The site is on WordPress 4.6.6 - often come across statements that for security purposes you must more or less regularly make the updates. Webmaster, on the contrary, says that there is no sense at all to the same after the upgrade appears exactly the same error.
So should I update or not? Does it have a significant impact on SEO, site security, or anything else?
It seems that your webmaster is lazy.
Of course, you need to update, and almost the first after the upgrade. And if your webmaster is not doing so, it is an error that needs to be corrected.
They bring updates to correct the vulnerability, less likely to be compromised.
If this is not done, hackers can hack the sites easily.
Definitely, there is a need to be updated. Hackers mostly find the holes in the old versions which are mostly fixed in the new versions.
Rather, stupidity, not laziness. WordPress is updated from the admin area in just one click. If you are not much into manually updating the WordPress or don't have much time, it is better to opt for managed WordPress hosting service (https://www.milesweb.com/wordpress-hosting.php) for better security of the website.
SEO is not at all affected. On the security level, it is possible if the installed version has got loopholes.
As for the reluctance to be updated, there are different situations. For example, the installed version of the WP can be upgraded. And when you upgrade, respectively, there is a chance that some files (which are changed by itself) will be updated.
Quote from: Kapil on June 13, 2017, 11:09:32 AM
SEO is not at all affected. On the security level, it is possible if the installed version has got loopholes.
As for the reluctance to be updated, there are different situations. For example, the installed version of the WP can be upgraded. And when you upgrade, respectively, there is a chance that some files (which are changed by itself) will be updated.
Apparently, plugins conflict with the new version, that's the main point you must consider for regular updates.
I am looking at the numbers of the last version of WordPress and wonder: how much glitches does this CMS had in its life!
PS, Updates are necessary. If you are not comfortable, go for some other CMS.
Quote from: Joe on June 13, 2017, 10:55:43 AM
The site is on WordPress 4.6.6 - often come across statements that for security purposes you must more or less regularly make the updates. Webmaster, on the contrary, says that there is no sense at all to the same after the upgrade appears exactly the same error.
So should I update or not? Does it have a significant impact on SEO, site security, or anything else?
Just update your old version of WordPress with latest one. There are lots of advantages of updating the WordPress with new version such as security, speed, it fixes the bugs, etc.
Well, there is a need to have an absolutely stable and high-quality CMS and that's why regular updates are made. Otherwise, it may get affected by things like wannacry and etc..
Sometimes luck for 5 years, no hackers gets to your WordPress website, and sometimes you miss the update for a couple of days, then face abuse, spam, and phishing. It is better to update on time.
4.6.6 version was released on May 16, together with 4.7.5.
https://codex.wordpress.org/Version_4.6.6
https://codex.wordpress.org/Version_4.7.5
long branch of 4.6 is updated with 4.7, you can expect that the vulnerabilities are corrected simultaneously.
There are several reasons to update the versions:
There could be a compatibility problem with newer versions of plugins.
There could be is a problem with plugin settings after the update (you may need to check the plugins after updating the CMS).
New plugins and cms eat more resources sometimes.
The problem could be faced with functions, they may stupidly stop working after the upgrade.
To avoid the problems, it is better to check for the updates.
Well, your site might be safe for now, but there are lots of monsters just waiting to attack it in the future. That's why you need to update your site frequently. There are five main reasons for keeping every aspect of your WordPress site up to date, Reasons are:
- Security.
- Performance.
- Bug fixes.
- Compatibility.
- New Features.
How to update your WordPress (https://codex.wordpress.org/Updating_WordPress) site safely?
1. Back up your site through BlogVault plugin
2. Turn caching plugins off
3. Update your themes and plugins
4. Update the WordPress itself
5. Turn the caching back on
6. Check if everything is okay
7. Back up your site again. Ex. Jetpack plugin.
If you're running a small site with only a few plugins and one theme then do it manually otherwise go through with the automatic updates option. It's also important that you keep your site backed up regularly. :)