The site was built, went live, everyone was happy. Then nobody looked at it for a year. One morning the client calls: "When I go to your site, it redirects to another page." We've taken this call many times in the field, and almost every time the cause is the same: lack of maintenance. Website maintenance is like your car's regular service; neglect it and the car won't break down right away, but on the day it does, the cost multiplies. In this post we share why maintenance is essential and a checklist you can complete in half an hour each month.
Why Does Website Maintenance Matter?
There are three main reasons. Security: Vulnerabilities are constantly found in WordPress, themes and plugins, and sites that aren't updated get scanned and taken over by automated bots. A hacked site fills up with spam pages, gets flagged by Google, and customers see a "dangerous site" warning in their browser. Performance: Images, plugins and database leftovers that pile up over time slow the site down; a slow site loses both rankings and conversions. Trust: An expired SSL, broken links and outdated prices make visitors ask, "is this business still active?"
Monthly Checklist
1. Back up, and verify the backup works. Automatic backups may be switched on, but do backups from the last three months actually exist, and can they be restored? Check the backup file once a month. Keeping a second copy in an external location (such as cloud storage) alongside your hosting is the safest approach.
2. Run updates. WordPress core, theme and plugins. Back up first, then update, then browse the site on mobile and desktop to check if anything broke. Don't just deactivate unused plugins; delete them.
3. Run a security scan. Use a security plugin to check for malware, failed login attempts and admin accounts. If you see an admin user you don't recognize, the site may have been compromised. Review the admin password and two-factor authentication.
4. Check your SSL and domain expiry. Look at the certificate's expiry date and the domain renewal date. Free certificates usually renew automatically, but renewals do sometimes fail. There's more on domain ownership in our domain and hosting article.
5. Run a speed test. Note your mobile score in PageSpeed Insights and compare it with last month. If there is a noticeable drop, the cause is usually newly added large images or plugins. For improvement steps, see our article on site speed.
6. Test forms and contact details. Fill in the contact form yourself and check that the email actually arrives. Sites with broken forms can go unnoticed for months, and each one is a lost customer. Are your phone, address, WhatsApp link and opening hours up to date?
7. Scan for broken links. Links to deleted pages or defunct external sites frustrate both users and Google. A monthly check with a free crawler is enough.
8. Check Search Console. Google's crawl errors, security warnings and mobile usability issues are listed here. A red warning shouldn't be left waiting for a month. We explain how to read the tool in our Search Console guide.
9. Review your content. Finished campaigns, old prices, photos of former employees, pages saying "new in 2024". Outdated content gives the impression of an outdated business. Add new work to your references and customer reviews section.
10. Check your analytics. Visitor numbers, most-viewed pages, mobile share and conversions. The point of maintenance isn't just to keep the site running but to see whether it's working.
Quarterly Tasks
Database cleanup, deleting unused media files, checking hosting resource usage and reviewing admin accounts. Once a year, also question whether your design and technology are still current; our article on signs you need a redesign is a good starting point for that assessment.
Should You Do It Yourself or Hire an Agency?
Most of the list requires no technical knowledge and can be handled by your own team. But when the site breaks after an update, gets hacked or has a server problem, you need someone to step in. A small monthly maintenance agreement is almost always cheaper than paying an hourly emergency fee on the day something goes wrong. If you work with an agency, ask for the scope of maintenance, response time and backup frequency in writing.
At FG Production, we include setup and technical support as part of the package on the websites we build, and continue monthly maintenance and reporting for clients who want it. If you think your site hasn't been maintained in a while, share your address via the contact form; we'll run a free preliminary check and let you know within 24 hours where it stands and what it needs.