Will your small business website still be found?

Yes, things are changing, it is true. However, the standard is rising too.

Google AI search features, like AI overviews, rely on content that Google can discover, index, and understand. Google says that its generative AI search experiences are built upon the fundamental principles of search ranking and quality systems — which means they haven’t gone away. They’ve evolved into something even more important.

What Is Changing In Google Search?

Google will be using AI-generated summaries on many searches. While you could previously only see a list of links, you can now see an overview summary. This gives the user both a short answer, supporting links and an easier path to find what they want.

This is important to local businesses as customers are asking smarter questions. It’s no longer enough for customers to simply type “plumber near me” into their search bar. Customers could also type “who fixes clogged drains after hours?” or “which local accountant helps sole traders with tax returns?”

A strong service page is one that clearly defines the service offered by your company, where the service is delivered, what problems are being solved, what the service delivery process is, and includes evidence like reviews or case studies to support your claims.

Why Does SEO Still Matter?

SEO is not dead. It is doing a more demanding job.

Good SEO for local businesses helps Google connect your website to the correct search term, geographic location and customer requirement. The SEO services page highlights the importance of having a purposeful keyword strategy. Businesses want to be found when customers search for information about their products or services, as this leads to inquiries rather than just vanity traffic.

For AI search, there must be quality source material. Ensuring your website has a clear structure, fast loading times, and mobile-friendliness helps Google understand and trust your content.

What Should Local Websites Improve First?

Start with those pages that will help generate new customer leads. This includes service pages, location pages, contact page and your Google Business Profile. All these pages need to tell the same story about what you do, where you do it and how potential customers can get in touch with you.

For more details on reviews, photos and local listing consistency, Paul’s guide on how to rank in Google Maps is a useful next read.

Practical Checklist For Better AI Search Visibility

Firstly, update your primary service pages. Include an FAQ, service categories, evidence, testimonials, and clear action items to take after viewing your page. A website audit will help identify thin content, technical issues such as crawling errors or broken links, and poor internal linking.

Then review your content plan. Local blog posts still matter when they answer real customer questions, and Paul’s guide to blogging for local businesses is a useful next step if your blog feels stale.

Use clear headings, link related pages, and add original photos from jobs, staff, or projects. For structure and on-page guidance, Paul’s article on SEO optimised content is worth reading.

What Should You Avoid?

Do not use mass-produced AI content that does nothing to build trust locally. While this type of content will keep your blog calendar full, you will never build any real credibility.

Do not waste time on “AI SEO tricks.” Shortcuts do not work. Local businesses do better when they show real experience, answer questions and make it easy for customers to take the next step.

Ready To Review Your Website?

Google AI search is changing how results appear, but it has not removed the need for local websites. Businesses that explain their services clearly and keep their online information up to date are in the best position.

If you want to know whether your website is ready for AI search and local SEO, contact Paul Barrs for a website and SEO review.

The post What Google’s AI Search Means For Local Small Business Websites first appeared on PaulBarrs.com.

Over the years, I have helped many business owners work through a range of website problems, especially with WordPress and WooCommerce. Sometimes the cause is obvious, like a security breach. Other times, what starts as a small technical glitch turns out to be a sign of something more serious. In many cases, the real worry is not just that a site was hacked, but that the early warning signs were missed and the problem had already started quietly in the background.

Below, I’ll outline some of the most common website security problems I see, what they usually mean, and most importantly, what you can do to lower the risk.

The kinds of problems we regularly encounter

1. Loss of administrator access

One of the more worrying problems is when a genuine site owner suddenly loses admin access to WordPress. Sometimes the account is still there, but no longer has administrator rights. Other times, new admin users have been added, and the real owner has been downgraded or removed altogether.

This is usually a clear sign that someone else has gained access and is trying to take control. Once an attacker has admin rights, they can install malicious plugins, change passwords, create hidden users, edit files, inject spam, or redirect your site traffic somewhere else.

To the business owner, it often just feels like being locked out. In reality, it is usually a deliberate attempt to take over the website.

2. Malware hidden inside plugin or theme files

I have seen cases where malicious code was hidden inside files that should be safe, including plugin files and even folders that look like they belong to well-known tools. This makes detection harder, because the infected file can sit inside a normal-looking folder and appear harmless at first glance.

Sometimes the malware is easy to spot. Other times, it is hidden using scrambled code, odd file names, or files placed where you would not expect them. A hacked site can still look normal to visitors, while these files quietly cause damage behind the scenes.

This is one reason why a site can “look fine” to the owner while search engines, security tools, or hosting scans are already flagging it as compromised.

3. Plugin updates or uploads suddenly stop working

Another problem I often see is when normal WordPress functions suddenly stop working. You might not be able to upload plugins, update themes, or install security patches. Sometimes this is due to permission problems, incorrect file ownership, or broken configuration files. Other times, it is the result of malicious tampering.

This is a serious issue because if updates stop working, the site becomes more vulnerable as time goes on. You might know there is an urgent plugin update, but be unable to install it. That delay can leave the door open for attackers to exploit known weaknesses.

4. Spam or “casino” pages appearing in Google

This is one of the most confusing problems for business owners. You might search Google for your own site and find strange spam pages in the results, often about gambling, pills, adult content, or random foreign keywords, even though you cannot see those pages anywhere in WordPress.

This usually points to one of several issues:

• The site has had spam content injected into the database.
• Malicious files are generating hidden pages dynamically.
• The site was serving different content to search engines than to human visitors.
• Old hacked URLs are still indexed even after some of the malware has been removed.

This kind of compromise is especially damaging because it affects trust. Even if your customers never see the spam, Google might. Once search engines start linking your website with spam, your rankings and reputation can take a hit.

5. Fake WooCommerce orders and bot abuse

For online shops, one of the most frustrating problems is a flood of fake orders. These usually come from bots using fake names, dodgy email addresses, changing IP addresses, or automated attempts to test your checkout and payment forms.

Even with tools like CAPTCHA in place, fake orders can still get through if the attack targets a specific part of the checkout or if other protections are not strong enough. This wastes staff time, clutters your order system, triggers unnecessary notifications, and makes it harder to spot real customer activity.

These attacks are not always about buying products. Sometimes, bots are testing for weaknesses, probing your payment gateway, or trying to exploit how your forms work.

6. Suspicious files in odd locations

A common sign after a compromise is finding odd files in places they do not belong. This could be ZIP files in upgrade folders, hidden PHP files with random names, altered configuration files, odd cron jobs, or scripts in directories not usually used for running code.

Often, these are backdoors: small files that let an attacker get back in later, even after the main problem has been cleaned up. If you only remove the obvious malware but leave the backdoor, the site can be reinfected.

This is why a proper clean-up is rarely as simple as deleting one bad file and moving on.

7. Changed configuration files, permissions, or security settings

I have also seen cases where important files like wp-config.php, .htaccess, or file permissions needed close examination. Even a small unauthorised change can block updates, weaken security, break how the site works, or help malware stay hidden.

Incorrect file permissions can make your site more vulnerable. Weak configuration can expose sensitive areas. Broken rewrite rules can cause strange redirects. If a hacker has changed security settings, the site may stay unstable until those are fixed properly.

8. Plugin conflicts and fatal errors after security events

Not every problem is caused by malware. Sometimes, a site starts showing fatal errors, recovery mode emails, or AJAX failures after updates, plugin conflicts, or earlier damage from a compromise. I have seen this happen. The key point is this: once a site has been hacked, any later technical issues need to be handled with care. What looks like a simple plugin error might be unrelated, or it could be a side effect of corrupted files, unsafe updates, missing permissions, or incomplete clean-up. sing permissions, or incomplete clean-up work.

What does all of this teach website owners?

The main lesson is that website security is not just about stopping dramatic hacks. It is about reducing the number of weak spots attackers can use, and making it easier to spot and fix problems quickly.

A hacked site rarely happens because of one single issue alone. More often, it is a combination of factors:

• outdated plugins or themes
• weak passwords
• Poor user access control
• missing or unreliable backups
• unsafe plugins
• inadequate monitoring
• ignored warning signs
• no regular maintenance

The good news is that most of these risks can be lowered a lot with the right habits and a few sensible systems.

What can website owners do to mitigate the risks?

Keep WordPress, themes and plugins updated.

This is still one of the most important basics. Many successful attacks happen simply because a known vulnerability was left unpatched. Waiting too long to update gives attackers a chance to use well-known weaknesses.

That said, updates should be done carefully. Ideally:

• Keep a recent backup before updating.
• test major updates where possible
• remove plugins and themes you no longer use
• Avoid abandoned plugins with poor support histories.

An old plugin that still works can still be a major security risk.

Use strong passwords and two-factor authentication.

Passwords should be unique, strong, and not reused across different services. Admin accounts, hosting, domain logins, email, and payment tools all need proper protection.

Where possible, enable two-factor authentication for:

• WordPress admin users
• cPanel or hosting access
• domain registrar accounts
• email accounts
• any key third-party services connected to the site

Even if a password is leaked, two-factor authentication adds an extra barrier.

Not everyone needs full admin rights. One of the simplest ways to lower risk is to ensure each user only has the access they actually need. of access they actually need.

Review your users regularly:

• Remove old staff or developers who no longer need access.
• Check for unknown admin accounts.
• Avoid sharing one master login across multiple people.
• Use editor or shop manager roles where suitable instead of admin.

The fewer high-level accounts you have, the fewer chances an attacker gets.

Use reputable security tools and server-side scanning.

WordPress security plugins can help with firewall rules, login protection, malware scanning, and monitoring for changes. Server-level malware scanning adds another layer, especially if your site is hosted in a managed environment.

Security tools are not perfect, but they can give you early warning when something changes unexpectedly. They are especially useful for spotting altered files, suspicious behaviour, and strange login activity.

Maintain reliable, off-site backups.

A backup is only useful if it is recent, complete, and can actually be restored. Make sure backups are running automatically and include both your files and database.

Even better, keep backups in more than one place. If the server is compromised, you do not want your only backup stored on the same system.

A good backup plan can turn a major disaster into a manageable recovery job.

Monitor for unusual changes.

Many compromises are first noticed through indirect symptoms:

• sudden admin lockout
• strange Google search results
• fake orders
• unexplained plugin errors
• new files appearing unexpectedly
• customer complaints about suspicious behaviour
• search console warnings
• security scan alerts

These signs should never be ignored. Looking into them early often makes the clean-up much easier.

Review Google indexing and search console regularly.

Sometimes, the first sign of trouble is not inside WordPress, but in Google. It is worth searching for your own domain now and then, and checking Google Search Console for warnings, spam URLs, security issues, or odd verification records that have been indexed; the problem is not only technical. It is also an SEO and reputation issue.

Be cautious with plugins.

Every plugin adds features, but it also adds risk. Some of the worst website problems I have seen started with just one vulnerable, poorly maintained, or unnecessary plugin.

As a general rule:

• Use fewer plugins where practical.
• Choose well-supported plugins with a solid reputation.
• Delete unused plugins completely.
• Be cautious with file manager plugins and other tools that increase direct server access.
• review whether every plugin is truly necessary

Convenience often comes at a security cost.

Check file permissions and configuration when something feels “off”

If updates fail, uploads stop working, or admin functions start acting strangely, it is worth checking file permissions, ownership, and key configuration files. Problems here can be both a sign of compromise and a cause of future trouble.

A healthy website is not just about content and design. The setup behind the scenes matters too.

Have a proper maintenance plan.

Most businesses do not need to become technical experts, but they do need a system. Websites should not be left for months without attention. A good maintenance plan usually includes:

• updates
• backups
• security scanning
• uptime monitoring
• periodic manual checks
• user account review
• plugin and theme housekeeping

Security is not a one-off job. It is ongoing care.

Final thoughts

Most website owners never expect to deal with malware, spam pages, fake orders, lost admin access, or hidden backdoor files. Yet these problems are more common than many people realise, especially on WordPress sites that have not had regular maintenance.

The good news is that many of the worst outcomes can be prevented, or at least made much less likely, with some sensible precautions. Strong passwords, limited admin access, regular updates, reliable backups, good monitoring, and quick action when something seems off all make a real difference.

A website does not need to be perfect to be much safer. But it does need attention.

For business owners, the key message is this: do not wait until your site is obviously broken before taking security seriously. By the time a problem is visible, there may already be much more happening underneath.

If your website has been acting strangely, showing spam in Google, losing admin access, sending odd notifications, or having repeated technical issues, it is worth looking into it properly. A quick response today can save you a much bigger clean-up job tomorrow.

The post When Your Website Goes Wrong: Common WordPress Security Problems and How to Lower the Risk first appeared on PaulBarrs.com.

Here are our top 10 tips for small business success online:

(Repost)

1. Optimise your website for page load speed: A slow-loading website can turn off potential customers and hurt your search engine rankings. Make sure your website is optimised for fast loading by reducing image sizes, using a content delivery network, and minimising the use of heavy scripts and plugins. This will not only improve the user experience but also increase the chances of higher conversion rates.

2. Invest in SEO: Search engine optimisation (SEO) is the process of improving the visibility of a website or a web page in a search engine’s unpaid results. Investing in SEO can increase your website’s visibility, drive more traffic, and improve your chances of being found by potential customers. Conduct keyword research to identify which keywords your target audience is searching for, then optimise your website accordingly. This can include meta tags, header tags, and keyword-rich content.

3. Use social media: Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are great ways to connect with potential customers, promote your products and services, and build brand awareness. Social media can also be used to build relationships with customers and gain valuable feedback on your products and services.

4. Offer multiple customer service options: Providing multiple options for customer service, such as email, phone, and live chat, can help improve customer satisfaction and increase loyalty. Ensure a dedicated customer service team is in place to handle all queries and complaints and respond promptly.

5. Create valuable content: Creating valuable content, such as blog posts, e-books, and infographics, can help establish your business as a thought leader in your industry and bring more visitors to your website. This can also help increase your website’s visibility and provide a platform to promote your products and services.

6. Use analytics: Using analytics tools like Google Analytics can help you track your website traffic and understand how visitors interact with your site. This information can help you make data-driven decisions about how to improve your online presence. These analytics can also be used to track the success of your marketing campaigns and identify areas for improvement.

7. Use email marketing: Email marketing is a great way to keep in touch with your customers and promote your products and services. It can also be used to send targeted promotions and offers to specific customer groups.

8. Optimise for mobile: With more and more people accessing the internet on their mobile devices, it’s important to make sure your website is optimised for mobile. This includes ensuring your website is responsive and that its layout and navigation are easy to use on a small screen. This will ensure your website is accessible to a wider range of customers, regardless of the device they use.

9. Use PPC advertising: Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising can be an effective way to drive traffic to your website. Platforms like Google AdWords and Bing Ads allow you to create ads that appear at the top of search results, increasing the likelihood that potential customers will see them. This can be a cost-effective way to drive targeted traffic to your website and increase your online visibility.

10. Monitor and improve: Continuously monitor and improve your online presence. Monitor your analytics and adjust your website and social media strategy as needed.

By following these tips, small businesses can improve their online presence and increase their chances of success in the new year.

And, as always, if you’d like some help with your website/digital marketing, get in touch! Have a look at my calendar to see if there is something that suits you – Click Here.

The post Our Top 10 Tips for Small Business Success Online in 2026 first appeared on PaulBarrs.com.

See the end of the infographic for a transcript of the above video

Transcript

Hi there, folks. My name is Paul Barrs. Hello and welcome. Thank you so much for taking the time to come and join with me with today’s monthly update.

Now, today we’re talking about website security, specifically WordPress website security being the most popular CMS these days. And in the past two weeks, my team and I have had to rebuild and repair three different websites who came under a hack attack. Now, if you’re a business owner, this can be devastating news as it certainly was for one of them, middle of the school holidays, tour operator. Bang. Website goes down due to a hack, something which could have been easily prevented. So today I’m going to give you some tips for step-by-step processes you can go through to secure your website and hopefully, hopefully slam the gateway shut to prevent hackers in their tracks. Grab your pen and paper. Let’s take some notes.Number one. The very first one is your hosting company. You have to choose a good hosting company. Now, there are some different variables here, but across the board, I can summarize this and say, “Don’t pick the cheapest one.” There’s probably a reason why it is the cheapest one. Also, you might want to find out how many other websites are also being hosted on that same shared server. Now, we will use shared servers. I run my own, but it is limited to my own customers’ websites, no more. You cannot get access otherwise, which means then the managed hosting that I provide, well, it’s very secure.

One of the sites that we had to repair came from a place where we couldn’t even package up the cPanel and just move it to our own secure hosting. We had to pull apart the elements of the website once we rebuilt it and guess what? They got hacked and their website was just turned off. No options. We’ll turn it back on once you pay this money and delete these files, then we’ll turn it back on. You need someone who’s going to work with you a little bit better, a little bit easier than that.

Number two on my list is your choice of theme and your choice of plugins. Don’t just use a free theme and try and avoid the free plugins when you can. Now, I know that’s not always possible, but when you’re purchasing the plugin, give it a test, give it a try. If there’s a pro version, upgrade so you get the updates all the time, so you get the notifications. And folks, just on this very quickly on the side, if you’re setting up a new WordPress website, please make sure that as you create the setup in place that you rename your database files to something unique, not just the standard because all hackers know just the standard.

The next one on the list. Number three is a good, strong WordPress security plugin. Now, there’s three or four really good ones there. My team and I, we use iThemes Security. And it does the job for us of what we need. The most important thing is you need to make sure that once it’s been set up that you change the login URL, so it’s not just wp-admin or wp-login.php. Every hacker in the world knows that these are the generic default logins. And WordPress comes with a whole bunch of generic default things that what? Every hacker in the world knows about. So you need to make sure that you change some of those.

Another thing you should do is limit login attempts. By default, WordPress will let you try and try and try again. You can do this with a good security plugin, and we have ours limited to three, which means if you get it wrong, your IP address will be tracked, logged, and blacked out so you can’t get access anymore.

You should also look at, if it’s appropriate, limiting your login times. Say for example, here in Australia, if we have a client who’s really only going to be working on their website during the day, during business hours, we will disable login attempts what? After hours, middle of the night. We don’t need someone from Russia coming in at 3:00 in the morning and hacking that website. So we take the precaution and limit the login times.

Another thing that you should do and these security plugins will take care of this for you which is why it’s so important is that you should hide your WordPress version number. Now, we’ll talk later about keeping things up-to-date, but more importantly, hide the version number. Not sure how to do this, you can use one of these security plugins or a quick Google search, a piece of code that you can put into your [com/feed 00:04:53] and it will just get rid of it. Why is that important? Because if a hacker knows what version of WordPress your running and maybe you’re not entirely up-to-date, they know how to get in. It’s simple, it’s obvious. It’s just the way that it is.

You should also look at disabling the plugin and theme editor options. People can come in and if they find a backdoor into your site, it’s your theme, your defaults that they are going to attack and edit and change. And as I found with one of the sites just recently created a redirect from theirs to the hacker site. You can prevent these types of changes from taking place by limiting or preventing edits to default files.

Also, the XML RPC file, again, that’s been created within WordPress so that people can gain remote access because, hey, it’s one of the benefits. If you are away, you need to update your site. This allows it to happen if you can’t just log in through normal manners. Well, you need to remove it, get rid of it. I think it should be gone now forever as far as security goes, but it’s an absolute minimum. Those and many other defaults, things that you need to change.

Now, number four on the list and yes, number three was quite a big one. Number four is much the same. Oh, boy. I don’t know why people don’t get this one right.

Please, please, please use a strong password. Now, there’s a great website out there, Strong Password Generator. Just Google it if you have to and it will create passwords, use randomized characters, all sorts of different things that will make it nigh impossible for people to be able to guess, figure it out, work out, crack that particular password.

Now, I do have some rules with my own passwords, and they are simply that if I cannot explain it to someone over the phone, i.e. if you look at some of the characters and coding characters that are used in some passwords, if I don’t know what that is or if my customer is not going to know what that is, I won’t include it simply because I need to sometimes tell them over the phone what that particular password is. But you must use strong passwords.

I’m also going to recommend that you don’t use your administrator, your admin account for publishing of content. Have you noticed on many blog posts, certainly, probably most of them, sometimes pages also published by, and there’s your admin username? Why would you give that to hackers by default? Instead, keep your admin logins safe and secure and away from that day-to-day work and create an editor login, which is the one that you then use for publishing content.

And just on that, this has got to be obvious these days, but not to some. Please, don’t use admin as your username. It’s the default when you set up a new WordPress website. We’ve been saying this for . . . how long has WordPress been around for? Now, nearly 10 years. We’ve been saying it for that long. If you’re still using admin as your login username, you are a fool and you deserve to be hacked. Stop it right now, change it. As soon as this video is done, go and change it.

How do you do that because you can’t actually change the username? You log in, create for yourself a new admin account with a unique admin username and a strong password, then you log out, login through the new one and delete the old. At the same time, of course, transfer content to your new one. Now, forgive me if that’s a little harsh, but it is so important, so important that you actually do that.

I’m also going to suggest that you change your passwords every 90 days. “Oh, come on, Paul. I can’t do that every 90 days. Are you kidding me? How am I supposed to remember that?” You’re not. You’re not supposed to remember it unless, of course, you use what you’d call a long keyword password. Something like . . . no, I left or it could be the line of a song or it could be something from, “When I was five, numeral five, I wanted to be a giant.” And you might use capitals for the word giant. That could be a strong password. That is actually a very strong password. Easy to remember, takes a while to type but gets to the point. But change your password every 90 days.

Now, I do this by remembering easily enough just through my CMS, a quick task comes up, “Hi, Paul. Time to change your passwords.” If you don’t have access to a CMS or a reminder system, you could use your calendar. Google calendar will work every 90 days. You could even just set up an email reminder for your customers if you’re running an agency or servicing others, reminding them to change their passwords unless you’re managing their security, not your job, it is theirs, but you give them the reminder. So that’s a very, very quick one to do.

Another thing, which is a great idea, is just change the error message. If there’s a database error if you know of this, you can’t do that one, but I’m thinking more of the login. We’re talking about logging at the moment. So changing the login error message. “Hi, your username is incorrect.” No, let’s not tell them that. Simply something like, “That’s not quite correct.” It doesn’t say username, it doesn’t say password, it doesn’t tell the attempting hacker which is wrong. It just says, “Hey, not quite correct. You need to try again, buddy.” And of course, you’ve got your limit login attempts on, so after three times, they’re gone, they’re banned, no chance.

And lastly, another suggestion on this is you could use two-factor authentication simply where you log in and maybe an SMS code gets sent to you. Google have that facility, easy to set up on a website or you log in and then there’s a secondary question, your mother’s maiden name, your cat’s best friend, the auntie down the street, something like that. You customize it, you decide what it should be. But these are important things for security.

And seriously, folks, if you’re running an online business or if your business, this is its online persona, you need to take care of this. It’s just as bad when your website gets hacked as your store down the road, getting a window smashed and having to close down for the day while it gets fixed. And all the vandalism and the trash and the problems, it’s the same kind of thing.

Okay. Let’s continuing on a couple more things on this list. Much shorter in content, those that first half, very, very important that you do them and do them today, if you haven’t. The next ones on the list, you can easily quickly Google and find out how to do them. I won’t go so much into the detail, but first of all, I suggest that you disable, I mentioned this early, but disable the file editing. Because one of the things that hackers do once they get in, they implement and inject code into these default files. You need to disable that. It’s not likely that unless you’re a developer that you’re going to be in there editing once your site’s gone live. So you disable. I believe that’s done through the wp-config file, maybe htaccess. Can’t remember off the top of my head, but just Google it. You’ll find it how to do that really quite easy.

Another if you’re not already. Number six. You should be running an SSL certificate to give you that green lock bar for the browsers that still show it, but https for secure. That secures data transfer between your website and your browser, not just for your customers but for you as well with your login details.

You should also scan your site regularly for malware. Number seven on the list. Malware, viruses, anything that’s ended up on the server. Now, I manage hosting for my own clients through a cPanel. I give them access for those who are doing it themselves, we do it for others, a virus scanning tool in cPanel. Chances are you’ve got this. If not, ask your host about this, and then once a month, every two weeks, just click as you’re walking away, go grab your morning coffee, something like that. It’ll scan your site and let you know if you’ve got any viruses anywhere on the server, in the site or even in your mail. And that’s absolutely important.

Next on the list is you should look at hiding your wp-config or your htaccess file. Now, if I’m saying this and you’re going, “Yeah. What are you talking about, Paul?” That’s not something you should be doing. You need to get someone like me or your current web developer to do that for you. Oh, but believe me, a good hacker, they know how to get into your configuration files and if they change these things, you’re in trouble. Now, why should you hide them? You hide them from view if they happen to get in there, into the server, just gone. Well, because they are default and they are the same pretty much for everyone and it’s where most of the hack redirects would take place.

Now, the one that you need to do, I believe we’re up to number 10 on the list, is you need to keep your theme and your plugins up-to-date. Now, I really shouldn’t need to even say that, but you need to. Funny how with one of the websites that we just repaired recently, the hack didn’t come through the website, it came through a plugin. So the plugin over there was what got hacked. But of course, it came through because the plugin on the website wasn’t up-to-date. So the hack came through that way. And it injected code out and caused a redirect problem. So these are the types of things you need to set yourself. I schedule to do this every single month at minimum, manual or in our case, we manage this for clients through our WP security package. So we take care of it all for them.

Next on the list. Back up, back up, back up. Let me say it again, back up regularly. So I’m going to suggest a full website, everything, back up at least once a month. Weekly database backups as an absolute minimum we have for our clients, we keep seven days of server backups as well in case there’s ever a problem and you’ve got to have it, folks, because here’s the difference. Let’s say that you haven’t quite locked things down, or even the hackers managed to get through at some point and they completely ruin everything, you’ll know or a good developer will know within 30-40 minutes. If man, maybe I just shouldn’t fix this. I’m going to grab the backup, and I’m going to put that out there instead because it’s so much quicker. A good backup can be restored, the whole website rebuilt, restored through a backup within a matter of, well, not minutes, 30-40 minutes. Then what? You go and lock down everything, find out how and why it happened, but at least the website is up and running when that happens.

All right. Folks, that’s my top 10 tips, let me give you one more bonus. Number 11 and I’m just going to scratch because I don’t know why people don’t do this one either. And this is to keep your computer safe and your devices, your phone, your mobile, all of these different things.

Now, what’s that got to do with website security? Would you access your website through these devices? Don’t you? So look at your emails, look at your passwords, the passwords you use to access your computer, the passwords to access email, change them every 90 days. Make sure they are strong passwords. Folks, I cannot reiterate that enough, it just must be. So run regular virus scans looking for malware, looking for viruses, and all of these things on your computer and on your devices as well.

And I probably shouldn’t even need to say it, but make sure you’re not using any cracks or whatever on your computer. Things which allow you to get access to themes because you’ve got a pro version but, hey, you didn’t pay for it or software because you’ve got a pro version and hey, you didn’t pay for it because you’re using an unlicensed copy, it’s being cracked, it’s using a serial code or something. Now, if you don’t know what I’m talking about, this is good news for you. No problem, but some of you, you know what I’m talking about, don’t you? All of these things can put your websites at risk.

Okay. Folks, I’m going to sign off there. Food for thought quite a bit of it. So what I need you to do is give careful consideration to these things. If you’re a customer of mine, come to me, we will take care of all of your WP security. We will take care of it with a 100% guarantee. If you get hacked, if, if, we fix it free, no-cost. Part of our WordPress security and backup package on our own server.

Folks, thank you very much for joining with me for listening. And I hope you’ve had a few questions answered here. You’ll see the list below on my website, infographic and step-by-step as well. Go through those different things. Secure your websites and have a fantastic day, great weekend, and a wonderful month. I’ll talk to you again soon. Bye-bye.

The post WordPress Security Tips (top 10 tips to secure your WordPress website) first appeared on PaulBarrs.com.

This post explains what these letters are, who is behind one of the most common versions, and the real risks for business owners.

The official truth: renewing a business name is an ASIC process

In Australia, business names are administered by ASIC. ASIC sends renewal notices at least 30 days before the due date (usually by email), and you can renew either through the “Business name renewal” service or via your ASIC Connect account.

As at the current published schedule, ASIC’s fee to renew a business name is:

• $45 for 1 year
• $104 for 3 years

So if you receive a letter quoting figures well above those amounts, that’s your first clue you’re looking at a paid third-party service, not the government fee.

What the letter actually is

The letter I received is a good example of how these notices work:

• It presents itself as a “business name renewal” reminder.
• It offers renewal for $99 (1 year) or $189 (3 years) — noticeably higher than ASIC’s current fee.
• It includes disclaimers (often in smaller text) stating it is not issued by ASIC, not a bill, and that you’re not required to pay.

That last part matters: the letter isn’t necessarily “fake” in the sense of pretending to be ASIC. Instead, it’s typically crafted to look official enough that a busy business owner might pay it without realising there’s a cheaper, direct option through ASIC.
This is why many people describe the practice as “scammy” even when it sits in a legal grey zone.

Who are they?s

The company named on the letter is Registry Australia Pty Ltd.

• Their ABN (34 625 637 023) is listed as active on the Australian Business Register.
• Their website presents them as a business registration/renewal services provider (including business names).

So, in plain terms: they appear to be a real Australian company offering an administrative service.

The issue isn’t whether the company exists. The issue is how the offer is marketed and what can happen when people respond without fully understanding what they’re agreeing to.

Why this approach is risky for small businesses

1. You may pay significantly more than you need to

The simplest downside is cost. When ASIC’s fee is $45/$104, a third-party price like $99/$189 is effectively charging a substantial service margin.
If you genuinely want someone else (an accountant, bookkeeper, admin provider) to handle compliance tasks, paying for a service may be worthwhile. But you should choose it deliberately, not accidentally.

2. You could unintentionally give a third party control over your renewal process

This is the bigger concern.

The WA Small Business Development Corporation warns business owners to verify renewal notices are from ASIC and notes that, unless you’ve authorised someone else to manage the registration, it should come directly from ASIC.

The more importantly, third-party renewals can involve you granting authority for that provider to manage the business name renewal on your behalf. In practice, this can mean:

• renewal notices or reminders go to them (or you assume they’re handling it),
• you rely on them for future renewals,
• sorting out access later can be frustrating if you want to bring everything back under your direct ASIC control.

Even if nothing “goes wrong”, you’ve created an extra dependency you may not have intended.

3. It conditions people to respond to official-looking invoices — which makes real scams easier

ASIC explicitly warns that there are actual scammers impersonating ASIC to trick people into paying fake fees or clicking malicious links.

While the letter I received includes disclaimers and appears to be a third-party offer (not a malware scam), the overall effect in the market is unhelpful: it trains business owners to treat official-looking renewal demands as urgent “pay now” items.

“Is it illegal?” vs “Is it ethical?”

I’m not making an allegation of illegality here.

A third party can offer an administrative renewal service. Where many business owners (and advisers) take issue is the presentation: the design, language, and layout can easily cause confusion, particularly for sole traders and small operators who are flat out running their business.

You’ll find plenty of online discussions warning about these letters and describing them as misleading or poor value. Examples include long-running forum threads and advisory articles that caution business owners not to confuse third-party notices with ASIC.

(As always with online commentary: treat it as indicative, not definitive. The consistent theme, though, is that people feel “caught out”.)

How to protect yourself (and your team)

Here’s a practical checklist you can use the moment a “renewal notice” arrives:

1. Check who it’s from
   If it’s ASIC, it should clearly be ASIC and point you to official ASIC processes. ASIC explains the renewal process and timing on its website.
2. Check the fee
   Compare with ASIC’s published fee schedule: currently $45 for 1 year and $104 for 3 years.
3. Be wary of anything that looks like an invoice but isn’t actually an ASIC notice
   The WA SBDC has a short, helpful guide on checking whether a renewal notice is genuinely from ASIC.
4. Renew directly through ASIC unless you intentionally want a paid service
   If you do choose a third party (accountant/bookkeeper/admin provider), make sure you understand exactly what authority you’re granting and what happens at the next renewal.

If you’ve already paid a third party

Don’t panic — but do take control:

• Confirm the renewal status through ASIC’s official channels.
• Make sure your email address is correctly recorded so ASIC notices reach you.
• If you suspect your business name is being managed under someone else’s authority and you want that changed, follow ASIC guidance and/or seek professional help to re-establish direct control.

Bottom line

These letters are a timely reminder of a broader principle: slow down before paying anything that looks “government-ish”.

If you want convenience, choose it deliberately. Otherwise, renew directly with ASIC, pay the proper fee, and keep your business name administration under your own control.

The post Beware of “Business Name Renewal” Letters That Aren’t From ASIC first appeared on PaulBarrs.com.

Where we started—and what changed

The first screenshot (GA4 overview) tells the big-picture story:

• Active users: ~4.9K (+100.8% YoY)
• New users: ~4.9K (+102.6%)
• Views: ~9.9K (+72%)
• Event count: ~30K (+77.8%)

That growth wasn’t luck. We began by fixing foundations:

1. Analytics & goals: We cleaned up GA4, set real conversions (calls, form submits, quote requests), and simplified event naming so the client could see which pages and campaigns created revenue—not just visits.
2. Technical hygiene: Site speed, Core Web Vitals, crawlability (XML sitemaps, robots), index management, and thin/duplicate content clean-up.
3. On-page search intent: We mapped each service to a primary keyword + supporting terms, rewrote titles/meta for higher CTR, tightened H1–H3 structure, and added FAQs to catch People-Also-Ask queries.
4. Conversion UX: We added above-the-fold value props, click-to-call on mobile, visible pricing cues where possible, and trust signals (testimonials, guarantees, local badges).

Result: traffic increased, but more importantly engaged actions surged—which is why the event count climbs in lockstep with users.

Turning search engines into a steady pipeline

The second screenshot charts weekly organic visits by engine. Google dominates (as expected), but Bing/Yahoo “followed the leader,” which is typical when the technical and content fundamentals are right.

What we did to create this climb:

• Local SEO framework
  • Google Business Profile: Categories refined, services/products added, UTM tracking, photo cadence, and Q&A seeded with real customer questions.
  • Citations & NAP cleanup: Consistent Name/Address/Phone across the top aggregators and niche/local directories.
  • Reviews strategy: Short SMS/email ask, timing rules (after service success moments), and suggested prompts to elicit keyword-rich but natural reviews.
• Regional content hubs
   We built location-aware service pages and supporting blog posts (guides, checklists, pricing explainers). Internal links then funnel authority back to the core service pages.
• On-page CTR wins
   Live SERP review → rewrite metas with benefit-first copy (“What you get + proof + locality”). Small changes, big clicks.

Result: a clear, sustained uptrend in organic sessions—no spikes-and-drops, just steady compounding.

– Read more SEO Service Details here –

Authority that search engines trust

Third screenshot: Domain Authority grew from ~6 to ~10 over the campaign. DA isn’t the goal; qualified traffic and leads are. But DA is a helpful proxy for how much the web “votes” for you.

How we earned it (without spam):

• Local PR & community links: chambers, associations, sponsorships, event pages, partner features, supplier “Where to buy / Trusted installer” pages.
• Resource worth linking to: we published a few evergreen “utility” pieces (e.g., troubleshooting checklists, regional compliance guides) that others actually wanted to reference.
• Unlinked mentions to links: we hunted brand mentions and politely asked webmasters to link the brand name to the site.
• Quality over quantity: fewer, better links beat many low-value links every time.

Result: search engines now treat the site as a credible local authority—which feeds ranking stability.

Rankings that drive revenue

The final screenshot (Moz visibility) shows the payoff:

• 52 tracked keywords
• ~40 ranking on page one
• 30+ sitting in positions #1–3
• Search Visibility: ~18.6% (up from near-zero, a massive lift)

This didn’t happen by accident. Our ranking playbook:

1. Keyword clustering & page intent: Each service page targets one core outcome with closely related variants—no cannibalisation.
2. Topical authority, not “blog for blog’s sake”: Support pages answer pre-purchase questions (cost, timelines, DIY vs pro, regional rules), interlinked to the parent service page.
3. Schema everywhere it helps: LocalBusiness, Service, FAQ, HowTo where appropriate—clean JSON-LD to enhance eligibility for rich results and improve CTR.
4. Internal link architecture: We built a consistent “hub → spoke → hub” structure and used descriptive anchors (not generic “read more”).
5. Refresh & expand winners: When a page hit page two, we refreshed content, added fresh FAQs, embedded proof (before/after, case snippets), and tightened headings—pushing many into the top 3.

Result: the site now owns the money terms in its region, not just long-tail phrases.

What this means for a regional business like yours

• You don’t need a national budget to win. You need clean foundations, laser-aligned intent, credible local signals, and systematic link earning.
• When you measure the right things and make CTR/CVR part of SEO, rankings turn into enquiries, not just graphs.

Want outcomes like this?

If you’re a local or regional business and you want more calls, quotes, and booked jobs, we’ll bring this same framework to your site—no fluff, just a clear plan and weekly progress.

Let’s map your next 90 days. Book a quick call and we’ll:

1. review your current rankings and competitors,
2. show where fast wins live, and
3. give you a step-by-step action plan (you can implement it yourself or have us do it).

Contct Us

The post SEO Case Study: How a Small Regional Business Grew From “Barely Seen” to Dominating Page One first appeared on PaulBarrs.com.

However, in order to get those customers to buy from your business, you need to offer more than just the products or services you sell. Customers want to go on a journey with a business they plan on making purchases with. Knowing more about the company in general can often be what locks in a customer for the long run. It’s your conversion tool.

Why does the ‘About Us’ page matter most for small businesses?

If you’re asking yourself why an about us page is important, then you’ve probably not got one. That, or you’ve got something fairly basic and lacklustre in content. An About Us page for a small business is probably one of the most important pages to have, and here’s why.

It establishes credibility and builds trust for new users

The page itself is a great way of helping customers who want to get to know who the people behind the brand are. It’s helpful to show faces, bios and various company values or beliefs so that it can establish a relationship between you and the user.

These are the foundation blocks of credibility and trust, which will hopefully lead the users to convert into customers, sooner rather than later.

Humanises the business

With a well-thought-out About Us page, it helps to humanise what would otherwise feel like a machine. It creates that personal connection that we humans look for in every interaction, even the digital ones.

Provides valuable context

For customers, it’s good to have a page available like this one so that they can get essential information that they otherwise wouldn’t know about. From what you offer, to who you are and why you do what you do. It’s beneficial to provide this valuable context to your customers so that hopefully, they’ll stick around.

Drives conversion and engagement

Customers who visit your About Us page are likely to be more engaged, and that can drive conversions as a result. Showing that transparency as a business and purpose will attract customers who will then be more likely to purchase from brands that they align with – aka you!

What to Include in your ‘About Us’ page

So what do you include on your page so that it maximises conversions and boosts engagement?

1. A clear statement of who you are and what your business does

Be clear in what you include when it comes to who you are and what your business does. For an about us page that converts, you’ll want to highlight what your business does and who the individuals are behind the creation and management of the brand.

2. Your story

The About Us page is a great opportunity to do some storytelling. Customer connection online is improved when you have a backstory to the business. Explaining how your business idea came about or where the brand name comes from, for example. These are all details that need to make up your company’s story.

A local business story could touch on the struggles that you’ve faced in building a small business from scratch.

Mission and values

It’s good to lay out some of the company’s missions and what it hopes to achieve. Values are important to have too, and express so that your customers and those looking to convert have something that they can align with.

4. Proof of credibility

While there are plenty of authentic companies online, there are some that aren’t legitimate. When landing on a new business site, many users will look for an About Us page to validate its credibility.

Typically, on this page, you’ll include testimonials and reviews of your products or services from previous customers. It might also be a place where you mention any awards you’ve won or notable achievements. Website credibility is important, especially with so much competition on the web nowadays.

5. Photos and videos of the team or behind-the-scenes

Showing real photos and videos of the team or behind-the-scenes content can be helpful when you’re a small business needing to build website trust. It can also humanise the brand and business, as mentioned above.

6. A strong call to action

A strong call to action is helpful too, kickstarting the conversions from this page. Invite readers to contact you, book a call or check out the services or products you currently offer.

An About Us page isn’t a static page. It should evolve with the business and be part of the conversion funnel. Take a look at your own page, and make the necessary changes required to boost conversions for your company.

The post Why Every Small Business Needs an ‘About Us’ Page That Converts first appeared on PaulBarrs.com.

Content writing (blogging) remains one of the more powerful, but under-used, tools available for local businesses. Local business blogging can increase your brand visibility, generate more visits for your website, and even build more trust among potential customers.

Despite these benefits, blogging for small businesses can be an underutilised marketing tool. A lot of this is because many new entrepreneurs aren’t sure of how it can help them succeed.

At Paul Barrs Web Design, we’ve got 25 years under our belt helping local businesses transform themselves with blogging and other digital marketing strategies. We’ve seen firsthand how much of an impact local business blogging can have. It’s one of the more cost-effective and successful strategies to utilise.

In this guide, you’ll find out exactly what it can offer your company, as well as how blogging – even for beginners – doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Let’s take a look at everything you need to know about starting off and capitalising on a blog.

Why Local Businesses Should Blog: Benefits of Local Business Blogging

Many business owners believe that blogging is just for larger companies or social media influencers; they’re the ones who often have large budgets to dedicate solely to content production, after all. But that doesn’t mean that blogging doesn’t have ample benefits for local businesses. You’ll see more than a few of these.

Some of the more notable include:

• Attract ‘Near Me’ Traffic – Blog posts with local keywords help you drive ‘near me’ traffic related to your business. If you’re a local plumber, for example, you could drive visibility with ‘plumber near me’ content among potential local customers.
• Build Trust – The right kind of blog content, like useful tips and guides related to your type of business, helps build trust with potential customers. It positions you as an authority in your area at what you do.
• Drive Engagement and Conversions – With increased traffic and trust levels, you’ll see more engagement with your business, as well as more conversions. This should lead to greater revenues and overall profits as time goes on.

These benefits make blogging for local businesses more and more appealing. You can even reuse a lot of your blog content across multiple platforms.

At Paul Barrs Web Design, we integrate blogging with SEO, email marketing, and social media, alongside our web design services. With quality repurposing of your blog content, we make sure it’s not wasted and that you get the best return on investment possible from your blog.

Choosing the Right Website Platform

When you’re creating a website – either with or without a blog – you’ll need a platform to host it on. There are plenty of options you can go for with this. But that doesn’t mean all of them are actually recommended. Some are noticeably better than their alternatives.

The best option for this is (self-hosted) WordPress. It offers more than a few benefits for website owners, with some of the more notable being:

1. Flexibility – WordPress supports all types of content, from blog posts and videos to e-commerce integrations. It’s flexible enough to do everything you want.
2. SEO-Ready – The countless plugins and integrations WordPress has make it easy to work with SEO in mind. It even offers SEO blogging tips to help, too.
3. Ownership – Unlike many of its alternatives, you completely own your domain and content when you self-host with WordPress. This can be vital.
4. Resources – WordPress offers more than a few resources, even free ones, to website owners. These span everything from guides to plugins you can use.

Each of these benefits helps to make the WordPress CMS the best option on the market. It makes setting up your blog and publishing your content as easy as possible.

At Paul Barrs Web Design, we offer managed WordPress hosting for businesses. We take care of the technical and security sides, so you can focus on running your business and making sure your blog works for you. We’re here to get you started on WordPress and blogging for your businesses.

What to Blog About: Getting Started With Blogging for Beginners

One of the biggest challenges in blogging for beginners is figuring out what you should write about. There are some key factors to keep in mind for this. The first is to make sure it’s relevant to your type of business. Then there’s having a mix of evergreen and topical content.

These keep potential customers engaged while growing your business. There are multiple content ideas you can go for with this, like:

• FAQs
• Case Studies
• Local News
• How-to Guides
• Checklists

Using a combination of these makes sure you can keep bringing in attention, while also helping to keep your content ideas fresh and interesting. Mix up your content as much as you can.

It’s also worth making sure you always relate these back to your local area. That way, you’re much more likely to turn up for local search terms, which then helps to fuel your blog success.

Blogging for SEO: SEO Blogging Tips to Use

Getting noticed online is vital for local businesses, even when they’re just targeting a relatively small geographic area. This means ranking well on search engines so your brand gets noticed for local search terms related to your business.

That’s where search engine optimisation (SEO) comes in. It’s the process of optimising your content to rank as well as possible on search engines like Google. While it takes time, a few SEO blogging tips can make it more straightforward.

Some of the most notable of these to pay attention to include:

1. Use Local Keywords – To see success in local SEO, you need to focus on local keywords. Including the city you’re based in across your blog is vital.
2. Optimise Meta Titles and Descriptions – These help search engines, and even potential customers, properly understand what a blog is about.
3. Structure With Headings – These make blogs easier to scan through and read, making them much more likely to rank on SERPs.
4. Add Internal Links – These connect your blog posts to service pages and other key content, helping to increase their visibility.
5. Use Image Alt Texts – Image alt texts let search engines understand what’s in an image, making them more accessible and improving your rankings.

Consistently putting the time into SEO – as well as blog creation as a whole – is vital for seeing long-term success. Don’t just try it every once in a while; you’re setting yourself up for failure.

Repurposing Content to Increase Impact

Blogging shouldn’t just be a set-it-and-forget-it strategy. There isn’t much of a point in publishing a blog and then completely forgetting about it. While you’ll see some decent results because of them at the start, this usually fades away.

By repurposing your content – especially long-term – you can get more and more results from it in time. It adds to the immediate results while maximising the impact it can have later on. The key to this is making sure you do it right.

Following a content repurposing checklist is a great start with this:

• Break blogs down into social media snippets.
• Adapt them into email newsletters.
• Turn them into short videos or reels.
• Expand a series of blogs into an ebook or guide.

When you’re repurposing content, it’s worth having a local lens in mind. If your blog post is about being a mechanic in Brisbane, for example, then make sure your repurposed content mentions that local element.

Measuring the Success of Local Business Blogging

There’s no point in blogging just for the sake of blogging. You’ll need to measure the success of your efforts, too. This means tracking the results of your efforts and making sure they actually pay off.

While this seems a little overwhelming and difficult, it doesn’t need to be. It’s a relatively straightforward process:

1. Track Visits With Google Analytics – This shows you exactly how much traffic is coming in and where it’s coming from.
2. Monitor Rankings With Google Search Console – This shows you how well your SEO efforts are paying off and where you’re landing on search engines.
3. Measure the Enquiries You Get – Check if blogs are leading to a bump in form submissions, calls, and even sales.
4. Review Quarterly – Identify exactly what’s working and double down on these efforts as much as possible.
5. Update Older Blog Posts – Over time, blog posts become outdated. By updating them, you make them relevant again, fueling more results in time.

Based on these results, you can make sure your local business blog/article content is actually paying off. Depending on the results, you could need to make changes and refine your approach going forward.

Get Started With Blogging as a Small Business

Blogging remains one of the most cost-effective ways for businesses to bring in visibility, build trust, and more. It even fuels your social media and email marketing strategies, too. Even local business blogging can be an effective way to fuel your growth.

The key to this success is being consistent, properly implementing SEO, and integrating with your other marketing strategies. When blogging for small businesses is done right, this leads to consistent growth, more sales, and greater revenues.

At Paul Barrs Web Design, we’ve been helping small businesses for 25 years. Let’s make blogging work for you.

Need some help? Get in touch today.

The post A Complete Guide to Blogging for Local Businesses first appeared on PaulBarrs.com.

Yet, that is a risk that many WordPress website owners take, who choose to maintain their websites themselves. And yes, while thay risk may be small, it’s probably greater than you might think — hacking, a failed update, or just plain old human error can lead to a catastrophic loss of data that leaves you with no option other than to rebuild your website — or parts of your website — from scratch.

That is, unless your WordPress website has been securely backed up. In which case, getting your website back online will be a matter of simply pressing a few buttons. In this post, we’ll run through everything you need to know about the backup WordPress process, including the best backup frequency practices, manual vs automated backups, and how our service can offer complete peace of mind that your website is safe.

Backup Frequency Guidelines

There’s no hard-and-fast rule about how frequently a WordPress website should be backed up. In some cases, you should back up your website every single day; in other instances, a monthly backup will suffice.

Daily Backups

Daily backups are recommended for e-commerce sites, regularly updated blogs, membership sites, and any other WordPress sites that have daily or near—daily updates. Think of it this way: If your site is updated every day but isn’t backed up every day, then a loss of data will take you back to an earlier version of your site, with all the work you’ve done in between is lost. If you update your site every day, then that could result in a ton of lost work.

Weekly Backups

Weekly backups are recommended for websites that have only minor weekly updates, such as minor changes to the UX or just a blog post or two. You’ll still lose the work if you face an issue and the site hasn’t been backed up in a week, but the amount of time required to bring your site back up to speed will be small.

Monthly Backups

Monthly backups are recommended for static or rarely updated sites.

Manual vs. Automated Backups

There’s more than one way to back up your WordPress site. One option is to do it manually, in which you proactively go under the hood and press the ‘backup’ button. The other option is to automate the process, which provides consistency and reliability without requiring much effort.

Both approaches will get the job done, but only if you “do” the job — a manual backup won’t work if you forget to do it or if you do it incorrectly. For that reason, it’s best to simply automate the backup process. There is, after all, no reason not to take this approach unless you like giving yourself more work.

WordPress Backup Plugins

If you run a WordPress site, then you’ll have a host of plugins at your disposal that can be used to back up your website. These tools can be used to schedule backups and store them off-site. These tools can be useful, but it’s important to keep in mind that not all backup plugins are created equal, and in some cases, their performance may not live up to expectations. Even the best plugins require setup, ongoing maintenance, and storage management.

All of those things can eat into your already busy schedule, forcing you to spend more time managing your website than you’d like to — and without guaranteeing that your website has been backed up to the highest of standards.

How Our Hosting Makes Backups Easy

If you’re looking for a simple way to ensure that your website is safe, secure, and continually backed up in accordance with a set schedule, then our custom VPS hosting makes it easy. We don’t treat backups as a luxury; we view them as a foundational part of your website’s security. We understand that your website might run into issues for any number of reasons, and that’s why we automatically include robust backup protocols in our hosting packages.

You can’t always control what happens to your website, but you can control how you respond. You might lose valuable website data due to a hack, human error, or because of an update that didn’t quite go as planned. When you choose our website hosting, you’ll have peace of mind that you can quickly and easily return your website to how it was the day before.

We include two built-in backup systems in our packages at no additional cost.

JetBackup via cPanel

• Automated every 24 hours, stored on-server for 10 days.
• Restores are easy, fast, and included in every hosting plan.

Monthly (manual) WP Toolkit Backups

• These are performed for clients whose sites we maintain and update, and are performed before critical updates.
• This gives you/us a reliable rollback option in case of issues.

With these systems in place, you can have confidence to focus on other aspects of your business, secure in the knowledge that your website is fundamentally safe.

Peace of Mind & Hosting That Has Your Back

Working with a managed hosting provider can greatly simplify all aspects of your WordPress site management processes, including taking the responsibility of backing up your site off your plate. By working with a managed hosting company that has your back, you can prevent downtime, reduce risk, and all-around ensure that your WordPress site is ticking all of its technical boxes, without you having to be burdened with the technical knowledge to make it happen.

Don’t want to run the risk of losing your WordPress website? Choose reliable, secure WordPress site management services that include daily and monthly backups as standard. That way, you can have total peace of mind that your site is safe, without having to pay a penny. To learn more about our website hosting solutions or the other website services we provide, don’t hesitate to get in touch with a member of our team. With more than 25 years of experience, we’re confident we can provide the help you need.

Let’s talk! Contact Us today –

The post How Often Should You Back Up Your WordPress Website? first appeared on PaulBarrs.com.

Our team can support you throughout the year ahead with comprehensive and fully customised digital marketing services. The first step on the road to success, however, is to build a business plan that can provide direction as you move towards your intended destination.

Preparing Your Business Plan for the New Financial Year

Once July 1st arrives, businesses across Australia will rightly shift their focus to the next 12 months. When building your digital marketing strategies, taking the calendar into account will help you time campaigns and build a structured strategy that takes you into the first half of 2026 and beyond.

Key events that you must plan for include;

• Christmas Day & Boxing Day – December 25th and 26th.
• New Year’s Day – January 1st 2026.
• Australia Day – January 26th.
• Easter Weekend – April 4th, 5th, and 6th.
• Anzac Day – April 25th.

You should additionally make note of the local public holidays managed by individual state and territory governments. Use these major events and peaks in consumerism to drive your marketing plan and sales approach to ensure that this financial year is the best yet.

Comprehensive Marketing Planning Made Easy

Familiarising yourself with the 2025-26 calendar certainly helps. More importantly, though, strong marketing planning must reflect your short and long-term business objectives. When looking ahead to your campaigns and strategy for the year ahead, use the following checklist;

• Create an omnichannel approach that includes web design, SEO, social media, and more to hit customers from every direction.
• Ensure that every campaign integrates with your brand image and values while also resonating with a defined target audience.
• Check that all campaigns focus on the metrics and key performance indicators – brand awareness, leads, sign-ups, etc. – that matter to you.

Calculated campaigns that reflect your brand and align with its goals for the financial year will serve you well. If you need help bringing your brand to life or seek an audit to see where things currently stand, Paul and his team are here to help.

Get in touch today to unlock the power of digital marketing planning today.

The post Get Ready for the New Financial Year first appeared on PaulBarrs.com.