As an online entrepreneur, your passion might drive you to work hard. While that can be a welcome trait to any endeavor, it can take a huge toll on your health, not to mention your sanity. A global study done by the World Health Organization (WHO) showed at least 745,000 people died in 2016 from heart disease and stroke due to extensive working hours. That number may have risen since then.
Then, there’s the challenge of making your online business work. That separates businesspeople from the nine-to-five working class. That can also mean complications. While the fruits of business may be greater than working a day job, the risks are higher. The story of Henry Smolinski, who perished when his flying car invention crashed, is an example.
Taking a vacation can be a timely way to give yourself a needed break and, in the long run, clarity. The problem is it’s not as easy as dropping everything then going back whenever you please. This is especially true when you run a WordPress website for your business.
Luckily, you can have your website fully functional in several ways even while you’re away. Expert pointers can prepare it before you take some needed time off.
Back Up Your Site
With over 300 million vaccine shots against the COVID-19 virus administered in America, the call to spend some quality time away from work should be stronger now more than ever. For instance, with summer officially here, fishing should be a great pastime you can explore to relax. Just make sure you hit America’s best fishing spots and flex your muscles to catch a big one using proper bait techniques.
To note, quality spinning reels such as the bailless Van Staal reels should provide quick casting and retrieval for you. With fewer parts to break, the brand has been a reliable companion for millions of fishermen, even from rocky shorelines.
However, before you hit the waters, make sure you back up your website. This involves obtaining a copy of all your pertinent files and storing them securely for future use. Backing up your site is one routine you should make a habit of. But above and beyond, backing up is essential when you’re out for vacation.
For one, you open yourself up to security issues when you’re away. This happens when WordPress plugins, themes, or core get updated while you’re out for some time. Second of all, people you entrusted while you’re away may make some dumb mistakes when handling the site, and you may need a get-out-of-jail card.
If you think backing up your whole website is the way to go, feel free to explore such plugins as UpdraftPlus. The good news is this app gives you multiple storage options (e.g., Google Drive, Dropbox).
Schedule Posts Within Your WordPress
You could be tempted to go straight to your planned vacation, not minding about your site audience. That can probably be the worst blunder that you can make. It’s because you took time to build an audience, then you leave them on the lurch, allowing them to look for alternative services that are more predictable.
So if you’ve been posting content for some time now, you need to continue. It helps keep your audience hooked to your site and allows you to build your search engine rankings. Gather content that’s equivalent to the time you’re away. If you’ve been posting three times a week, you should have six posts ready to go to cover a two-week hiatus.
The trick is not to post each one from the beach. Rather, schedule these posts before you set off for your needed vacation. Helpful plugins such as Coschedule should get you going fine.
Autoshare Content
But scheduling content on your website is not the only way to get your audience engagement up. You should do this also for your brand’s social media accounts. Doing so can get your audience interest up even while you’re basking in the sun getting a sought-after tan.
Fortunately, a host of tools should be spot on in this regard. We’re talking about Hootsuite and Buffer to boot. Exploring them should give you needed leverage while you’re out on vacation.
Prevent Comment Spam
You could be vulnerable to comments spam while you’re away. When spammers feel your site seems dormant, they can target you. However, you cannot monitor such comments, allowing them to proliferate and undermine your audience.
There’s a solution to all that, however, while you’re away. For one, you have free plugins such as Askimet. Its collated spam database should help filter such nuisance.
Develop a Help Documentation
Best of all, leave a helpline. Chances are, even with someone helping you out with the reins while you’re away, they may need timely guidance. This is where the WP Help plugin comes in handy. It allows you to create detailed, accessible notes to help your site’s major contributors. This is viewable from the WordPress admin screen. Indeed, with the right plugin, nobody will think that you’re a thousand miles away waiting for your next bass to bite the fluke.
With these ideas, you don’t have to worry about managing your website while you’re away. You can enjoy your trip while your WordPress site continues to work for you.
