is WordPress safe for ECommerce?

WordPress is a secure platform for your eCommerce website as long as you have adequate security measures in place. Millions of ECommerce sites cannot continue to operate on a dangerous platform.

10. What is the latest version of WordPress?

The most recent WordPress version is 5.6 “Simone,” which was released on December 8th, 2020.

 

17+ Common WordPress Mistakes that Developers Make

Several businesses rely on WordPress developers to manage their ecommerce web pages. In fact, more than 62% of the top 100 companies in the US utilize WordPress to develop their websites. 

Thus, It’s essential for CTOs and marketers to hire a trusted WordPress developer to have a flawless, professional website to increase your ecommerce revenue. Experienced developers can easily spot and fix these errors to keep your site running smoothly. 

As a marketeer, you need to recognize these common WordPress mistakes developers make, so you can safeguard your business and hire a professional for your WordPress site. 

 

Common WordPress Mistakes And Solutions

Seasoned developers are usually careful when developing WordPress sites and pay extra attention to ensure that the site is error-free. Even the most experienced developers can make these common WordPress mistakes which can hinder the site’s performance if not fixed in time.

1. Choosing The Wrong WordPress Platform

Most beginners confuse wordpress.com and wordpress.org to be the same and end up choosing the wrong platform for website development. But the .com and .org versions are two distinct platforms for WordPress that provide varying levels of design and hosting flexibility. 

WordPress.org requires you to handle the hosting, themes, plugins, and everything else your website requires. Whereas with wordpress.com, WordPress takes care of most of the aspects, you will have lesser freedom with the website. 

Before choosing a platform, consider your design requirements and also your budget. For example, WordPress.com is easier to use but commercializing the website costs around $300 a year. However, building a wordpress.org website requires a developer but will still cost less than $150 a year.

 

2. Not Backing Up WordPress

Though backing up WordPress is one of the crucial steps to securing your data, many avoid it to save money or simply because it is inconvenient. However, not having a backup can eventually cost you thousands of dollars if the website crashes or an update doesn’t go as planned. 

To save both money and data, ask your developer to regularly backup the website and the server using a free or premium WordPress plugin. Ensure that the website is backed up before any updates. 

 

3. Using Unsupported Themes

WordPress has several themes, both free and paid. But not all themes are regularly tested or updated. Many free themes are also poorly coded or pirated versions of paid themes. While not everyone is ready to pay $50 just for a theme, unsupported versions compromise with your data and you may end up losing thousands of dollars in revenue.

Instead, use free themes only from verified sources or get a custom theme made by developers according to your business requirements.

 

4. Not Using Mobile-Friendly Themes

Even if you choose a great theme from a verified source, using the website will be inconvenient if the theme isn’t mobile-friendly. While most WordPress themes available today are designed to be compatible with smartphones, your website may be lagging if you use an old theme. 

Experienced  developers always test the website on computers and hand-held devices to see if the theme is compatible. In case of incompatibility, they can either update the existing theme or opt for a new one. 

 

5. Applying Default Settings

Changing the default settings has not just to do with site appeal but also with security. If you don’t change the default settings according to your website, it makes your site vulnerable to cyber attacks. For example, most sites don’t bother to change the username “admin.” This makes the sites prone to brute force attacks that try out various username-password combinations to gain site access. 

To safeguard your website, check all the default settings and change those that can compromise site security. In addition, use unique usernames and passwords to protect your data from cyber-attacks.

 

6. Testing On Live Site

Even with backups, testing new updates and plugins on a live site can cause irreversible changes to the website. If something goes wrong, the site may experience downtime for a few hours resulting in a loss of organic traffic and affecting the SEO.

For safer testing, ask developers to build a testing site that allows you to experiment and set up all-new changes before merging it with the live site. 

 

7. Not Creating Child Themes

If you want to alter the WordPress theme, it is recommended to use a child theme to modify it. If you directly modify a parent theme, the changes may be lost once the theme gets updated. 

A child theme inherits all the code from the parent theme plus the modifications you make. When the parent theme is updated, your modifications aren’t erased, and you can continue using them.

 

8. Sharing Admin Privileges

Admin privileges allow you to control all site functionality, including posts and plugins. While other users might also manage your page, sharing admin privileges with everyone isn’t necessary. Even without ill-intent, someone may end up deleting valuable content from your website. 

Instead, leverage multiple levels of site access given by WordPress. You can assign author and contributor roles to people who post on your website. Reserve the admin privileges to site owners and developers. 

 

9. Spending Too Much or Too Little on Hosting

WordPress has dozens of hosting options, but an expensive plan may not always be the best. For example, some popular hosting services are averagely priced and have more options than their expensive counterparts. Similarly, the cheapest hosting plans may not really be cheap in the long run and often compromise site security. 

Before choosing a plan, consider your site requirements. You can go for individual hosting plans from trusted companies or use a shared hosting service which is usually cheaper than individual services.

 

10. Not Performing Regular Updates

Every day, developers release several new plugins and themes. But along with them come new forms of bugs and security breaches. To combat these, WordPress rolls out regular updates for plugins and themes. But several developers put off updating these plugins as the process can be time-consuming.

But not updating the plugins makes the site vulnerable to those new bugs. As a result, your site may lose precious data or fall prey to malware. To protect your site, ensure that the developers update the plugins and themes on the same day when the update is available. 

 

11. Installing Too Many Plugins

Plugins are essential to run a WordPress site the way you want. But installing too many plugins hinders their functionality and leads to several problems. For starters, one of the plugins may block a particular resource from other plugins, leading to inter-plugin conflicts. Or a single poorly-coded plugin may interfere with other plugins, messing up the functions of the whole website. 

Instead of unnecessarily installing too many plugins, regularly filter them and only keep the ones you actively use. If you want to further minimize the number of plugins, a developer may help you figure out better options to replace two or three plugins with a single one. 

 

12. Ignoring Site Security

If securing your site only involves setting a username and password, you are severely compromising the safety of your data. With new malware and bugs in the market, data can be lost through the tiniest vulnerabilities. 

To ensure site security, work with your developer to set up a TLS certificate. You may also require HTTP security headers and multifactor authentication to protect your site from brute force attacks. Your developer may also suggest certain plugins that add additional layers of security to your site. 

 

13. Forgetting SEO

Optimizing your website for SEO involves many minute changes that several people ignore. But collectively, these changes impact the organic traffic received through search engines. By ignoring SEO, you are reducing your site visibility and reducing revenue. 

Several plugins such as Yoast SEO help you determine and improve the search engine optimization on your site. If you are unsure where to start, consult a developer and install the required plugins to improve site visibility on search engines.

 

14. Ignoring Site Branding

Many developers place the name and logo of your brand on the website but ignore other branding best practices such as consistent brand color usage and brand favicon. This is one of the most common WordPress mistakes often newbie developers does. Though these changes are minute, not working on them makes your site look unprofessional. 

For a professional-looking website, work only with quality developers who can help you with complete site branding. These include modifying the site theme and font to match your brand, using the brand logo as the favicon, and consistently updating the site as your brand evolves. 

 

15. Not Leveraging WordPress Caching

Everyone loves to speed up their website, but not many are aware of WordPress caching. A cache is a small file that saves some website data when you visit it for the first time. During subsequent visits, the site loads using the pre-saved data, improving speed and performance. 

You can leverage WordPress cache by using plugins. If you use shared hosting services, it is best to consult a developer who can choose the right plugin for your website. 

 

16. Keeping An Unmoderated Comment Section

The unmoderated comment section houses not only unwanted hateful comments but also bot posts with advertisements and spammy links. Therefore, it is best to moderate the comment section, so every comment must be approved before being displayed. 

While moderating individual comments is time-consuming, you can use several plugins to filter out the spam and only post genuine comments. Also, remember to regularly empty the comment queue to free more space in the WordPress database.

 

17. Not Optimizing The Website

Most websites are initially fast but slow down eventually due to too much data. But text posts take up very little space, and it is the images that slow down your website. This also impacts SEO as search engines penalize websites that are too slow to load.

To prevent this, optimize the images by compressing them before uploading them with your posts. This also applies to logos and brand images. Ensure that the images are compressed to the minimum size, and they take up little space in your WordPress database.

 

18. Publishing Incomplete Posts

Publishing incomplete or poorly-written posts is bad for your reputation and also the SEO. When you publish an article, search engines immediately start indexing it. If your post contains errors and you edit them later, these changes may not reflect in the search engine results leading to poor SEO. 

An occasional edit is alright, but multiple posts with edits leave a terrible impression on your visitors and search engines. Therefore, always ensure that your post is completely written and has no errors before clicking the “publish” button on WordPress.

 

19. Ignoring WordPress Core Updates

WordPress core is basically the files you require to run your WordPress website. WordPress regularly sends updates and rolls out new versions, which are better and faster than the previous ones. Just like themes and plugins, WordPress core also needs to be updated to ensure site security and improved performance. 

WordPress also discontinues support for outdated core versions. If you think your website is running on an older version of WordPress, talk to your developer and update to one of the latest supported versions. 

 

Avoid Common WordPress Mistakes By Hiring Trusted WordPress Developers

If you are building a website on your own, it is almost impossible to avoid some of the above common WordPress mistakes. Instead, it is better to hire a developer who can ensure that the site development is smooth and contains minimum errors. As developers are more experienced, they can ensure a safer and faster website. And even if an error does occur, developers are quick to recognize and fix them, so the site doesn’t lose its functionality.

How to Customize WordPress Backend to Make it Efficient?

WordPress frontend customizations, or “themes,” are very popular. But in recent years, more WordPress users are looking for backend customizations as well. These modifications involve changing the menu and the dashboard items, as well as making the backend more presentable. 

Currently, more than 50,000 plugins are available in the WordPress store for backend modifications. But plugins have limited functionality, and adding too many plugins can slow down or even crash your webpage. 

A better option is to modify the code and use limited plugins for backend customization. However, this requires specialized knowledge of WordPress and PHP coding. A professional WordPress developer has the required expertise and can safely customize the WordPress backend.

But before you hire a developer for  WordPress custom backend, you need to understand how these modifications can benefit you.

Why Should You Customize WordPress Backend?

• The backend customization contains two parts: design and functionality. The design determines the appearance of the admin dashboard, whereas the function determines its usage.
• Though the dashboard contains several options, many of them are never used depending on the website. Infect, these unwanted widgets reduce the functionality, complicating the website management process. 
• Additionally, the default design isn’t always user-friendly, and some of your most-used menu functions can get lost, among others. 
• A more productive experience is possible by personalizing the dashboard. You can  identify and organize important menu options, apply a good theme, and make the dashboard as simple and easy to use as possible, through the below steps.

7 Steps to Follow for WordPress Website Customization:

The below steps explain how you can utilize plugins to create basic alterations in your admin dashboard. However, plugins can only customize to a certain extent. Beyond that, WordPress dashboard customization requires file and code modifications.

For more precise and personalized changes, it is best to hire a professional WordPress developer by considering the required skills they must have. They can combine their extensive PHP coding knowledge along with the plugins to deliver tailored results for your webpage. 

If you wish to get started with the basics, here is a stepwise guide on how to personalize  WordPress backend. 

1. Backup Before Customization

Before altering anything on your main dashboard, it is good to run a backup by using the plugins. Earlier, most developers used “child themes” to make changes, which were basically a copy of the main theme. 

But today, plugins allow you to work without child themes. The alterations done through plugins are immune to updates, so instead of child themes, it is easier to do a backup. 

However, most of these plugins provide server-level backups and your data is lost if the server crashes. For a more secure option, get a professional developer to backup the server settings along with the webpage to ensure data safety.

2. Change Generic WordPress Branding on Login Page

WordPress’s default login screen has the default WP logo and brand colors. While it is clear and minimal, you can personalize it by adding your own brand identity. 

Install a branding plugin through the dashboard. Once activated, go to settings and choose Logo & Background. 

• Add your own logo image by changing the default WordPress image. Don’t forget to replace the alt text as well. 
• For the background, choose a single color from your brand colors and move forward to website branding. 
• Alternatively, you can use another image as the background.
• You can also choose the URL to which the admin is directed after logging in. 

3. Use Admin Themes To Customize Dashboard Styling

Plugins such as Slate, which is a dark theme, and Fancy Admin UI, which is a minimal blue and gray theme, allow you to change the layout and colors of the dashboard

Some of the themes allow you to change the default colors through the settings. But they don’t allow too many modifications or allow unique combinations. If you want to utilize your brand palette as the theme, a developer can help you build your own theme and layout.

4. Organize Sidebar And Toolbar

You can also organize all the active plugins by organizing the sidebar and toolbar on the WordPress dashboard customization. Organizer plugins allow you to hide certain toolbar options by using an on and off toggle button. This comes in handy if there are multiple admins managing the website. 

5. Declutter Dashboard by Eliminating Unnecessary Menu Items

While all menu options intend to simplify admin tasks, you may not require all of them, depending on the nature of your website. If too many options cause the WordPress admin dashboard to declutter, you can hide them through menu editor plugins. 

A WordPress developer can identify the most useful options and reorganize the menu items for you. Otherwise, you may end up deleting important menu items, reducing the overall functionality of the dashboard.

6. Add New Dashboard Widgets

WordPress already provides a few dashboard widgets, but these aren’t useful for all businesses. Instead, you can remove existing ones and add other widgets through plugins such as Dashboard Widgets Suite. 

However, these widgets are pre built and do not allow personalized modifications. Instead, a WordPress developer can custom-build plugins for you, that are tailored to suit your business requirements.

7. Enhance Login Page Security

The webpages built through WordPress are quite secure, but you still need to maintain backend security. In addition to the standard login, the professionals can add two-factor authentication and limit the login attempts through plugins such as Defender. 

This is useful if you share the admin account with multiple people. While having a strong password is a primary requirement, authenticating your identity on another device ensures that only authorized people log in to your webpage. Verify the safety of your webpage through a WordPress developer as any leniency can compromise important data on the website.

Top 5 Plugins To Simplify Backend Customization:

Going through the above steps, you must have realized that most WordPress admin customization is done through plugins. Though modifying the code is still an option, plugins are better suited for beginners. For the numerous modifications of the admin dashboard, the following plugins come in handy. 

1. Material WP Plugin:

Material WP plugin is a feature-packed plugin that can be used for several modifications. It lets you change the theme, change the layout, and alter menu items. You can create custom menu labels and utilize the drag and drop feature to rearrange the admin menu. 

One of the best features is its luminosity test, where the plugin smartly decides the best text color as you change the basic theme colors of the website. 

2. Fancy Admin UI:

Fancy Admin UI is a simple and hassle-free WordPress admin theme for light color lovers. The theme basically consists of a light blue highlighting color applied to the headers and menu bars. The remaining portions are colored light gray, giving the theme a light feeling on the eyes. No fancy customizations or complicated options. It is a simple theme that you can download and apply. 

3. Ultimate Dashboard:

Ultimate Dashboard is another WordPress custom dashboard plugin that has several customization options. It allows you to remove existing widgets and create new ones. You can also completely alter the login page along with the redirection URL. The plugin also lets you create custom admin pages and change the default texts. 

4. Defender:

Defender is a security plugin that keeps your webpage safe from malware and unauthorized login on the admin end. The plugin protects your page from a range of vulnerabilities and provides you with various options to secure the login page. These options include two-factor authentication, password rests, Google reCAPTCHA, etc. 

5. Admin Menu Editor

As the name suggests, the Admin Menu Editor plugin allows you to reorder and customize the admin menu items. In addition, it allows users to alter URLs and change menu permissions. You can also hide certain menu items and create login redirects through the plugin. 

Customize Your WordPress Backend With Ease

WordPress backend creation is simplified, thanks to the thousands of plugins on the WordPress store. However, even with plugins, WordPress custom dashboard still requires a basic understanding of WordPress functions. 

While you can get isolated results from individual plugins, a WordPress developer can select the best strategy to create a more polished admin page for your website. Unsure of where to begin? 

Contact us and Hire a developer today and enjoy a personalized, clutter-free WordPress backend. 

FAQs on WordPress Backend Customization:

Q1. What is WordPress Backend Customization?

WordPress backend customizations are the modifications applied to the login page, admin dashboard, and branding. These customizations can be done through code or plugins. 

Q2. What Are The Benefits Of Customizing WordPress Backend?

Backend customizations help declutter the admin dashboard and create a more efficient admin page. By adding necessary functions, eliminating unimportant ones, and changing the overall layout, you can have a smooth admin experience. 

Q3. Can I Customize Admin Dashboard Without Coding?

Yes, most plugins nowadays don’t require any additional PHP coding. However, the end result achieved through plugins is limited. To get a more unique dashboard, hire a WordPress developer to create custom changes.

Q4. What Are The Different Admin Themes I Can Use?

WordPress has several admin themes that change the colors and layouts of the login page and dashboard. One of the popular ones is White Label CMS, a minimal black and gray theme. Other plugins include Material Admin Theme, Blue Admin, Everest, and Pixo. 

Q5. How To Change Default Theme Colors?

Most admin theme plugins allow you to change the default theme colors through settings. In addition, some plugins, such as Admin Color Scheme, let you create your own themes by choosing color combinations.

Q6. Which Other Plugins Can I Use?

Over the years, several plugins have improved the functionality of the admin page. Besides the plugins mentioned above, you can use Simple History to track site activity, Nested Pages to reorganize your menu, and User Switching to switch accounts from the admin dashboard. You can also find the required plugins by searching the keywords through your dashboard. 

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