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Hi, our site went from 1st on several keywords to not even making the 5th page. Obviously we haven't taken care of it and I don't have anyone to manage the site anymore. I know it could be many things, but the biggest might be that I need to clear cache, delete any unneeded plugins(is 42 too much?) and update WordPress(still on 6.1.1 !). I didn't update cuz I tried backing up and it said backup succeeded with warning(wp-content-without-uploads.zip). I'm a complete noob, so I'm worried if I make any changes, I ruin some of the pages?
I know I should probably get someone to fix, but if someone can point me in the right direction, I'd really appreciate it.
Before you make any changes, it’s a good idea to secure a backup of your site. Just export your files and database and download them to your computer. Once you’ve got that covered, you can go ahead and delete any unused plugins and update your WordPress version. For speeding up your site, consider optimizing images, enabling caching, and checking your site’s performance with tools like Google PageSpeed Insights. This should help get your site back on track!
As you mention, quite a lot to unpack.
Yes, 42 is a lot of plugins and really it sounds like you need a good developer to shrink that down and add the functionality those plugins are doing in about 10 plugins or less. Each one is a security vulnerability and will be making your site probably run much slower than it needs to.
Is the website secured with an SSL certificate? It’s a little strange that your site has has taken such a ranking dip if you’ve not made any changes. Not keeping your site fresh with content may have a small impact but not one that big.
What plugin did you use to create your backup? All-in-One WP Migration and Backup is the plugin I use to create and download backups of websites when I want to download a copy to my PC.
Your site is running a version of WordPress that is 2-years out of date, which whilst a little old isn’t the worst in the world. Definitely, definitely, ensure you have a complete backup before attempting to update WordPress or any plugins.