Skip to content

The WordPress maintenance checklist: weekly, monthly, yearly.

A WordPress site is never really finished. Skip maintenance for a few months and it gets slower, less secure and harder to update. Here's exactly what to do, and how often.

BY LOGICAL CUBE6 MIN READ

Why maintenance matters

Most hacked sites we clean weren't targeted. They were simply outdated. Automated bots scan millions of sites a day for known holes in old plugins. Regular maintenance closes those holes before a bot finds them.

Every week

  • Update plugins and themes, one at a time, and check the site after each update.
  • Check your backups ran and are stored off the server.
  • Review security alerts from your firewall or security plugin.
  • Test your forms. A broken contact form can cost you leads for weeks before anyone notices.

Every month

  • Update WordPress core and PHP-compatible plugins, ideally on a staging copy first.
  • Restore a backup to a test site. A backup you've never tested is a hope, not a plan.
  • Check speed with Google PageSpeed Insights and fix anything that got worse.
  • Remove unused plugins, themes and users. Every one is a possible way in.
  • Look at Google Search Console for errors, security issues and pages that dropped.
  • Fix broken links and update outdated content.

Every year

  • Review your hosting. Is it still fast enough, on a current PHP version, with good support?
  • Renew your domain and SSL, and turn on auto-renew.
  • Audit admin access. Remove old employees, agencies and freelancers.
  • Check legal pages like privacy and cookies against what your site actually does.
  • Review plugins you depend on. Are they still maintained? Replace abandoned ones.

DIY or a maintenance plan?

Doing it yourself works if you have the time and stick to the routine. Most business owners don't, and that's fine. A maintenance plan makes it someone's job. Combined with managed hosting (from €30 per month), the server side is covered too.

Frequently asked questions

How often should I update WordPress plugins?

Check for updates every week. Security updates should go in as soon as possible, ideally within a few days of release.

Can I turn on automatic updates?

For minor WordPress and security updates, yes. For major plugin updates, it's safer to test first, because they can break layouts or features.

What happens if I skip maintenance?

The site gets slower, stops working with newer PHP versions and becomes an easy target for automated attacks.

Rather not do this yourself? Our maintenance plans handle updates, backups, security and monitoring, so your site just keeps working.
See maintenance plans →