Today on Forks Corks and Brews we had something interesting happen. Technically it’s more of a problem than anything, but I like to think of problems as opportunities. And this opportunity was a learning moment for us. I got a notice that there was a vulnerability in one of our WordPress plugins.
Today I logged into WordPress and found a critical alert in one of our Plugins. You will know when something like this happens because there will be a red notification bubble on the left menu bar under Settings then SSL and Security.
Once I navigated through my WordPress menu to Really Simple SSL, it told me the following, “Input validation vulnerability in Create by Mediavine 1.9.4.”
First I disabled the plugin and then realized it contained all of my recipe cards. After doing research on the Internet. I had to delete the plugin entirely.
Bye bye recipes and cooking instructions and cue breakdown.
What is a recipe card plugin?
Think of a recipe card plug-in as your best friend who happens to be really good at design and computer software.
Recipe card plugins have been around for quite a while now and there are a lot of great options.
It’s basically a computer program that interacts with your WordPress blog or site and creates beautiful-looking digital recipe cards. Photoshop is not involved and there is no need to create any graphics. The plugin does everything for you and it gives you design options for a cohesive look to your brand.
You input recipe information and cooking instructions and it spits out a well-designed, digital recipe card. You can even add nutritional information.
We use plugins for spam protection, website design, analyzing website traffic, allowing our Instagram feed on our website. You can find a plugin for almost anything.
What we learned about recipe card plugins
Always include your recipe and instructions in the content portion of your blog. It’s like having a backup of your pictures on your phone.
If your plugin stops working or there is a critical vulnerability then your backup plan is in place. Your recipes and cooking instructions will still be live and your traffic won’t suffer when the recipe cards disappear.
While the vulnerability in your plugin gets fixed your content is still providing the same result to your customers. You may have to delete the plugin entirely. If this is the case your content will save you from utter destruction. In others words your content will save you from a stressful situation and late nights.
Want to know more about plugin vulnerabilities?
Here are a few articles I found helpful with a plugin vulnerability.
Here are the main points for keeping your WordPress site safe
- Always keep your plugins up-to-date and login to your website at least a few times a week
- Include your recipe and cooking instructions in your main blog article, in other words your content
- Make sure there is no update resolving the vulnerability before taking action
- Choose plugins form reputable marketplaces
- Delete unwanted plugins
How to avoid this big mistake if you have a food blog or any type of blog with plugins
If you are a food blogger or any type of blogger for that matter, I would suggest you think about including the recipe and cooking instructions in your post or article. You might have duplicate information, but if your plugin goes down you don’t want your hard work to go with it.
Do I delete my plugin?
Another good way to stay safe is to delete any inactive plugins that you are no longer using. Inactive plugins take up server space, and if present in large numbers, they can slow down your site.
The main reason to delete inactive plugins is so that they cannot be used to run malicious code on your website. Sometimes poorly coded or out-of-date plugins can open your WordPress site up to hackers.
Final Thought and the Most Important One
If you are just starting out with your food blog and you want to avoid this big mistake; always make sure you have good content. Do not rely on plugins for content.
So this was a BIG learning moment for us today and now I have a lot of recipes to update.
Because charcuterie and champagne solve all problems, I’ll be drinking champagne and eating from my charcuterie board while updating our recipes. I sincerely apologize for any inconvenience and both Wendy and I will updating as fast as we can.
For anyone else who has encountered a similar problem to ours, leave us a comment with your story. I want to know how you solved your problem!