A website maintenance checklist for the projects you look after

A site that nobody looks after drifts. Plugins fall behind, a form quietly stops sending, a certificate lapses. None of it is dramatic, until the client rings to say the site is down.

This checklist covers the checks that matter, by how often to do them. It suits WordPress and WooCommerce sites, and most of it applies to any site.

Every week

• The site is up. Load the home page and one inner page.
• Forms work. Send a test enquiry; check it arrives.
• Updates waiting. Check core, themes and plugins for updates. Read the notes on anything major before you apply it.
• Security notices. Look for flagged vulnerabilities in what the site uses.
• Shop checks, if there is one. Add to basket and reach checkout.

Every month

• Uptime review. Were there outages? How long? Why?
• Search Console. Look for new errors, dropped pages or security messages.
• Speed check. Load the key pages on a phone and note any change.
• Broken links. Fix the ones that matter.
• Users. Remove accounts that should no longer have access.
• Spam and comments, if the site has them.

Every quarter

• Content check. Prices, opening times, team names, copyright year.
• Plugins and themes. Remove any that are unused or no longer maintained.
• Domain, SSL and hosting renewals. Note the dates.
• A conversation with the client. What changed in their business that the site should reflect?

What can run without you

Some of it is repeatable and safe to automate: uptime checks, update lists, a monthly summary. Some deserves your eyes first: major updates, anything that touches checkout, anything that changes how the site looks. Decide this per project, and write it down.

What to tell the client

A short monthly note is enough:

Site was up [number] of [number] days. Updates applied: [list]. Waiting for your decision: [list]. Next month: [one line].

A client who sees this sees why they are paying. For how to price it, read what to charge for website maintenance.

Let someone else do the watching

Your care specialist in Agenc watches your WordPress and WooCommerce projects, lists what is out of date and prepares the updates. Every kind of change, updates included, starts on “Ask me first”, and you choose what it may do alone. See pricing.