Overview: Manual or automatic WordPress updates which is best for your law firm’s website? Discover the pros, cons, and best practices to keep your site secure, professional, and client-ready. Read on! 

Picture this: It’s 10:30 p.m. on a Thursday. Your law firm’s website quietly updates itself while you’re preparing for trial the next morning. By Friday, your contact form has stopped working, and you don’t even realize leads have been slipping through the cracks all weekend.

This is the tension behind every WordPress update. They’re essential — but the way you handle them matters. Do you let them run automatically in the background, or do you take a deliberate, manual approach?

Let’s unpack how these two strategies play out in the specific context of a law firm’s website.

Why Updates Aren’t “Optional” in Law   

Law firms operate on trust. If a client can’t access your case intake form, if your website is hacked, or if it looks broken on their phone, that trust weakens. Updates are less about “keeping up with the latest software” and more about:

Protecting confidentiality: Outdated plugins are one of the most common entry points for cyberattacks.

Maintaining credibility: A polished website signals competence and professionalism.

Avoiding liability: A malfunctioning site (like a missed inquiry form) can have reputational or even financial consequences.

So, yes — updates matter. But the method matters just as much.

 The Appeal of Automatic Updates   

Automatic updates are like cruise control. They keep your site moving without constant attention. For law firms with limited technical staff, this can feel like a lifesaver.

But cruise control doesn’t mean you can take your hands off the wheel. Automatic updates apply changes instantly, with no chance to check how those changes will interact with your existing theme, plugins, or customizations. Sometimes, everything runs smoothly. Other times, a critical feature — like your secure payment gateway — breaks silently.

Also Read >> Are Automatic Updates a Good Thing?

The Case for Manual Updates  

Manual updates demand more effort, but they also offer something lawyers value deeply: control. You decide when updates happen, you test them before they go live, and you ensure backups are in place. It’s the digital equivalent of reviewing a contract line by line instead of signing it blind.

The trade-off is time. Someone on your team has to log in, check for updates, and apply them regularly. That might feel small compared to billable work—but it’s often the safer bet for client-facing websites.

If you’re into manually updating your website, here’s a related reading for you on >> How to Safely Update Your Website Without Breaking It

 A Balanced Strategy for Law Firms   

Most firms don’t need to choose one extreme over the other. A balanced, risk-conscious approach might look like this:

• Let WordPress handle minor security fixes automatically (they’re low risk and high reward).

• Handle major core updates, plugin changes, and theme updates manually after testing.

• Always have a backup ready before changes go live.

This way, you get the speed of automation without gambling your firm’s reputation on untested changes.

Final Word: It’s About Professional Discipline   

Think of updates the way you think of compliance deadlines. Ignoring them isn’t an option. Doing them sloppily is worse. What your website communicates — whether secure, reliable, and professional, or outdated and broken echoes directly onto your practice.

When You’d Rather Not Juggle It  

If you’d prefer to spend your time practicing law instead of running update schedules, that’s where a service like Unlimited WordPress Support steps in. Our team manages updates with the same discipline you bring to your cases — backups, testing, and monitoring included.