Your Regular WordPress Maintenance Checklist

It is crucial to maintain regular maintenance on WordPress websites at speed, security and functionality. This includes daily tasks such as checking website uptime, performing backups, and monitoring security reports, as well as weekly, monthly and yearly tasks such as review reviews, updates, visual inspections, and reviews of topics and plugins.

Using WordPress plug-in can help simplify maintenance tasks. For example, plugins such as BackUpWordPress, Backup to Dropbox, and BackupBuddy can automate daily backups, while other plugins such as Sucuri Security, Bulletproof Security, or Wordfence can help with malware scanning.

Regular review and update of user roles, optimize databases, monitor website uptime, and check for failed links are important aspects of WordPress maintenance. In addition, analytical data should be reviewed regularly to gain insight into website performance and visitor behavior and to identify areas of improvement.

This article is part of a series of articles created in collaboration with SiteGround. Thank you for supporting the partners who made SitePoint possible.

Website maintenance is like daily trivial matters such as brushing teeth, tidying clothes, making beds and washing dishes. Although these little things are not fun, ignoring them can have serious consequences.

The following are some WordPress maintenance checklists that are performed regularly and your website will stay fast and secure. Ignore them, the following can happen:

• Your website may load as slowly as a snail.
• Important features may crash.
• Your visitor's computer may be infected with malware.
• Your website may be indexed by search engines.

Therefore, please keep your attention to maintenance. Maintenance is done regularly and it won't take long.

Everyone's website is different, and your maintenance focus will be different. I provide you with a daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly/semi-annual and annual list. You can adjust them as you like. Instead of completing a large quarterly list at one time, check two or three items per month.

Lastly, if you have trouble lifting your power for daily WordPress maintenance, try using plugins like Maintenance Checklist to simplify the process.

Let's start acting now!

Daily Maintenance List

1. Uptime. Access your website to ensure it works properly. If uptime is critical, you can enable SMS notifications from monitoring services such as Uptime Robot, WordPress Monitoring Plugin, or Super Monitoring.
2. Backup. Perform daily off-site backups to WordPress files and databases. Automate with plug-ins such as BackUpWordPress, Backup to Dropbox, or BackupBuddy. Some hosting providers, such as SiteGround, perform daily backups of your website, so you don't need to do this manually.
3. Daily Safety Report. Use website security monitoring services such as Sucuri to send you daily status reports and send text messages in case of suspicious events. Check the report daily and take action immediately if necessary.

Weekly Maintenance List

1. Comment review. Approve all comments in the review queue and check the spam list for misjudgment. If you receive a lot of comments, you should do this every day.
2. Updated. If a new version is available, please update WordPress as well as your plugins and themes. SiteGround automatically performs updates for all customers to ensure they have the latest version.
3. Malware scan. Scan any infected file or malware. Likewise, if your host performs automated daily malware scans like SiteGround, they can provide additional help here. If they don't, you can use plugins like Sucuri Security, Bulletproof Security, or Wordfence.

Monthly Maintenance List

1. Visual examination. Visually check your website and check for any issues with the layout or format. Do this with different web browsers, including Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, and Chrome. View your website from a mobile device to ensure it looks good and is responsive.
2. Verify backup. Make sure your backup file is being transferred to a predetermined location and perform a restore operation. You don't want to find it broken the day when you need a backup strategy the most!
3. Analysis. Login to Google Analytics and view trends, recommendations and page flows. Consider how to use this information to increase website traffic.

Quest/semi-annual maintenance list

1. Change password. Change your password and have other users change their passwords as well. Don't let hackers succeed easily - use strong passwords.
2. Minimize administrator users. Delete or downgrade unnecessary administrator users (and delete the default administrator username). A hacked administrator account can cause the most damage to your website, so try to minimize the number.
3. Remove unused plugins and themes. Disable and remove all unnecessary plugins and themes, but never delete the latest default WordPress themes. Unnecessary plugins can increase your website's overhead and vulnerability risk.
4. Delete unnecessary files. The website is cluttered and may hide loopholes. Check the wp-content folder for unnecessary files and browse your media library to delete any image, video, and audio files that are no longer needed. You can automatically delete unreferenced images using plugins such as Delete Not Used Image or Media Cleaner. Please perform a backup before deleting anything!
5. Fix invalid link. You do not want your visitors to receive a "Page not found" error when clicking on the link. Find any invalid links using a link checking tool like Broken Link Checker or Link Checker.
6. Verify your contact form. Send yourself a message using your website’s contact form and make sure you receive it.
7. Optimize your database. Delete any draft posts you will never finish and clear your comment spam. Then optimize your database by running plugins such as WP-Optimize, Optimize Database after Deleting Revisions, or WP-DBManager.
8. Speed ​​review. Use Pingdom or Google PageSpeed ​​Insights to view the loading speed of your website. If it is over five seconds, consider implementing caching and other measures to speed up the website. Slow websites will lose visitors and search rankings.

October maintenance list

1. Review your "About" page. Check what needs to be updated on your "About" page: your contact information, profile picture, mission statement, recommendation letter.
2. Review your themes and plugins. Check if there are new plugins that are better than the one you are currently using. Check if there are new themes that appeal to you and suit your needs.
3. Check your website. Sit down with an impartial friend and let them browse your website. A new pair of eyes may find issues you overlook. Update the copyright date in the footer of your website.
4. Website administrator tool. Login Google Webmaster Tools and resolve any error messages.

For excellent WordPress hosting, we recommend SiteGround. SiteGround handles many WordPress maintenance tasks for you, including automatic core and plug-in updates, daily backups, and free SSL certificates on each plan.

WordPress Maintenance Checklist FAQ

Why is it important to regularly update my WordPress plugins and themes?

It is crucial to regularly update WordPress plugins and themes for the following reasons: First, updates often bring new features and improvements that can enhance the functionality and performance of your website. Second, the update will also fix any bugs or security vulnerabilities found in previous versions. This is very important to protect your website from potential threats and ensure it runs smoothly. Finally, the update also ensures compatibility with the latest version of WordPress, which prevents potential conflicts and problems.

How often should I back up my WordPress website?

It is recommended to back up your WordPress website regularly, preferably once a day. This is because your website’s data may change frequently, especially if you have a high traffic website or online store. Regular backups ensure that you save the latest version of your website, which can be critical in the event of data loss, hacking, or server failure. There are several plugins that automate this process for you.

What is the role of user management in WordPress maintenance?

User management plays a crucial role in WordPress maintenance. It involves managing roles and permissions of different users on the website. This is important to ensure that only authorized personnel can access certain areas of the website, thereby enhancing its security. Regular review and update user roles can prevent unauthorized access and potential abuse of your website.

Why should I optimize my WordPress database?

Over time, your WordPress database may accumulate unnecessary data such as spam, post revisions, and temporary options that may slow down your website. Regularly optimizing the database helps clean up this unwanted data, thereby improving website speed and performance. There are several plugins that can help you with this task.

How do I monitor my website uptime?

Monitoring your website uptime is essential to ensure that your website is always accessible to visitors. There are several online tools and services that monitor the uptime of your website and send you alerts if your website fails. This allows you to quickly resolve issues and minimize downtime.

What is the importance of SEO in WordPress maintenance?

SEO is a crucial part of WordPress maintenance. Regular updates to your SEO practices ensure your website ranks high in search engine results, thereby attracting more traffic. This includes optimizing your content with relevant keywords, updating meta descriptions, and ensuring your website is mobile-friendly.

How do I ensure the security of my WordPress website?

Ensure the security of your WordPress website involves multiple steps. This includes regular updates to your themes and plugins, using strong passwords, limiting login attempts, and installing reliable security plugins. Regularly scanning your website for malware and other threats can also help keep your website safe.

Why should I check for invalid links on my WordPress site regularly?

Failed links can negatively affect your website's SEO and user experience. Regular checks and fixes for failed links ensure that your visitors have a smooth browsing experience and that search engines can properly index your website.

How do I increase the speed of my WordPress website?

There are several ways to speed up WordPress websites. This includes optimizing your images, using cache plugins, minimizing HTTP requests, and using Content Delivery Network (CDN). Regular monitoring of the speed of your website can help you identify any problems and take the necessary actions.

What is the role of analysis in WordPress maintenance?

Analysis plays a crucial role in WordPress maintenance. It provides valuable insights on the performance and visitor behavior of your website, which can help you make informed decisions to improve your website. Regular review of your analytical data can help you identify areas of improvement and measure the effectiveness of your strategy.

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