Owning a WordPress website is a lot like owning a car.
If you drive your car every day but never change the oil, check the tires, or service the engine, it will eventually break down. Usually, on the day you need it most.
Your website is the same. Without regular maintenance, it gets slow. It becomes vulnerable to hackers. Forms stop working. And one day, you wake up to a blank white screen.
But don’t worry. Maintenance doesn’t have to be hard. You just need a schedule.
In this guide, we have broken down exactly what you need to do—and when to do it—to keep your site running like a brand new Ferrari.
Weekly Tasks (The Essentials)
These are the quick tasks you should check every week. They take about 10 minutes but save you from disaster.
1. Backups (The Safety Net)
If your site gets hacked or breaks today, do you have a copy from yesterday?
The Rule: You need “off-site” backups. If your server crashes, your backup shouldn’t be on the same server.
How to do it: Use a plugin like UpdraftPlus or BlogVault. Set it to automatically backup your site every day (or week) and send the file to Google Drive or Dropbox.
2. Updates (Core, Plugins, Themes)
Updates are not just about new features. They are mostly security patches. Hackers love finding holes in old plugins.
Action: Log in to your Dashboard. Go to Dashboard > Updates.
Smart Tip: Don’t just click “Update All.” Update plugins one by one. Check your site after each update to make sure nothing broke.
3. Malware Scan
In 2026, bots attack sites constantly. You might be infected without knowing it.
How to do it: Use the free version of Wordfence or Sucuri. Run a manual scan once a week to ensure no strange files have appeared in your system.
4. Check “Uptime”
Was your site offline at 3 AM last night? You wouldn’t know unless you check.
The Fix: Sign up for a free tool like UptimeRobot. It checks your site every 5 minutes. If your site goes down, it emails you immediately so you can fix it before customers notice.
Monthly Tasks (Performance & Cleanup)
Once a month, sit down for 30 minutes to do a “Deep Clean.”
5. Test Your Forms
This is the most common silent killer of businesses. You have a “Contact Us” form, but it stopped sending emails 3 weeks ago. You have lost 20 leads and didn’t even know.
The Test: Go to your website as a visitor. Fill out your contact form.
The Check: Did you get the email? Did it go to Spam? If it failed, you need to set up SMTP (See our Email Fixing Guide).
6. Optimize Your Database
Over time, your database gets cluttered with “trash.” This includes:
Post revisions (old drafts).
Spam comments.
Transient options (temporary data). This clutter slows down your site.
The Fix: Install a plugin like WP-Optimize or Advanced Database Cleaner. Click “Clean” to remove the junk. It can make your site load 20% faster.
7. Check for Broken Links
Links rot. Maybe you linked to a news article 2 years ago, but that article doesn’t exist anymore. Google hates broken links (404 errors) because they frustrate users.
How to do it: You don’t need to click every link manually. Use a free tool like Broken Link Check. If you find dead links, remove them or update them.
8. Speed Test
Is your site getting slower?
The Test: Run your site through GTmetrix or Google PageSpeed Insights.
The Goal: You want a load time under 2 seconds. If it is slower, check if you need to compress your images or clear your cache.
Quarterly Tasks (Security & Audit)
Every 3 months (once a season), do a security audit.
9. Change Passwords
If you have the same password for 3 years, change it.
Action: Change your Admin password.
Force Others: If you have editors or shop managers, force them to reset their passwords too.
10. User Role Audit
Do you have an old employee who still has “Administrator” access? Or a guest author you hired once?
The Risk: Old accounts are a backdoor for hackers.
The Fix: Go to Users > All Users. Delete anyone who shouldn’t be there. Downgrade “Administrators” to “Subscribers” if they don’t need full control.
11. Review Plugins
Do you have plugins you installed “just to test” and never used?
The Rule: If it is not active, delete it. Inactive plugins take up space and can still be hacked.
Yearly Tasks (The Big Picture)
Once a year, look at the big picture.
12. Review Your Hosting
Is your site slow? Does it crash often?
Hosting companies change. Maybe your “Starter Plan” was fine 2 years ago, but now you have more traffic.
Action: Ask your host for an upgrade or consider moving to a Managed WordPress Host for better speed.
13. Update Copyright Date
It looks unprofessional to have “Copyright © 2025” in your footer when it is 2026.
The Fix: Update your footer. Better yet, use a shortcode that updates the year automatically.
Conclusion: DIY or Outsource?
This list might look long.
Weekly: 4 tasks.
Monthly: 4 tasks.
Quarterly: 3 tasks.
If you do this consistently, your site will be secure, fast, and profitable.
Too Busy to Do It Yourself? We understand. Running a business is hard enough without worrying about database transients and PHP updates.
Check out our WordPress Maintenance Plans. We handle everything on this list for you. We update, backup, secure, and monitor your site 24/7, so you can sleep easy knowing your digital business is safe.
