Life is filled with jobs like doing the dishes and dusting which are not fun to do. But, things will get really ugly if you don’t do them. Maintaining a WordPress website is just the same.
Maintaining a WordPress website is one of the most important tasks that have to be undertaken. However, development grabs the spotlight and maintenance are somewhat neglected.
Typically, WordPress releases 2 updates every month. These upgrades fix bugs and address a variety of security issues. It also has additional functionalities and features that can improve the overall performance of your website. Some of the major impacts of an unmaintained website are reduced load speeds and a drop in search engine ranking.
WordPress Website Maintenance Checklist
We’ve compiled a collection of WordPress maintenance checklist that includes daily, weekly, monthly, half-yearly and yearly tasks. It will help you get an idea on how WordPress website maintenance is done and the ways to implement it.
Let’s dive in.
Daily WordPress Maintenance
Proper functioning
Visit your website to make sure everything is working, especially contact forms as they help visitors to contact you.
Backup
An important part of WordPress maintenance is performing a daily backup of all the files and database.
Security
Use a security monitoring WordPress plugin like Sucuri to get a daily update on the status of your website.
WordPress Security Plugins Examples
Weekly WordPress Maintenance
Comment control
Go to the comment moderation queue and see if your approval is required. Approve the genuine ones and delete the spam. If you get comments on a regular basis, you have to do this daily.
Updates
If new versions of plugins and themes are available, update it
Malware inspection
Scan your website for any infected files or malware.
Monthly WordPress Maintenance
Visual check
As a part of your WordPress maintenance, check for problems in layout, do a cross-browser compatibility test, and test responsiveness.
Double check backups
Make sure all your backups are going to the right place in order to avoid any hassles during restoration.
Google analytics
Log into Google analytics and see if your goals are set properly.
Here is a guide to set up Google analytics Goals and sales funnel effectively..
Content review
Find out your most popular content, least popular ones, and your conversion source. Once you have the data, tweak your content accordingly.
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Half-yearly WordPress Maintenance
Password changes
Changing the password of users is a part of a healthy WordPress maintenance.
Reduce admin users
Minimize the number of admin users by deleting the ones that are inactive.
Delete useless plugins and themes
Delete unnecessary plugins and themes to avoid vulnerabilities and speed related issues.
Remove unnecessary files
Scan your WP-content folder and media library to remove stuff you no longer require. Do a backup before you remove files.
Get rid of dead links
If you don’t want users to get a ‘Page not found’ error, remove dead links and replace ones that actually work.
Speed test
Use Google PageSpeed Insights to check the loading speed of your website. If it takes more than five seconds, take appropriate measure to improve speed. To increase your website speed, do read this article, how to load your website in 2 seconds.
Content review
Find out the areas that require content enhancement and put those findings into practice.
Yearly WordPress Maintenance
Themes and plugin review
Find out if there are any plugins and themes that could do a better job than the ones you’re currently using. If it suits your needs, replace it.
Content review
Review each page of your website for content accuracy. Also, find out your top performing blog posts and update them.
Expiration
Check for the expiration of your website domain name and if required renew it.
Webmaster tools
Check for error messages in your Webmaster tools and resolve them.
Website redesign
Consider updating your website design. Do read this Website Redesign Checklist, to know more about website redesign.
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Why you need a WordPress Website Maintenance service?
I bet you already know about the importance of updating content regularly, but what about regular website maintenance?
Most WordPress website owners perform occasional maintenance but, they don’t have the time to do everything that requires attention. This is why you need the help of a wordpress website maintenance services provider.
You cannot win a case in the court without a layer, right? So why try to maintain a WordPress website without the help of a professional?
So let the professionals take care of your website.
Focus on sales and not on wordpress website maintenance.
Wrapping Up Our WordPress Website Maintenance Checklist
This New York Times article, “Let’s Get Excited About Maintenance!” can be used as a good comparison here. The author points out that people focus on creating new things and don’t pay much attention to maintain it. People create websites and don’t maintain it.
We are a prominent member in the website building industry and have built hundreds of websites for clients. There is one shocking similarity we found among all of them. They are aware that building a website might cost several dollars but, are shocked to find out that they have to again spend time and money to take care of their website.
Regular maintenance is the most important part of safeguarding a website.
Website maintenance will seem boring and tedious but, it will save you from a lot of headache in the long run.
If you do it regularly your website will be healthy or it could get really sick.
