Published: November 07, 2025 | By Chuck Hersey, Owner of Team 218 Web Services
Your website just got hacked because a plugin hadn’t been touched in 18 months.
That’s not a scare tactic—that’s what happened to an Eastern Iowa contractor last quarter. One outdated plugin, 48 hours of downtime, and thousands in lost leads. All preventable.
Hi, I’m Chuck Hersey. For the last 15 years I’ve kept hundreds of Eastern Iowa WordPress sites secure, fast, and ranking on Google. If you own a small business or nonprofit in Iowa and you’re still clicking “Remind me later” on those update notifications, this post is for you.
Why Updates Aren’t Optional in 2025
WordPress powers 43% of the web. That makes it the #1 target for hackers. In the last 12 months alone:
- Over 13,000 known vulnerabilities were patched in plugins and themes
- 70% of hacked WordPress sites were running outdated software (Wordfence 2025 State of WordPress Security Report)
- Sites with automatic core updates enabled had 90% fewer successful attacks
For Iowa businesses, the stakes are local: one bad review on Facebook about a “down” website and you’ve lost the next three bids in your county.
Updates
There are 3 main areas to update on a WordPress site. Plugins, Themes, and WordPress core files. It’s important to make those updates in the correct order. It helps to remember they should be updated in alphabetical order (P)lugins first, then (T)hemes, and finally (W)ordPress files.
The Key Layer You Must Update (And How to Do It Without Breaking Everything)
Plugins
The average Iowa small business site has 28 plugins. That’s 28 potential doors for hackers.
Pro move: Deactivate and delete anything you haven’t used in 90 days. Then update the rest in batches of 3-4, never all at once.
Stop Gambling With Your Website
Every day you postpone updates, you’re rolling the dice on your Iowa Google rankings, your customer trust, and your revenue.
At Team 218 Web Services in Williamsburg, we’ve updated over 1,200 WordPress components this year alone—without a single client site going dark.
Ready to make updates boring (in a good way)?
Drop your site URL here → team218.com/contact and I’ll personally run a free Update Risk Report (takes 48 hours). No sales pitch, just facts.
Because in Eastern Iowa, your website isn’t “set it and forget it.” It’s your storefront, your credibility, and your cash register.
Keep it updated. Keep it local. Keep it Team 218.
If you’d like additional information on our WordPress Website Maintenance, head over to our WordPress Management page.
Chuck Hersey
Team 218 Web Services
802 West Welsh St
Williamsburg, IA 52361
319-333-0815
team218.com
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