About 43.1% of all websites use WordPress.
It’s an incredibly useful platform and the first choice for many when building a website. While it works very well, there are still a range of maintenance tasks that you’ll need to take care of.
Take a look at this WordPress maintenance checklist so you can stay on top of your website and keep it running.
Change Passwords
One of the most important (and most simple) WordPress maintenance tips is to ensure you change all of your passwords. You should always use strong passwords, but even then, they can become compromised. Change your passwords regularly to decrease the risk of anyone gaining access to your site.
Maintain a Full Backup
A key part of WordPress maintenance is making sure you always have a full backup of your site. There are plenty of plugins that make this easy, and if something goes wrong with your site, you can restore a backup.
Check and Update All WordPress Files
Always update your WordPress files when possible. Keeping things like themes and plugins up to date will help with security. Most of the time this will happen automatically, but you should check from time to time as you may need to perform some manual updates.
Check and Delete Spam Comments
You can use plugins to filter out spam comments, but they can sometimes make mistakes. They may let spam comments get through, or accidentally mark genuine comments as spam. When maintaining a WordPress website, you should occasionally check to make sure comments have been marked appropriately.
Test All Forms
Plugins like WPForms make it easy to create forms, but they can experience errors. Check all forms to make sure they’re working as they should. Some include a feature that will send an alert if an email fails to send.
Optimize Your Database
Your database contains things like content, users, comments, and settings. It can gather a lot of unnecessary data with time, and this will slow your website down. Regularly clear out any clutter to keep your website performing at its best.
Run Performance Tests
There are several WordPress tips that will help your site perform better. Run performance tests from time to time to ensure your site is always running as it should be. Your website speed affects the user experience and your SEO, so it’s not something you should ignore.
Find and Fix 404 Errors
Users might come across 404 pages on your site if they request a page that doesn’t exist. Make sure all pages are functioning properly and that the URLs are correct to avoid this.
Find and Fix Broken Links
As you add more content to your site, you’ll include more external links. Some of these – especially in older posts – might stop working after some time. This can harm user engagement, so you should check your site for broken links from time to time.
Your WordPress Maintenance Checklist
This is a somewhat brief WordPress website maintenance checklist, and depending on your site, there could be plenty of other things you need to stay on top of. It’s difficult to manage everything yourself, so for the best results, you can hire a professional WordPress maintenance company.
F22 Internet Solutions offers professional WordPress maintenance services that can keep your site running smoothly at all times. Take a look at our Website Maintenance page to see more about how we can help your business.
