If you’ve ever clicked “Update” on your website and instantly regretted it, you’re not alone. Many business owners dread updating their website, not because updates are difficult, but because something always seems to break. Maybe the layout shifts, a plugin stops working, forms disappear, or the entire site crashes and shows a blank white screen (the dreaded “white screen of death”).
It’s frustrating, stressful, and completely unnecessary. A healthy website shouldn’t fall apart every time you make changes. If yours does, there are a few common reasons why this is happening. The good news is that all of them are fixable with the right web management support.
Let’s take a closer look at what’s really going on behind the scenes.
Your Website Has Outdated or Poorly Built Plugins
Plugins add powerful features to your website, but they’re built by different developers with different coding standards. When one plugin gets updated and others don’t, conflicts happen.
Common plugin-related issues include buttons or forms that stop working, a layout that shifts or disappears, pages that load slowly or break entirely, and compatibility errors with WordPress or other plugins. If even one plugin hasn’t kept up with modern coding standards, it can cause a domino effect and break several parts of your site.
At Magna Technology, we evaluate your plugins, remove unnecessary or risky ones, and replace outdated tools with stable, well-supported alternatives. We also test updates in a safe environment first, so your live site stays intact.
Your Theme Isn’t Compatible With Modern Updates
Your theme controls the design and layout of your site. If it’s outdated or poorly maintained, updates can cause issues like broken navigation, missing images, formatting issues, and styling inconsistencies. In some cases, an outdated theme can even cause your site to crash altogether.
At Magna, we recognize that some themes haven’t been updated in years, while others use custom code that conflicts with the newest version of WordPress, PHP, or plugin updates. This is why we evaluate themes to ensure they are still supported, secure, and functional. If not, we recommend modern, reliable options or rebuild elements to ensure compatibility and long-term stability.
You’re Updating on a Live Site With No Testing Environment
Clicking “Update” on a live website is like performing surgery without an X-ray—you’re guessing what might happen. Obviously, this is risky for a number of reasons.
For instance, updates don’t always play nicely together, new code can undo custom work, or changes may expose hidden issues you didn’t know you had. Without a staging site to test changes, your business may be taking unnecessary gambles with your website’s stability every time you update.
The team at Magna always uses staging environments to safely test updates before making any changes to your live site. If something breaks, we fix it behind the scenes so your customers never know there was an issue.
Your Website Has Custom Code That No Longer Plays Nicely With Updates
Custom features are great—until they’re not. Code written years ago may clash with modern versions of WordPress, PHP, or plugin updates. Even a single outdated function can cause major problems.
Some of the issues you might see include glitches in interactive features, errors in your header or footer, broken forms or buttons, and display issues on mobile devices. The more custom code your site uses, the more carefully updates need to be handled.
The best way to find out if your site has outdated custom code is to have an audit performed. Magna can do this for you, auditing your custom code, rewriting what’s outdated, and applying best modern practices. Clean, well-structured code is more secure and update-friendly, too.
Your Web Hosting Isn’t Built to Support Today’s Requirements
Sometimes the issue isn’t your website but rather where your website lives. Cheap or outdated hosting can create problems like PHP version conflicts, slow performance, limited resources, and missing security tools. Good hosting, on the other hand, provides the stable foundation your site needs to update smoothly.
When you work with Magna, we’ll guide you toward reliable hosting that supports modern websites, or we handle the hosting for you as part of a managed plan. When your hosting is solid, updates become much less risky.
Your Website Needs Routine Maintenance (Just Like Anything Else)
Websites aren’t “set it and forget it.” They require ongoing care to stay healthy, just like software, vehicles, or even physical storefronts. When maintenance is neglected, code becomes outdated, security risks pile up, and compatibility issues snowball. Basically, tiny problems turn into major headaches. Then when you finally do update, everything breaks at once.
Magna Technology keeps sites maintained, updated, backed up, monitored, and secure so updates happen smoothly instead of causing chaos.
Your Website Shouldn’t Break When You Update It — Ever
If updates consistently break your site, it’s a sign something deeper needs attention. But you don’t have to deal with the technical stress or guesswork. Magna Technology takes care of updates, repairs, testing, and ongoing maintenance so your website runs smoothly every day.
Tired of updates breaking your site? Let Magna Technology handle your website care so you can focus on running your business. Reach out today at (617) 249-0539!