Welcome to the NZRT Wiki Podcast. Today we’re looking at Updates & Maintenance.

If you’re working with the NZRT WordPress setup, one of the most important things you’ll do on a regular basis is keep everything up to date. This isn’t just about getting new features — it’s about keeping the site secure and running smoothly. Let’s walk through how NZRT handles this.

First, let’s talk about the update schedule. There are five components that get attention on a recurring basis. WordPress core itself gets updated monthly, and the process for that is straightforward: test, update, then verify everything is working. Plugins follow the same monthly cycle with that same test, update, verify approach. Themes are handled as needed rather than on a fixed schedule, so they get the same treatment but only when there’s actually something to update. Then there are two components that run on a quarterly cycle rather than monthly. PHP — the language that powers WordPress under the hood — gets tested, updated, and then the server is restarted to apply the changes. MySQL, the database that stores all your site data, is also updated quarterly, following the same test, update, verify pattern.

Now, one important thing to know about the NZRT setup: there is no staging environment. That means every single update goes directly to the live production site. That might sound risky, and honestly, it makes the backup step completely non-negotiable. Before anything gets touched, you create a full site backup.

Let’s walk through the actual update procedure from start to finish. Step one is always the backup. You do this through Hoopla cPanel using JetBackup. This gives you a full snapshot of the site before any changes are made. If something goes wrong later, this is your safety net.

Step two is applying the update itself. You go into the WordPress admin panel, head to the Updates section, select the items you want to update — whether that’s WordPress core, specific plugins, or themes — and click the Update button. That part is actually quite simple.

Step three is verification. As soon as the update is done, you check the site. You’re looking at the home page, key pages, and making sure admin functions still work as expected. You’re not just assuming it went fine — you’re actively confirming it.

Step four only happens if something breaks. If the update causes a problem, you roll back by restoring from the backup you created in step one. That’s why the backup is so critical — it’s your escape hatch. After any update, you also want to keep an eye on the error logs to catch anything that might not be immediately visible on the front end.

Beyond the regular update cycle, there’s a set of ongoing maintenance tasks that keep the site healthy over time. Plugin audits are about reviewing what’s installed and removing anything that’s unused or outdated — unnecessary plugins are a security risk and can slow the site down. Theme cleanup works the same way: removing unused theme files keeps things tidy and reduces potential vulnerabilities. Database optimisation is handled using a tool called WP-Optimize, which cleans up and streamlines the WordPress database. Log rotation involves archiving old log files so they don’t pile up and cause issues. And security scans happen monthly — running a scanner to catch anything suspicious before it becomes a real problem.

In terms of who manages all of this at NZRT, it’s a two-person responsibility. The admin, known internally as xc, and the database administrator, dan, handle updates and maintenance between them. The whole philosophy here is proactive — staying on top of updates and maintenance before problems arise, rather than scrambling to fix security vulnerabilities or performance issues after the fact.

So to summarise: you back up before every update, no exceptions. You follow a monthly cycle for WordPress and plugins, a quarterly cycle for PHP and MySQL, and an as-needed approach for themes. And alongside those updates, you’re running regular audits, optimisations, and security scans to keep the site in good shape long-term.

That’s it for this episode of the NZRT Wiki Podcast. Thanks for listening.