There are a number of different ways to manage a WordPress installation, everything from not actually managing it yourself (WordPress.com can take care of it for you if you like) through to manually managing things via FTP. I’m going to look at my preferred method, which I think provides a few things that other methods don’t necessarily give you.
- Control: this method puts you in charge (which also means it’s your responsibility to keep things up to date).
- Safety: if you consistently manage your WordPress install using this method, then you’re in a pretty good position to avoid a lot of problems.
- Simplicity: WordPress updates quite often (minor releases at least every month generally). This system means that you can generally update when a new version comes out in a few minutes at the absolute most.
What is this magic system you ask? In a word: Subversion.
