ð¥ WordPress introduced a site health check feature in version 5.1 which was further improved in WordPress 5.2 to include a site health check score. ð©º
This feature helps website owners keep an eye on the performance and security issues that may affect their sites. It may not seem straightforward, but itâs not hard to learn how to properly use the site health feature, and what it can or cannot do.
In this video, we will show you how to get fix the âshould be improvedâ score to a good score in the WordPress site health check. We will also answer some commonly asked questions about the site health feature.
0:00 Intro
0:28 Hosting and your Site’s Health
1:50 Install SSL Certificate
3:33 Always Stay Updated!
4:25 Keep Themes and Plugins Updated
6:22 Use Latest Version of PHP & MySQL
8:44 Keep Rest API Enabled
10:19 PHP Modules
11:54 Disable Debug Mode
13:03 Cron Jobs
ð Links to Cool Stuff from this Video ð
âºBluehost https://www.wpbeginner.com/refer/bluehost/
âºSiteGround https://www.wpbeginner.com/refer/siteground/
âºHostinger https://wpbeginner.com/refer/hostinger
âºWP Crontrol https://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-crontrol/
âºAvoid Google’s Insecure Warning! How to Move WordPress from HTTP to HTTPS https://youtu.be/aINUkl-Ogp4
âº20+ Tips to Boost Your WordPress Site’s Speed https://youtu.be/1lFxGQSdqaY
Top Resources
â¡Use Promo Code WPBVIPâ¡
âºBest WordPress Contact Form Plugin https://wpforms.com/wpbeginner
âºBest WordPress Analytics Plugin https://www.monsterinsights.com/
âºBest Lead Generation Plugin https://optinmonster.com/
âºBest WordPress SEO Plugin
https://aioseo.com/
âºBest Theme Builder for WordPress https://www.seedprod.com/
Related Videos
âºWordPress Tutorial – How to Make a WordPress Website for Beginners https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvbFBxKcORA
âºWordPress Gutenberg Tutorial: How to Easily Work With the Block Editor https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjfrzGeB5_g
âºWhat is SEO and How Does it Work? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjfrzGeB5_g
âºHow to Install a WordPress Theme https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIPQRQLAz90
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If you go to a doctor for a health Checkup they'll definitely give you a Report to tell you how you're doing from A health perspective but did you know That WordPress also offers a health Check it absolutely does and similar to How you see on the screen your website's Health might be failing so in this video I'm going to give you the most essential Tips you can follow very very easily to Improve your website's health and also Improve website functionality security And performance all at the same time Easy to follow tips all for free so Let's get started the first thing to Look out for when checking your WordPress Health score is to get better Hosting hosting is one of the most Important decisions you'll take when Fixing or improving your website or Checking its Health score or performance Because your hosting provider affects The website security the performance all The backend features that are invisible To you are also dependent on the host Because whatever technological platform They're using is what WordPress is Dependent on to actually perform as its Best so if your hosting provider isn't Great the health check should be the Least of your concerns because Ultimately you'll run into more bigger Problems in the future if your host Can't solve Sol it when it comes to
Performance security and tons of other Features now hosting itself is a big big Decision and it can get very technical To understand what hosting provider is Good what's not great so if you don't Want to get into the technical Discussion the easiest answer for you is To just pick from the three of the top Hosting providers that WordPress Recommends and we recommend as well the Answers are blueh host sideg ground and Hostinger you'll find links on the Screen and also in the link in the Description of this video to all three Providers they're absolutely fantastic For beginner websites small business Websites websites for solopreneurs and All that good stuff so make sure to Check those hosting providers out these Are all all fantastic hosting providers When it comes to security performance And all the other features technological Features that you might not be aware of All these hosting providers absolutely Fantastic on all three grounds and You'll never run into problems when it Comes to any of the health checks and of Course the other problems that I Mentioned the next thing to look out for If you're trying to improve your health Check score is to install an SSL Certificate or move to the https version Of your website let me demonstrate so This is a a simple website you see the
URL is business website.com and if I Click here you'll see business Website.com connection is secure this is The default behavior for most websites They come equipped with an SSL Certificate that means the connection Between the browser that the user has And the website is secure now let's look At the opposite end of the spectrum this Is a website that does not use https so You Google what this does in Chrome Browser and every other browser as well Just displays a not secure sign if a User clicks on it they'll see your Connection to this site is not secure Now what this does is erode the trust of Your user that they have in your website So if you have this users are scared to Pass on their personal information sign Up for email list and make payments on Your site it's not a great practice Overall to have on your site and Google Also demotes your website in the search Results if you don't have an SSL Certificate now the good news is there's Easy ways to actually migrate your site To https if you have an existing website And if you don't have an existing Website you're starting website just go To Links in the description sign up for Any of the hosting providers that I Mentioned and by default they already Install a free SSL certificate for you Without any cost so they'll install it
For you they'll configure it for you you Just build your website and everything Will be uh working from an SSL Perspective right from the get-go no Manual work required and if you already Have website we have a lot of tutorials On our website or on our YouTube channel As well already which describe how to Actually migrate your website to https Or using an SSL certificate so I'll Place it on screen and also Link in Description so after you watch this Video go watch it it's absolutely simple Process you'll be done in a couple of Hours all right now on the next tip the Next thing to keep in mind to get a Great health score is to always keep WordPress updated onto my screen here WordPress does a great job of notifying You whenever there's a new version out So you'll see on this website WordPress 6.4.2 is available please update now This is a persistent message you can't Get rid of it unless you update so if You're just logged into your website You'll always see this on the screen so It's a great nudge to actually just go And update and you can also go into the Dashboard and the update section section And find out here but if you're just Accessing the website anywhere just Click the please update now button keep A back of your website ready and then Update to the latest version it takes a
Few minutes of time and it's usually Very very safe nothing usually happens On your website and it gives you all the Great benefits new security features Better performance all that good stuff And also will improve your health score Overall on your WordPress health check On to the next tip the next thing to do To improve your WordPress Health score Is to keep your plugins and themes Updated onto my skin hair once again This is a section in my website for Plugins install plugins this is where You'll find all the plugins that are Installed on your website as well and as You can see a lot of plugins I have Installed are not update to the latest Version if you don't do this then you Will not receive the perfect health Score and updating plugins is actually Very very easy just click the update now Button for example if I go here and I Just do this update now it'll Automatically start updating you should Also do this for themes so by going into Appearance and themes you can find out All the themes that required and update And update your themes as well now when You're talking about plugins and themes One more thing to remember which is also Very important is to delete plugins that You don't use for example you see here I'm using the wp code pro version on my Website but the light version is also
Installed that means the light version Is absolutely not required for me on the Site right now so what I should be doing And what you should be doing as well on Your website is whenever you find a Plugin that hey I'm not using this Plugin why is it installed just delete It like this click okay it take a few Seconds and be deleted off your website This keeps your website secure because Old plugins can also have Vulnerabilities so why take the hassle Delete the old plugins that you're not Using on your site and make sure that Plugins are actually updated you can Also enable automatic updates for Plugins so what you can do is what you Can do select the plugin for example Here and go here just enable auto Updates and click apply and what will Happen is all those plugins whenever There's a new version out of that plugin It'll automatically be updated to the Latest version that's fantastic so you Don't have to go into website and update Plugins manually now this is a personal Choice but it's highly recommended that You update your plugins to the latest Version already for heal check and also For security updates for better Performance and more features that the Plugin authors actually put out so make Sure to you update to the latest version Of all the plugins and delete the
Plugins that you don't use and automatic Plugin updates is something up to you But I'll highly recommend that you turn It on on to the next tip the next thing To keep in mind to get a great WordPress Health score is to use the latest Version of PHP and my skill or whatever Data system you're using PHP is the Language in which WordPress is written In and MySQL or marad DB is the database Structure where all the data is stored Now similar to how you have versions of WordPress there are versions of PHP that Are released by The Entity or the Organization that manages PHP and MySQL But if you're not using the latest Version you are missing out on a lot of Security features performance benefits And tons of other things that make your Website fast and better so what you Should do is ensure that the latest Version of PHP whatever is supported by WordPress is what your website is using For example if I go here on my screen And if you use or try out your website Or build your website on a local server Using this application called local you Can instantly see the PHP version here I'm using the PHP version 8.1.2 3 which Is one of the more recent versions and The database is MySQL 8.0.1 point6 now In this server or in this application Which is used for local websites I can Actually just go to the drop down and
Update or downgrade the version of Whatever PHP version I want but this Does not work the same way when it comes To actual live websites on hosting Providers in fact I've actually Demonstrated how to go and update to the Latest version of PHP with blue host in A previous video I'll place the clip on The screen but the easiest way how you Can ensure that you have the latest Version of PHP running on your site and Also the latest version of Maria DB or MySQL is to just do two things first you Should go for a repeated hosting Providers because most repeated hosting Providers will already be using the Latest versions because it helps them Actually bu build websites which are More secure and perform better and once You've done this all you have to do is Reach out to the support teams of Whatever let's say hosting provid are Using example Blu host side ground or Hostinger and just ask them hey am I Using the latest version of PHP am I Using the latest version of myc M DV and They'll confirm it and if by chance well If you're not using the latest version Just request them to update your website To the latest version and it will be Taken care of by them automatically or They'll direct you on how to do it Yourself and it should be absolutely Easy once again it just takes a few
Clicks but since there are so many Different hosting providers I can't Possibly demonstrate how it happens or How it works with every different Hosting provider but as I said I've Already demonstrated it how it works With blue host so it should be very easy To follow and very similar in other Hosting providers as well on to the next STP the next thing to check to ensure That you have a great WordPress Health Score is to keep your rest API enabled Now it's a technical term so let me Clarify if you haven't explicitly Disabled the rest API it is enabled by Default so you don't have to do anything This is just a confirmation that if you Have is disabled it by let's say by Chance or you trying something then keep It enabled what is the rest API the rest API is think of it as a service running In the background that allows third Party developers or third party plugins Or plugins to actually connect with External services so let's say for Example you have a dynamic widget on Your site which is fetching information For let's say Facebook where you're Displaying Facebook comments or Instagram uh post are embedded on your Site all this information is coming from Facebook and Instagram or meta so to be Able to connect with these websites and Services the rest API is utilized so if
You disable it for some reasons then you Won't be able to use these services or Any other thirdparty services which Connect with your website so it's Absolutely critical that you keep them Enabled otherwise a lot of your plugins And another functionality on your Website might be broken now one thing to Keep in mind that not every website Needs it for example at w beginner most Of our websites uh don't have rest API Enabled because we understand the Technical limitations of it and we just Keep disabled for security reasons but We understand the implications of Disabling them if you're just a beginner You uh just using WordPress to build Basic website then you don't need to Worry most of the time the rest API is Enabled and you just have to keep it That way to get a great WordPress Health Score and also not enable or not affect Any of the functionality on the website On to the next Tip the next tip to keep in mind to Ensure that you have a great WordPress Health score and also functionality on a Website is not affected you have the Best features of WordPress is to ensure That most of most important PHP modules Are active on your site now it's a Mouthful to understand what I'm saying So let me clarify as I already mentioned In the previous step PHP is the language
In which PHP or WordPress is actually Written in and similar to how WordPress Has plugins PHP also has different Modules that can be enabled or disabled Which is usually under the control of Your hosting provider so technically It's in the hands of the hosting Provider to ensure that all the relevant PHP plugins are actually active now you Can't go and fix it without some Technical help or technical Understanding of what you're doing or Even ask for support from the hosting Provider so the best thing you can do is Just go to the recommended hosting Solutions that we recommended Blu host Hostinger and sideg ground they are Absolutely fantastic hosting providers And most of the time or I say not most Of the time almost all the time they'll Have all the relevant uh extensions for PHP already installed and active because They have using or they've been using The latest tech setups for WordPress so You won't run into any trouble with the Health check and also other features on Your site so the easiest way as I said The first thing I mentioned if you just Have a good hosting provider many of These problems can be solved or will not Occur in the first place if you just Have a good hosting provider so if you Have good hosting provider all the Relevant PHP extensions will be enabled
Otherwise you can just ask from your Hosting provider support hey are these Or am I using the most important Extensions can you double check and They'll be able to answer your question In a relevant way on to the next tip the Next thing to double check on your Website and actually disable on your Site is disabling your debug mode on WordPress if it is enabled now why what Is a debug mode and why it's used or why Would be on in the first place well if You have a developer working on your Website debug mode is something that They use to debug the site that means Problems or solve or find out issues That have been happening because they're Doing something custom on your side it's Actually important for developers but Sometimes in rare cases developers while They develop or deliver the website to You they might have left it on so what You need to do is disable the debu mode On a site because first of all it uses More resources and also it gives out More information about your website than It's actually required so just for Security and also a better performance On website debug mode should be disabled On a site if you don't know how to do This how to check this if you have not Actually uh worked with a custom or Developer to customize your site you are Probably good to go otherwise what you
Can do is just ask the developer hey is Debug mode enabled on my site they'll be Answer able to answer that question and If it's enabled they'll also be able to Disable it as well so easy peasy simple Fix but very important fix for a great Health check and also a secure website On to the next step the last tip I can Give you for great health check and also For a fully functional website is to Ensure that Crown jobs can run on your Site let me explain also demonstrate What it means look at this website I'm Inside the tools section inside the site Health section or not the site health Section I'm inside the coron event Section and these are all the automated Events that are scheduled to run on your Website and you also see the uh amount Of reoccurrence time or how frequently Are they running on S so every 5 minutes The search WP index controller is Running every minute this is running Every 5 minutes once hourly non- Repeating non- repeating and some are Running twice daily some some are uh Running once daily these are background Activities that happen on your website Regardless of you if you're using your Website or not and these are absolutely Critical to actually run your website And have a healthy website so by chance If crown jobs are disabled on website a Lot of these things will start failing
So how do you ensure that these are Enabled if you go into the tool section You might not find the crown event Section because you for that or to see All the crown jobs available on your Site need to go into your plugin section And install this plugin which I have on My site it's called WP CR trol I'll Leave a link in the description of this Video it's a free plugin go and install This and by doing this you'll be able to Come here and see all the crown jobs Working on the site if you see any Errors here if you see hey something is Failing uh then you should contact your Hosting provider and say hey my crown Jobs are failing why is that happening Make sure that Crown uh Crown jobs are Abled and cron is working perfectly on Your site once this is done you should Have no issues with crown running on Your site and you should have no Problems with your heal check and also Your website should be fully functioning As well all right these are the tips I Have for you for great WordPress health Check and also have a healthy and fully Functioning website which of these tips Were new to you which of these tips are You going to apply to your site and what Are results do you expect let me know in The comments otherwise like share Subscribe share the good com out there I'm yrj and you're watching the most
Helpful WordPress related tutorials on The internet from W beginner I'll catch You in the next video hopefully very Very soon make sure to subscribe before You leave I'll catch you next video take Care
