Hands-on vs Hands-off WordPress Site Owner: Which One Are You?

There’s more to running a successful site than just creating content regularly.

Unlike 3rd party platforms, WordPress sites have to be maintained for top performance.

That means either you do it or you hire it out, or you consider using a 3rd party, no-maintenance platform.

This article will help you determine which is the best path for you, and whether site services at BlogAid are a good fit for you.

Two Types of Site Platforms

There are two different types of platforms to run a site.

• 3rd party like Wix, Squarespace, and Shopify
• WordPress – at both managed services, like WordPress.com and self-hosted that use WordPress.org

For the purpose of this article, we will focus on self-hosted WordPress, meaning that the site owner pays for their own hosting.

No Maintenance Sites

The 3rd party platforms like Wix and Shopify offer a zero-tech way for folks to publish a site.

They are great for folks who want a simple web presence, like an online brochure, or a store front for selling physical products.

They also offer a variety of layouts (themes) and an easy-to-use interface for adding images and content, and perhaps a few styling tweaks to make the generic theme unique or match your branding.

No Maintenance Site Pros and Cons

There are trade-offs in using 3rd party platforms.

Pros

• The platform handles site speed and security
• All updates occur in the background, no user input needed
• Short learning curve to style or add content
• Fast to create and publish
• Easy to change content
• All-inclusive pricing
• Set and forget if content is static

Cons

• Limited in theme/layout/styling
• Can’t improve SEO
• Platform controls speed
• Limited add ons for extended functionality
• May have limited on-site marketing opportunities, like optins, landing pages, etc.
• May have Terms of Service restrictions on what you can post, link, or sell

Bottom line – 3rd party platforms are a great fit for hands-off site owners who don’t need or want unlimited options and who want to focus exclusively on content, marketing, and sales.

Self-Hosted WordPress Sites

WordPress represents democratized publishing.

That means you can make any type of site you want and do anything you want with it.

WordPress Site Pros and Cons

Just like 3rd party platforms, there are trade-offs with running a self-hosted WordPress site.

Pros

• Unlimited themes and styles
• Unlimited add ons to expand functionality
• Choice of hosting
• Can customize SEO
• Can improve speed
• Unlimited on-site marketing opportunities, like optins, landing pages, etc.
• No restrictions on what you can post, link, or sell

Cons

• Steeper learning curve
• Slower to create and publish
• Extra expenses for premium themes and plugins
• Dizzying array of theme and plugin choices that may not all work well, or may not work well together
• Potential for adding conflicting elements
• Updates are up to the site owner
• Speed is up to the site owner
• Security is up to the site owner
• Hosting environments are radically different

Bottom line – WordPress offers far more versatility, but requires a more knowledgeable site owner and has to be properly maintained.

WordPress Sites Require Technical Maintenance

Self-hosted WordPress sites have always been technical, meaning that the site owner is responsible for keeping them maintained.

WordPress site maintenance falls into 2 categories:

• DIY – site owner does most of the regular maintenance
• Outsourced – either through a monthly maintenance program or the type of managed hosting that offers regular maintenance

That’s it. 

There is no in between.

Either you, as the site owner, have to do it, or you pay for someone else to do it.

But it HAS to be done.

You can’t keep burying your head in the sand and not maintain your WP site fully!
Hack attacks are on the rise and in crowded niches, you need every edge you can get.
Site security directly impacts performance too.

What WordPress Site Maintenance Includes

Here’s a short list of elements that have to be maintained on a WordPress site.

• Set up a FULL backup strategy that gets everything and is stored off-site, meaning not at the hosting. This is your #1 security feature.
• Secure the site installation from the host root up and all the way out to a WAF (Web Application Firewall) that stops bad players from even hitting the host, much less your site. This also includes choosing a host that allows for full security measures. (FYI, there are no security plugins that do all of this – not even close.)
• Update WP, theme, and plugins regularly – lack of updates is the #1 reason sites get hacked. 
• Know how to recover or restore your site if an update blows something up. (FYI, here’s help for rolling back a plugin update.)
• Keep PHP level at the host current – PHP is one of the coding languages used for WP, themes, and plugins, and for your WP database too.
• Research and install only reputable themes and plugins that are well maintained and the code is compatible with WP current standards. Check theme and plugins regularly to ensure they remain maintained. In fact, you should properly vet plugins BEFORE you install them to ensure they aren’t a resource hog, speed drag, or cause security issues. Some plugins spew stuff everywhere and leave all kinds of orphaned files, folders, and database tables after they are deleted that could still cause conflicts with other plugins.
• Research 3rd party integrations to ensure they meet speed and security requirements.
• Pay for hosting migration services if you change hosts to ensure you are not leaving the keys to your kingdom at the old host and so your site can’t be hacked from that at the new host.
• If you run multiple sites, each one needs to be in its own control panel and each one needs to be properly secured.

That’s the short list of WordPress site maintenance duties.

Where to Get WP Site Maintenance Help

Following are tips to help you decide if you are a DIY, hands-on site owner or if you’d like to outsource site maintenance, and where to get help either way.

Are you a DIY Site Owner? 

If you have the time and interest, this will be the less expensive route, as far as out-of-pocket costs.

Here are a few tasks DIY site owners are willing to do. See if this is you.

You are comfortable with tech – this means that if someone will just give you the steps in non-geek-speak, you feel confident diving in and doing the steps yourself on changes/updates.

DIY site owner tasks include:

• Taking a manual backup when needed
• Updating plugins – including knowing how to roll them back or restore from backup if there is an issue
• Configuring plugin settings
• Accessing your hosting control panel to check/change settings
• Regularly reading posts like Tips Tuesday to keep ahead of the curve with big site changes coming down the pike and to stay updated on current/emerging issues and changes 
• Moving beyond being a tip collector and actually implementing changes in a timely fashion
• Making a spreadsheet or other doc of all of your plugins, what they do, and where to test that they are working
• Vetting plugins prior to upload to ensure there are no conflicts with what you already have and that they are not security or speed drags
• Deeply vetting anyone you hire to work on your site and keeping a detailed log of exactly what was done
• Willing to do your own research before you ask opinions of others
• Aren’t in the habit of calling the host for every little thing, especially for non-host related issues
• Have the time to do all of the above, and in a timely manner

What DIY Site Owners Should Outsource

There are several 1-off tasks that even DIY site owners should outsource to a qualified site tech.

And there are premium plugins that a DIY site owner should be willing to pay for.

Outsourced tasks include:

• Secure initial site setup – of course most folks don’t know to do this until after a site is setup
• Real security setup at the root of your host
• Full, secure backup with files stored off site – and sent there securely with something like the premium version of UpdraftPlus and AS3 storage.
• Deep cleaning of the site/database – there isn’t a plugin that does a decent job of this, and there is a risk to running even those.
• Real speed tweaks – not code trickery and plugin band aids – but fixing the underlying issues
• DNS records cleaned/deleted – some are leaking your host IP address to bad bots
• Get domain-related email off the hosting – and onto 3rd party like Google Workspace – and this should include proper DNS verification records setup for not only the email, but for your email list service provider to ensure deliverability (so your emails don’t land in the spam folder), as well as detaching all site notification emails from the host send service and using SMTP instead. (FYI, I have never encountered a single site owner who set all of this up fully or correctly – ever.)
• Setting up a CDN and WAF – like Cloudflare (there are 30+ settings that need to be configured for max speed and security). That includes willingness to pay for the Pro plan at $20/mo for the WAF – but at least willingness to get on the free version with your own account, not through the host.
• Real HTTPS conversion – with zero plugin trickery and all 5 HTTPS security headers. (READ: The Top 10 Reasons NOT to Use Free HTTPS Service). And FYI, Google started calling for 1 of those HTTPS security headers over 3 years ago. They are now calling for 3 of them, and will be calling for the other 2 soon, plus they are already calling for a minimum TLS encryption level. There’s more to it than an SSL certificate and your permalink being made HTTPS by hook or crook. And this also includes ensuring your Google Analytics and Search Console are set up for your canonical too.

It’s also worth mentioning that because you are taking care of your security, speed, and maintenance, you can move to less expensive hosting that is still fast and secure, but doesn’t have the extra overhead of WP experts to answer non-hosting questions. (FYI, my site audit clients rarely to never need to call on the host for anything.)

What Hands-off Site Owners Should Look For and Expect to Pay

If you don’t feel comfortable being a hands-on site owner, or you’re just too busy running your business to do the above tasks, then a paid site maintenance program is your best bet.

Here are a few examples of the different types of maintenance programs:

• Fully managed hosting – this is THE most expensive type of hosting, but it’s akin to using a 3rd party platform in that they take care of most everything for you. But they may also have limitations on themes and plugins that you can use, or what you can use your site for. FYI – the word “managed” in hosting has no standardization and means different things at different hosts. READ: What is Managed Hosting? for details. FYI, even with a fully managed host, they are not going to be proactive when it comes to site speed, or cleaning the database or orphaned files and such. And they won’t recommend themes or plugins either, unless they are in the list of what not to use on their hosting. These hosts also have proprietary setups and don’t allow you to access everything, or to even tweak much of it.
• Pseudo managed hosting – This is the next most expensive hosting you can buy. These hosts usually have proprietary setups that allow them to control some maintenance aspects of your site, but give you a bit more leeway in what you can use and do. And what you’re really paying for is the ability to call on them for any little thing, including hosting and WP issues. READ: What is Managed Hosting? for details.
• Basic maintenance program – these packages usually include backups and plugin/theme/WP updates, and perhaps a limited amount of time per month for extra fixes/questions. They run $25-$50/mo. FYI, many of these packages are offered by VAs and other non-techie webmasters, so be super careful to fully vet who you hire. If they can’t do what’s listed in my Webmaster Training program, then be sure they have ties to a qualified site tech or dev to back them up if they run into issues.
• Full maintenance program – these packages include what is in the Basic maintenance program above, but also include proactive updates for HTTPS, security, PHP, and more of the 1-off tasks that may need to be outsourced anyway. They also usually include more available time per month for other fixes and questions. And they may have discounts on theme tweaks. They run $100-$150/mo and may have restrictions on what you can use/do on the site. At this price, they better know how to do everything in my Webmaster Training program and more.

What to Do Either Way

Get a site audit – site speed, security, and SEO change all the time. 

There is no such thing as set it and forget it with WordPress sites.

Yes, BlogAid offers 1-off site audits with fixes too. But, no continued partner support, like we have in our BB Hub.

FYI, if you are currently in a maintenance program, or on a fully managed host, be sure that it is within their Terms of Service for another site tech to poke around and/or make changes first!!

Also keep in mind that there is no single right way to do anything with a site, and that every site tech has a combo for how they believe things work best.

So, if you jump from tech to tech, you’re bound to hear different opinions and/or will need to dismantle work that another tech has done so there are no conflicts with the combo the new tech believes is better.

Want a Partner in All of This?

BlogAid is one of the few, if not only, site services providers that partners with DIY, hands-on site owners to deliver fast, secure sites that make money and proactively keeps site owners updated with changes.

It’s a partnership.

I help educate you on next-level site ownership and do the 1-off techie work.

You do your part to modify existing plugins or optimization methods to ensure your site is safe and fast, and you vet new themes and plugins to ensure it stays that way.

You keep yourself in the know by reading Tips Tuesday and being part of our BB Hub village that is filled with other educated, money-making site owners like you who all help each other.

And you get an annual audit checkup plus do any tutorial-lead changes in between those checkups to keep your site in top performance.

I do my part. You do your part. And we dance to your site success.