How to Futureproof Your Business with WordPress

Most people start businesses to make money. No one goes into business to fail. Yet, so many do fail because of a lack of futureproofing.

To future-proof your business means creating systems and infrastructure that may aid in protecting the relevance of your brand and the profits of your operation. One of the most difficult things to do well as a business is to evolve. Most people live in their comfort zones. Not many take huge risks. The balance is in finding comfort in being agile.

Be comfortable being uncomfortable.

You get the point, though, right? If you’re a team leader, executive member, shareholder, or business owner, your goal should be success. Long and short term. If it isn’t, stop reading.

How to Stay Ahead of the Curve

Many organizations remain content with their current systems and infrastructure, steering clear from experimenting with and implementing new technologies. A sense of weariness from the decision-makers slowly builds a wall around the organization, protecting it from outside threats but stifling innovation. Just because something works doesn’t mean there isn’t a better way to do it.

A good example is a recent theoretical project we worked on for a global logistics organization. The client continued to see downturns in attracting new talent to their engineering team but didn’t understand why. Ultimately, the problem came down to a lack of properly utilizing available data and analytics. The technologies were available to them but they didn’t know how to integrate them into their current infrastructure. They were hesitant to do so leading to over 18 months of gaps to fill and missed opportunities.

Instead of waiting until you can’t wait any longer and are scrambling to find solutions, begin utilizing available technologies, discussing growth opportunities, and building custom software to take your teams and businesses to greater heights.

WordPress as your digital backbone

WordPress is a trustworthy content management system (CMS) allowing businesses to trust that it’s a sustainable CMS option for any website or web application. WordPress has continued to evolve its core platform and push developer innovation forward by incentivizing AI, focusing on automation, and creating a smarter and more scalable back-end interface.

For those reasons alone, it’s a no-brainer when it comes to choosing a website platform or CMS that will be present and thriving for decades to come.

The fact that WordPress itself is an open-source tool is incredible. The next biggest web builders such as Shopify and Squarespace are closed platforms. That means you have no control over their terms and policies. Either platform may choose to shutter your website for no reason. Seriously. We’ve seen it happen more than once.

WordPress (referring to WordPress.org) is installed on your server. You own it. The WP codebase is open source. So, if WordPress goes out of business tomorrow, you’ll still have a website. If your web host goes out of business tomorrow, you can migrate your website to a new host.

Remaining agile

Sometimes, the dreams we envisioned don’t work out. Other times, they require a pivot. That’s okay. Business mirrors life. How are we going to respond to adversity? Staying agile with your business software and technology ensures you never get too comfortable in your current position.

What’s that old saying? “Good things happen when you step out of your comfort zone.” If you don’t know how to approach a particular technology or resource, don’t run from it — learn it, talk to people who understand it, and invest in it.

A.I. is not going to take your job. The person who uses A.I. is going to take your job. Use A.I. as fast as you can so that you can stay gainfully employed.

Jensen Huang, CEO, NVIDIA

Let Jensen Huang’s quote from his lecture at Colombia University inspire you to embrace new technologies and have “more ideas than you can fund.”

Launch Early, Iterate Often

Launch early, iterate often (LEIO) is a popular acronym within technology organizations and communities. The reason is because these particular people have a unique perspective on technology. They understand its complexities and nuances, but more importantly, they know its uses and potential. The LEIO mantra refers to staying agile during development and implementation processes. Launch your product early, get user feedback quickly, and iterate often based on that feedback. Continue that cycle in perpetuity.

Remaining ahead of the curve is an organic consequence of creating an agile and experimental work environment and organizational structure. This doesn’t just pertain to technology companies, but rather every organization.

Utilize Default Tools

WordPress has greatly improved its core interface and continues to make improvements to Gutenberg, its default Block Editor. Adopting these core features and changes is integral to future-proofing your business using WordPress. Many organizations install third-party page builders and plugins because they think it’s easier or provides more flexibility. Sometimes, that’s true. However, assessing whether WordPress offers the features or functionality you need could save you time and money in the long run.

WordPress’s “Block Patterns” functionality was introduced in WordPress version 5.4. It’s “one of the most powerful features at a theme author’s disposal.” It allows site editors to build and edit patterns centrally and insert them into pages and posts infinitely. It’s a feature that was added to WordPress in 2020, yet many people continue to use page builders like Elementor for this feature alone. Using Elementor to achieve something WordPress core does adds unnecessary code bloat to your site an additional layer of needed support and maintenance. Instead, utilize WordPress’s core features and functionality to achieve your goals. If the resource you’re looking for doesn’t exist, that’s the time to test your options.

Implement Child Themes

If you’re building a frontend website (i.e. Business Marketing Site, Blog, E-Comm) avoid using third-party, pre-built themes. We may get some flack for this one but it doesn’t make it any less true. A proper fork (child theme) of one of WordPress’s default themes gives most organizations more than enough flexibility to create an amazing website with all the bells and whistles, without compromising performance and security.

WordPress has designed its themes for speed. They integrate fully into WordPress core. Relying on pre-built themes from third-party developers means you’ll be stuck with their support or community to find answers. If a theme developer doesn’t provide updates often, it may get pulled from WordPress Marketplace. If this happens, you’ll have to start from scratch. Instead, avoid this by using a child theme.

Choose Your Plugins Wisely

It’s quite easy to get into the weeds with WordPress plugins. Plugins have their place, but “just because you can” shouldn’t be why you use one. The question you should be asking is, “Can I achieve the features or functionality I need without one”? Most of the time, the answer is “yes”.

If and when you use a plugin, follow these simple practices to ensure you choose the right one.

Keep WordPress Core Updated

Coming soon.

Implement Strategic Security Measures

An insecure website is an open invitation for spambots and malware. Don’t unnecessarily open up your website and its data to outside threats. Implement a multi-layered approach to your website’s and server’s security. You or someone on your team should understand what each layer of security does and how to optimize it.

Here are the most important website security measures you can take to properly protect your website and its data from malicious actors.

• Activate an SSL/TLS Certificate
• Set up a Web Application Firewall (WAF)
• Set up a Server Firewall
• Log your website activity
• Monitor and limit WP Admin login attempts
• Activate stringent anti-spam measures
• Use a trusted and secure email client
• Block IPs based on activity
• Install Malware Monitoring
• Hire a team to fix bugs and security vulnerabilities
• Set up offsite File Backups
• Ensure you’re HIPPA Compliant (only if required)
• Store and retrieve personal information from am encrypted database

Improve Your WordPress Infrastructure

Every step you take to improve your WordPress infrastructure is a step in the right direction to future-proof your business. It may seem like a huge undertaking. It is a lot to learn from the ground up. But, by utilizing available resources like Site Assembly’s Managed Cloud Services and Automated Site Management, your team or organization can lean on the experts to help carry your business’s digital presence into the future and beyond. Neuralink, anyone!? ☠️

Collect & Own Your Data

Data is King. To have and to hold data, in today’s world, is the equivalent of mining gold. The more you have, the richer you’ll become. Only in this example “riches” don’t necessarily mean money. Although, if you can collect and understand data, revenue is a natural byproduct.

From a business perspective, the more information you have on your customers or users, the more precisely you can articulate your message, target leads, and convert more customers.

Using data you’ve collected on your employees over the last 3 years allows you to improve your workflows from top to bottom.

But, it’s not just a business thing.

Data is personal, too.

When we interact with others — family, friends, coworkers — we process hundreds of data points per second to react, emote, and converse. Based on our surroundings and the information we take in, we respond. It’s a natural part of reality.

Business is no different.

We’re all providing value to our audience through products, services, or information. What if we can make more valuable suggestions and provide more helpful information to our customers? What if we can reduce operational costs? Hire more efficient employees? Futureproof your business?

Data can do that.

We shouldn’t be ashamed of using data ethically. One analytical report revealed that more personalized ads are more effective. The only reason they’re more effective is because they appeal to customers more. And the reason they appeal to customers more is because of data.

The human brain is astonishing. It’s capable of storing infinite information and processing it at supernatural speeds. It can serve this data on command, consciously (provoked), and sometimes subconsciously (unprovoked). A proper database design is invaluable to any organization. This makes it easy to access data instantly and make hyper-personalized decisions on the fly.

Utilizing A.I. will take this idea even further. A.I. can be used to parse information at near-human speeds, adapt on-the-go, refine its knowledgebase, and create hyper-personalized suggestions with a single command. If you’re not using ChatGPT for Business, I invite you to give it a shot.