Ten tips for getting the most out of WordPress

28 Mar 2025, by Micron21

A WordPress website is a great tool for small to medium businesses looking to establish or expand their online presence.  It's also great just to have your brand more visible and accessible on the internet.  With Micron21, you can be sure that the infrastructure your website resides on has been rated for 100% uptime for power & cooling along with clustering technology to minimise impacts from server hardware failure.  While a lot of the work we do is managing and maintaining what’s “under the hood”,  for customers managing a WordPress website in this current online world, it's not a simple case of set and forget.  Instead, you'll need to provide regular care to it to ensure that it runs smoothly and safely.

To help you get the best out of your hosted WordPress site, we’ve compiled some essential tips, including a few security pointers that align with best practice and our own security posture.

1. Keep WordPress and Plugins Updated

WordPress regularly releases updates to improve functionality, fix bugs, and strengthen security.  The same goes for plugins and themes.  Software that is not updated can leave your site vulnerable to cyber threats.  Stay on top of updates by enabling automatic updates, or checking for new versions frequently through your WordPress dashboard.

For more information, we've touched on this - as well as why you should do a review of all the plugins that you're using - in our previous article Spring cleaning? Include your website to make it fast and secure!.

Shared Responsibility Model:

Micron21 regularly updates the operating system (Linux), underlying virtualisation layer, and network protection to ensure ongoing cyber safety and performance.  As every WordPress instance deployed for our customers is as unique as their websites, the responsibility here sits with the customer.  However, if it’s a chore you could do without, then there are some options below on how we can assist.

2. Back Up Your Website Regularly

Even with strong hosting, backups are your best friend.  Regular backups ensure that you have a fail-safe in case something goes wrong, like accidental deletions or a cyber incident.  With Micron21, you’ll benefit from automated backup solutions designed to provide peace of mind.

Quick Backup Tip

You can also export/download your backups to your local computer from within cPanel.  Doing this gives you an extra copy for peace of mind.

3. Optimise Your Website for Speed

Page load speed has a significant impact on user experience and search engine rankings.  Optimise your WordPress setup by enabling caching, compressing images, and using lightweight themes.  Additionally, deactivate and remove plugins that you don’t use, as they can slow down your site.

For more information, check out our previous article How to make your WordPress site even faster.

4. Use Strong Credentials

Admin usernames like "admin" and weak passwords are easy targets for hackers.  Always use unique, complex passwords and consider adding two-factor authentication (2FA) for an additional layer of security.

Security Tip

If you store personal or highly sensitive data as part of your website, then we would recommend you consider a more advanced platform like mCloud. 

5. Install a Security Plugin

Adding a reputable security plugin can help detect vulnerabilities and monitor activity on your site.  Tools like Wordfence or Sucuri can scan for malware, block suspicious traffic, and notify you of potential security issues.

6. Enable an SSL Certificate

SSL certificates encrypt data exchanged between your site and visitors, building trust and securing sensitive information.  With Micron21 hosting, an SSL certificate is included as part of your hosting package, making site security simple to implement.

For more information on what SSL certificates are and how they help keep your visitors secure, check out our article Deep Dive – What are SSL certificates and why do you need one?.

Pro Tip

Once your SSL certificate is active - if your WordPress website is not currently set to use https - update your WordPress settings to enforce HTTPS.  You can do this by updating your domain to include "https://" rather than "http://" in the WordPress Address and Site Address URLs under the General settings page.  This ensures that every visitor will be able to benefit from a secure connection to your website.

7. Monitor Your Website’s Performance Regularly

Regularly check your website for issues like broken links, server downtime, or performance dips.  Use performance monitoring tools to spot problems before they affect your visitors.

We've touched on some of the different tools you can use to measure your website's performance in our previous article Understand these performance terms and concepts to improve your website speed .

8. Plan Ahead for Scaling

Expecting a surge in traffic during peak seasons or events?  Ensure your hosting plan can handle it.  With Micron21, you have access to scalable WordPress hosting solutions that grow with your business’s needs, preventing slowdowns or crashes when it matters most.

9. Customer Care

Micron21 provides customers on this platform with email-based support.  Our team endeavour to resolve issues or questions on this platform as soon as possible.  However, if you would like Micron21 to perform patches or updates on your behalf, or require phone support then consider one of our support plans: https://www.micron21.com/small-medium-business/customer-care

10. Educate Yourself and Your Team

If multiple users manage your WordPress site, providing them with basic cybersecurity training can go a long way.  Teaching them how to spot phishing emails, use strong passwords, and follow login best practices can save your site from potential threats.

Conclusion

Your website is one of your most important business assets.  It requires ongoing care to ensure it continues to perform at its best and is up to date against the latest threats.  The platform is designed to grow with your needs. If you’ve tuned your website but it requires more performance, then it’s perhaps time to move to a higher plan with more resources.

If your business involves collecting and managing personal data, or is involved with a government service or department, then consider a dedicated virtual machine on mCloud where the environment is dedicated to you and you can tailor your security services.