Running a business while managing locations, travel, and changing work environments adds an extra layer of complexity to keeping your website secure and functioning smoothly. That’s why I’m launching this new series – “From Anywhere Weekly” – with practical WordPress maintenance tasks you can complete in under 10 minutes, no matter where you’re working from.
This week, we’re focusing on a quick but powerful security audit that will help protect your business website from unnecessary vulnerabilities.
Today’s 10-Minute Task: Plugin Inventory & Cleanup
Having too many plugins doesn’t just slow down your site—it can create security vulnerabilities that put your business at risk. Unused or outdated plugins are common entry points for hackers. The good news? You can significantly improve your site’s security with a quick plugin audit.
Why This Matters For Your Business
When you’re working from different locations or managing multiple responsibilities, the last thing you need is a website security breach disrupting your business. By spending just 10 minutes on this task:
- You’ll reduce the number of potential security vulnerabilities
- Your site will likely run faster and more efficiently
- You’ll have fewer plugins to update and maintain going forward
- You’ll minimise the risk of plugin conflicts that can break your site
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Take an on-demand back-up of your site
- Log into your WordPress dashboard
- Go to Plugins → Installed Plugins
- Create a simple spreadsheet or note with three categories:
- Must Keep: Essential for your site’s functionality
- Consider Removing: Might not be necessary
- Remove Now: Unused or redundant
- Review each plugin asking these questions:
- When was the last time I actually used this functionality?
- Is this feature critical to my business operations?
- Could this functionality be handled by another plugin I already have?
- When was this plugin last updated by its developer? (Plugins not updated in the last year are potential security risks)
- Deactivate (don’t delete yet) the plugins you’ve marked “Remove Now”
- Check your site’s critical functions to make sure nothing important broke after deactivation
- If everything works correctly, delete the deactivated plugins
- Make a note to review your “Consider Removing” list next week (or when you have more time)
How to Identify Essential vs. “Nice to Have” Plugins
Deciding which plugins to keep can be challenging. Here’s a practical framework to help you decide:
Essential Plugins Usually Include:
- Security plugins (like Wordfence or Sucuri)
- Backup solutions (like UpdraftPlus or Duplicator)
- SEO tools (like SEOPress or Rank Math)
- Form builders if you use contact forms
- Performance optimisation tools that your site relies on
- E-commerce functionality if you sell products or services online
“Nice to Have” Plugins Often Include:
- Multiple plugins that do similar things
- Design elements you added once and rarely update
- Feature-specific plugins you thought would be useful but rarely use
- Social media widgets that could be replaced with simpler solutions
- Analytics plugins when you could use Google Analytics instead
Pro Tip for Busy Business Owners
If you’re not sure whether you need a plugin, deactivate it (don’t delete it) and make a note to check if anything important breaks over the next week. If you don’t notice any issues after a week of normal business operations, it’s probably safe to remove.
Real-World Challenge: Working with Unreliable Internet
If you’re dealing with spotty WiFi while performing this audit, here’s a practical approach:
- Do your plugin inventory during a low-bandwidth moment – just making the list doesn’t require much internet connectivity
- Wait for a stable connection before deactivating or deleting plugins
- Take screenshots of your plugin settings before deactivating anything critical, so you can reference them later if needed
Next Week
In the next “From Anywhere Weekly” post, we’ll cover a quick process for managing comments and form submissions to ensure you never miss important customer communications, no matter where you are working from.
Do you have questions about which plugins are truly essential for your specific business website? Drop them in a message ~
