Ortica
Let’s talk ↗
Ortica
Let’s talk
ciao@ortica.io

WordPress maintenance and support

WordPress up to date.
Without holding your breath.

We do WordPress maintenance on sites we built and on sites built by others. We update core, themes and plugins after testing them, keep real backups and fix what’s not working. WooCommerce too.

Tell us about your WordPress ↗Typical problems ↓
200+
sites we look after, many on behalf of agencies
2 people
the person who answers does the work
Typical problems

Sound familiar?
We’ll fix it.

These are the reasons people contact us, usually once the site has already stopped cooperating.

What happens

  • Updates put off for months
  • One plugin updated and the site breaks
  • Plugins abandoned by their developers
  • Odd redirects, spam or pages that aren’t yours
  • A slow site, especially on mobile

What we do

  • Updates on staging, one at a time
  • Checks and restores from backup
  • Replacing abandoned plugins
  • Intrusion protection and secure access
  • Optimising images, cache and database

What we work with

Core, themes and pluginsOff-site backupsSecurityPHP and serverSupport
WordPressWooCommerce
What’s included

Everything that sits
under the dashboard.

  1. 01

    Core, themes and plugins.

    We read what changes, update on a copy of the site and check pages, forms and cart. Then we take it live. If a plugin is no longer maintained, we suggest an alternative.

    • Core
    • Themes
    • Plugins
  2. 02

    Off-site backups.

    Files and database saved regularly somewhere other than the site’s server. If the server has a problem, the backups don’t share it.

    • Off-site backups
    • Restore
  3. 03

    Security.

    Admin access cleaned up, unused users removed, permissions fixed, vulnerable plugins replaced, and a security layer that blocks intrusion attempts. If something still gets through, the backup takes the site back to before the attack.

    • Malware
    • Access
    • SSL
  4. 04

    PHP and server.

    Old PHP versions are slow and insecure. We move the site to supported versions, making sure the theme and plugins survive the switch.

    • PHP
    • Database
  5. 05

    Support.

    A theme change, a new form field, a feature your business needs. Requests go through the client area and are handled by someone who knows the site.

    • Changes
    • Client area
How we start

First we look.
Then we update.

  1. 01

    Initial review.

    Versions, plugins, theme, direct code edits, server and existing backups. We understand how the site is built before touching it.

  2. 02

    Making it safe.

    Full backup, staging, urgent fixes. We tell you what we found and what we suggest.

  3. 03

    Ongoing maintenance.

    Regular updates, backups, monitoring and fixes on request, with a yearly plan or an hours bundle.

FAQ

Questions about
WordPress.

How often should WordPress and plugins be updated?

Security updates should go in soon; the others can be grouped. What matters is not letting them pile up for months: the longer you wait, the bigger the jump and the more likely something breaks.

Can I just turn on automatic updates?

For minor core security releases it can be fine. For plugins and themes it’s a risk: an automatic update can break the site overnight without anyone noticing. That’s why we test them on staging first.

My WordPress site has been hacked, what should I do?

Don’t delete anything and change your admin and hosting passwords straight away. Then write to us. If we maintain your site, malware that’s easy to find is removed as part of the plan; for harder cases, or if we don’t look after the site, we send you a quote. With a clean backup, the site can also go back to how it was before the attack.

What happens if a plugin is no longer updated?

An abandoned plugin sooner or later becomes incompatible or vulnerable. We assess whether to replace it with a maintained one or, if the feature is simple, with a few lines of custom code.

Do you look after WooCommerce too?

Yes. On a shop, updates are tested more carefully: cart, payments, shipping and order emails must keep working.

You didn’t build the site: can you still maintain it?

Yes. We start with an initial review to understand the theme, plugins and changes made over the years, then tell you what needs fixing before we begin.

How do you remove malware from WordPress?

First you work out how it got in, not just what it left behind: modified files, added users, vulnerable plugins. Then you clean files and database, change every password and close the hole, otherwise the malware comes back. If there’s a clean backup, sometimes it’s better to start again from there. You’ll find how we work on the page about the hacked WordPress site.

How do you update PHP on WordPress without breaking the site?

You check that the theme and plugins support the new version, then test the site on a copy running the new PHP: pages, forms, cart, admin. Only when everything works do you switch the version on the live server. Whatever can’t cope gets updated or replaced before the switch.

Next serviceHacked WordPress site Hacked or infected WordPress site: we find how the attack got in, clean files and database, close the hole and protect the site.
The next project

A WordPress site to fix?
Write to us.

Send us the site address and what’s wrong: we’ll start from there.

Tell us about your WordPress ↗I’m an agency ↗

Let’s talk