Owning and managing a website isn’t a “set it and forget it” type of responsibility. A WordPress website needs maintenance and care on a regular basis.
Slow loading speeds, vulnerabilities, and malfunctions are common issues we face without regular WordPress maintenance. Performing monthly maintenance helps ensure the website is performing, secured, and updated every time.
Whether you are a web developer, a blogger, or a business owner, these 15 tasks will help you manage your website effectively:
#1 Update the WordPress Core, Themes, Plugins
Every now and then WordPress releases updates that help mitigate security threats, fix bugs, and implement new features. If the core, themes, and plugins are not updated sufficiently, you leave your website open for attacks. Regularly check for updates and install them after performing a backup. If it’s too technical for you, hire a WordPress developer in Dubai/UAE to do this job for you.
#2 Website Backup
Have a strategy for backing up a site. It is best to backup the entire site, including files and the database. That means if the site requires maintenance, it can be retrieved within seconds. The use of reputed backup plugins such as UpdraftPlus or BackupBuddy is encouraged.
#3 Run Malware and Security Vulnerability Scans
Security is an absolute must for all website owners. Run a security scan using Sucuri or Wordfence plugins to analyze for malware, unusual behavior, or other vulnerabilities. Remove any threats without hesitation if they appear. Seek help from a professional WordPress developer, if needed.
#4 Check for Broken Links
Broken links can significantly hurt your SEO and even disengage the users of your website. Use Google Search Console or Broken Link Checker to identify and repair any 404 errors and or URLs. This allows for better navigation instead of sending users to non-functional pages. Broken links troubleshooting & fixing is always an important part of WordPress website maintenance.
#5 Improve Website Performance and Speed
Your SEO rankings can suffer dramatically with a slow running website. Conduct tests for your website’s speed with GTmetrix or Google PageSpeed Insights. To improve website performance, enhance images, enable caching, along with implementing a Content Delivery Network (CDN).
#6 Optimize and Clean your Database
WordPress databases are notorious for storing useless data including comment spam, post duplicates, and unnecessary tables. Use WP-Optimize and other plugins to rid your databases to lower load times along with improving your sites overall performance.
#7 Examine the Functionality of the Website
Make it a habit to routinely verify your website’s primary capabilities, such as contact form submissions, account logins, and purchases, to see that everything is functioning as it should. Remember, broken functions can mean lost business opportunities, whether leads or sales. You need to fix that as soon as possible. You can also hire a web developer to maintain your website regularly.
#8 Check and Adjust Your SEO Process
Search Engine Optimization needs regular attention on a WordPress website. An SEO tool such as Yoast SEO or Rank math can help with analyzing your keywords, their respective meta descriptions, and their standings in search queries. Get rid of old materials and content while ensuring that any new entries on the blog are optimized for search engines as well.
#9 Tracking the Uptime of your Website
The user experience negatively, as well as revenue decline, are all causes of your website being offline. With the use of UptimeRobot or Pingdom, you can monitor periods of your site being offline, enabling alerts to be set if your website goes offline. If you find that your website goes offline often, hire a professional WordPress developer to look into it.
#10 Get Rid of No Obsolete Plugins & Themes
Any plugin or theme that you do not actively use can be a security risk and, at the same time, can down your loading speed in the site. These plugins or themes don’t appear to be in use so deactivate and delete such themes or plugins. Thees steps are intended not only to enhance WordPress maintenance, but also to overall performance. Managing themes & plugins efficiently is an integral part of any website maintenance process.
#11 Manage User Access Rights
Make sure to check the user roles and permissions associated with your website now and then. Delete users that are no longer active, and make certain only the trusted people are allowed to change sensitive settings on the site. This stops unwanted intrusion and increases security.
#12 Optimize Image Sizes
Images make a site appealing, but big files can take more time to load. Use image optimization plugins such as Smush or TinyPNG and put images on a lower quality without sacrificing their clarity. This helps improve site speed and provides a better experience to the users.
#13 Check for Responsiveness on Mobile
As a huge chunk of web traffic comes from mobile phones, one of the most important factors to consider is ensuring that your site is mobile friendly. Make use of Google’s mobile friendly test to see if your site is responsive and modify it as needed to improve usability.
#14 Measure Traffic & Performance
Analyze web traffic and user interaction by using Google Analytics or any other tool. A consistent analysis makes it easy to spot possible changes, optimize content, and enhance the overall functioning of the WordPress site.
#15 Flush cache
Caching helps improve website speed by storing static versions of your site. However, outdated cache files can cause display issues. Use caching plugins like W3 Total Cache or WP Rocket to clear cache and minify CSS/JavaScript files for faster page loading.
