Launching a website is a significant milestone, but it is not the finish line. Like a car or a building, a website requires regular maintenance to keep it running smoothly, securely, and effectively. Neglecting maintenance can lead to security vulnerabilities, broken features, slow performance, and a gradual decline in search rankings. Here is a practical checklist to keep your site in top shape.
Weekly Tasks
Some tasks should be performed every week to catch issues early and keep your content fresh.
Check for Broken Links
Broken links frustrate visitors and harm your SEO. Use a tool like Broken Link Checker or Screaming Frog to scan your site for any links that lead to error pages. Fix or remove them promptly. New broken links can appear anytime an external website you link to changes its URL structure or goes offline.
Review Contact Form Submissions
Make sure your contact form is working correctly by reviewing recent submissions. If you have not received any enquiries in a while, submit a test message yourself to confirm everything is functioning. A broken contact form can silently cost you leads for weeks before anyone notices.
Monitor Uptime
Use an uptime monitoring service to alert you if your website goes down. Many free options are available that will send you an email or text message if your site becomes unavailable. The sooner you know about downtime, the sooner you can resolve it.
Monthly Tasks
These tasks should be performed at least once a month to maintain performance and security.
Update Software
If your website runs on a content management system like WordPress, check for updates to the core software, your theme, and all installed plugins. Updates often include security patches that protect your site from known vulnerabilities. However, always back up your site before applying updates, as occasionally an update can cause compatibility issues.
Review Website Speed
Run your site through a speed testing tool like Google PageSpeed Insights or GTmetrix. Compare the results to your previous tests to identify any performance regressions. If your site has slowed down, investigate the cause and address it. New content, additional plugins, or unoptimised images are common culprits.
Check Security
Scan your website for malware and security vulnerabilities using a security scanning tool. Look for any unfamiliar files, unexpected changes, or suspicious activity in your site's backend. If you use a security plugin, review its logs for any blocked threats.
Review Analytics
Check your website analytics to understand how your site is performing. Look for trends in traffic, bounce rate, and conversions. Identify any pages with unusually high bounce rates or declining traffic and investigate why.
Test on Multiple Devices
Open your website on different devices and browsers to make sure everything looks and works correctly. Pay attention to navigation, forms, images, and layout. Browser updates can occasionally cause display issues that were not present before.
Quarterly Tasks
These less frequent tasks are still important for long-term site health.
Review and Update Content
Go through your website content and make sure everything is still accurate and relevant. Update any outdated information, remove references to discontinued services, and refresh your imagery if needed. Stale content makes your business look neglected.
Check Backups
Verify that your backup system is working correctly. Download a recent backup and check that it includes your complete website, including your database, files, and images. A backup that you have never tested is not a reliable backup.
Audit Your Plugins and Integrations
Review all the plugins and third-party integrations on your site. Remove anything that you no longer use or need. Each plugin adds code to your site and represents a potential security vulnerability. Keeping only what you need reduces risk and improves performance.
Review SEO Performance
Check your search engine rankings for key terms, review your Google Search Console for any issues or warnings, and ensure your sitemap is up to date. Address any crawl errors or indexing issues that appear.
Annual Tasks
Once a year, take a step back and evaluate your website as a whole.
Full Design Review
Look at your website with fresh eyes and compare it to competitors. Does it still look modern and professional? Is the content still aligned with your business goals? A full design refresh every few years keeps your site looking current and performing well.
Domain and Hosting Renewal
Make sure your domain name and hosting account are set to renew before they expire. An expired domain can be snapped up by someone else, and an expired hosting account will take your site offline. Set up auto-renewal where possible.
SSL Certificate Check
Verify that your SSL certificate is valid and set to auto-renew. An expired SSL certificate will trigger security warnings in browsers, scaring away visitors and harming your search rankings.
Making Maintenance Manageable
If this checklist feels overwhelming, remember that you do not have to do everything yourself. Many of these tasks can be automated or delegated to a web maintenance service. The key is making sure they get done, because the cost of neglecting your website is always higher than the cost of maintaining it.