The Most Common WordPress Problems (and how to Solve Them)

07/13/20 • 25 min

The majority of users use WordPress.

What are the most common problems for hosting providers?

Performance
- Customers expect good performance no matter what level they pay for.
- Many will install multiple plugins to help.
Updates
- People don’t update.
- Core is easy. But plugins and themes are not necessarily.
- Hosting providers need to make sure plugins and themes are updated.
Security
- Non-updated plugins/themes lead to security issues.

What are some ways they can prevent or quickly fix those problems?

How much can does WordPress mitigate these problems?

In the past few releases, we’ve seen updates to security. Strong passwords, admin email check.
Site health checker.

The majority of users use WordPress.

What are the most common problems for hosting providers?

Performance
- Customers expect good performance no matter what level they pay for.
- Many will install multiple plugins to help.
Updates
- People don’t update.
- Core is easy. But plugins and themes are not necessarily.
- Hosting providers need to make sure plugins and themes are updated.
Security
- Non-updated plugins/themes lead to security issues.

What are some ways they can prevent or quickly fix those problems?

How much can does WordPress mitigate these problems?

In the past few releases, we’ve seen updates to security. Strong passwords, admin email check.
Site health checker.

What is scaling / Why should you scale?

What do the users try to achieve?
- A fast website
- Avoid downtime
DR / Downtime checklist
- Backup Solutions
- Never code on a live site
  - Have a staging site to test on

How to make sure, once your site isn’t going down, that it’s fast?

Website performance matters
Don’t take smallest server / poor hardware
- If you’re always about 80% of the limit, you need to upgrade.
Monitor Speed / Performance
- Often it is not the server that causes the problem.
- Majority of issues with performance are with the website itself.
Caching
- Everything that helps you reduce database calls is important
CDN
- Global solution of servers
- Serves website in areas closest to your customers

1. What should someone consider when choosing an email hosting provider?

It's probably going to be a central part of infrastructure, so keep that in mind. You'll use it for a long time.
Features you need. Maybe you need to share your calendar, for example.
Interoperability and vendor lock-in. You can move on if you want to.

2. What are the benefits of self-hosting over using a service like Gmail?

3. As a hosting provider, what are some of the pitfalls of hosting email?

Reputation management. Other services that receive email have to fight a lot of spam.
Track the reputation of domains and IP addresses.
Properly configure domains for MX records.

4. Are there any common ways email hosting is misconfigured?

Set up SPF, DKIM, DMARK.
- SPF makes sure email is coming from a verifies recipient (DNS).
- DKIM: Domain Keys Identified Mail. Essentially a signature (Mail Server).
- DMARK: Ties SPF and DKIM together by publishing policy and protocol. (DNS Record).
What features in Plesk help with email hosting?
- SPF, DMARK, DKIM are built-in.
- Other UIs for important measures like rate and message size limits.
- Email Security extension with anti-spam.