WordPress maintenance means regularly updating the software, taking backups, checking security and monitoring performance. A simple weekly, monthly and yearly routine prevents most downtime and hacking problems.
Weekly
- Confirm automatic backups are running.
- Update plugins and themes, then test key pages.
- Check forms and checkout.
- Review security alerts and failed login attempts.
Monthly
- Update WordPress core after checking compatibility.
- Test restoring from a backup.
- Review speed on PageSpeed Insights.
- Check Search Console for errors.
- Remove unused plugins, themes and spam comments.
Quarterly and yearly
- Audit user accounts and strong passwords.
- Review broken links and outdated content.
- Check PHP version support and hosting performance.
- Review SEO, schema and Core Web Vitals.
- Renew domain, SSL and licences.
Why it matters
Outdated plugins and themes are a common route for attacks, and untested updates can break a site. Regular, tested maintenance is cheaper than recovering from a hack or an outage.
Frequently asked questions
How often should WordPress be updated?
Check weekly. Apply security updates promptly, and test updates on a staging copy for important sites.
Do I need a backup if my host does backups?
Keep your own offsite backup as well, and test that it restores.
Need help with this?
Our WordPress Maintenance & Support service can handle this for you. Request a quote.