Keeping a system current is part of hosting it. Software that never changes becomes software that eventually breaks — or gets broken into. This page explains how NER Online Enterprises handles that work, and what it means for the sites and services we manage.
What maintenance covers
- Security patches — applied promptly when they matter, rather than held for a scheduled window
- Core, theme and plugin updates — WordPress and Drupal, applied and then verified, not just installed
- Application upgrades — WooCommerce, LearnDash, Mautic, CiviCRM and MediaCP, which occasionally need a longer window
- Platform work — PHP and database version moves, SSL renewals, and server maintenance carried out by the upstream host
- Corrective fixes — the unplanned kind, when something has stopped behaving
How changes are scheduled
Routine work is scheduled outside normal business hours wherever the system allows it, and most windows close well inside an hour. Larger upgrades — a major application version, a PHP move, a migration — are planned in advance and scheduled with you rather than dropped on a Tuesday afternoon.
Security patching is the exception. Where a vulnerability is being actively exploited, we apply the fix as soon as it is available and tell you afterward. Waiting for a convenient window is how sites get compromised.
Before anything changes
Every site we host is backed up nightly to off-site storage, so there is always a recent restore point before work begins. Updates are applied and then checked against the running site rather than assumed to have worked. If a change causes a problem we cannot resolve quickly, the fastest path back is a restore, and we would rather do that than leave you on a broken version.
If you have landed here unexpectedly
The system you were trying to reach is briefly offline while this kind of work is carried out. Current status and open tickets are in the client portal at benchmark-connections.com. If it is urgent, email in**@******************es.com and say which system you were trying to reach.