WordPress and WooCommerce maintenance

WordPress, WooCommerce, plugins and themes are updated all the time. If nobody installs the updates, the site ages and the old versions become insecure. If updates are installed without testing, the cart or the whole site may stop working afterwards.

Write to me if:

• updates are piling up in the admin panel, but you are afraid to install them;
• after an update the site shows an error or a white screen;
• the cart, payment or shipping prices do not work in your WooCommerce shop;
• the developer who built the site no longer looks after it;
• the browser shows “Not secure” because the SSL certificate (HTTPS) is not working. What to check yourself is described in the guide to the “Not secure” warning.

What I do on your site

• I update WordPress, WooCommerce, the plugins and the theme, after first testing them in a test copy;
• before larger changes, I make a backup copy of the whole website and the database;
• I remove unused plugins and, for plugins that their developers no longer update, suggest a suitable replacement;
• I check that the cart, payment, order emails and contact form work;
• I sort out the SSL certificate (HTTPS), so that the browser does not show the “Not secure” warning.

What monthly maintenance covers is described on the Website maintenance page. Maintenance of WooCommerce and other online stores is covered on the Online store maintenance page.

If WordPress or WooCommerce has not been updated for a long time, updating everything at once without testing is risky. An old plugin or theme may be incompatible with the new version, and after the update WooCommerce may also ask you to update the database.

That is why I carry out WordPress updates in a test copy. I update the system, the plugins and the theme one at a time. After each step I check the product pages and the cart and place a test order. If a plugin is incompatible with the new version, I set out in writing what I suggest: updating it, replacing it with another one or repairing it.

I also check which PHP version your hosting service runs. PHP is the programming language WordPress runs on. Whether the site will work with a newer PHP version, I establish after testing it in the test copy.

How I upgrade old websites and shops is described on the Upgrade an old online store page.

A white screen or the message “There has been a critical error on this website” can appear after a plugin, theme or PHP version update. While it is there, visitors cannot see the site and the shop receives no orders.

In this case WordPress usually sends the site administrator an email with a link for logging in in recovery mode. If there is no email or you do not know what broke, do not delete anything and do not reinstall the system. Write to me.

First I make a backup copy of the site and the database. Then, in the system (PHP) error log, I find the plugin, theme or part of the code that caused the error, and repair it or suggest what to replace it with.

Other problems, such as a cart that does not work, order emails that do not arrive or a 404 “Page not found” error, are described on the Fixing website errors page.

I connect payment methods and couriers to WooCommerce shops: in the cart the customer chooses how to pay and how to receive the parcel, and if the payment module supports it, a paid order is marked as paid in the shop. If a plugin is already installed but does not work, I repair the fault. For example, when:

• the customer pays, but the order status in the shop does not change;
• the list of parcel lockers does not appear in the cart;
• the shipping price is calculated incorrectly or free shipping is not applied.

I also set up shipping price calculation and free shipping above a chosen order amount. How I connect Paysera and couriers is described on the Payment and courier integrations page.

1. I review the site and set out in writing what I would do and what it would cost. This is free.
2. I make a backup copy of the whole website and the database.
3. I test the changes in a test copy. Meanwhile your site keeps working as usual.
4. Once the changes are checked, I move them to the live site.

The work requires access to the WordPress admin panel, the website files and the database. I do not work on Shopify, Wix or Squarespace sites, because these systems do not provide access to the files.

The price is agreed before I start, and you pay in instalments. We can issue a VAT invoice.