The definition of maintenance is the upkeep of property or equipment + I think it’s a really simple way to explain something that can be as complicated as you want it to be. If you’re begging for the opposite of complicated, we’ll map out your exact steps together. Because a WordPress maintenance plan is really just a routine or a checklist that helps you to upkeep your website (property). And when you use your website as a tool or employee in your business, having a plan for upkeep is important.
Do not dump this into the pile you’ll get to when you find more than the normal 24 hours in a day. It doesn’t need to be overwhelming or even time-consuming, though it likely feels that way because no one talks about this stuff when you get your brand new site. Whether you DIY or have it built, there are no care instructions like your favorite sweats had, even if we just wash everything in the same load anyway. No instructions means you might be wondering what to include + if your business is ready for it.
Simply put, you need one. So let’s build one. Together.
Planning your WordPress maintenance plan
Every WordPress site is different, yet they all operate with the same key components: WordPress, a theme, plugins + hosting. This is a great place to start mapping out your site upkeep routine. No matter what you do, updating WordPress, your themes + your plugins must be included. Leaving these things outdated + ignored will likely lead to broken parts of your site or, even worse, hackers gaining access.
Your hosting can also benefit from updates but not nearly as often. Once in a while, you’ll want to make sure your hosting plan is running the latest version of PHP. WTF is PHP? It’s the language that WordPress runs on. And updating it is often as simple as clicking a button + making sure your site works. Plan to do this once a year at most.
Speaking of timelines, your site upkeep would benefit from having a schedule. Decide how often you can tackle this stuff + commit to doing it that frequently. My recommendation is that you spend one hour every month taking care of your business’s biggest asset that isn’t you. But if you know that quarterly is all you can offer, that will work.
Along with taking care of updates, your plan can include other tasks like testing opt-ins or contact forms, reviewing your users list, checking your site on your phone, scanning for broken links, visiting random pages to see how they look, placing a test order, resetting your password, clearing out pending comments, testing site speed, testing site accessibility, etc. The sky can be the limit, which is why giving yourself a time limit can keep you from spiraling.
Steps to create your custom maintenance plan:
- Decide how often you can repeat the steps you’ll decide on next
- Scan the list of potential tasks for ones that jump out at you as doable + important to your business
- Open up your favorite task manager + create a recurring task with the frequency you decided
- Add a checklist to that task that starts with:
- Run a site backup
- Update plugins
- Update themes
- Update WordPress
- [Add in your choices from Step 2]
I left out one important maintenance step because you might not need to do this step at all…
Making maintenance stress-free
A DIY maintenance plan you can copy
If you’re already starting to spiral, let me stop you. If you’d benefit from being told exactly what to tackle + when, you need the WordPress Site Care Kit. I laid out my exact process for monthly, quarterly + annual maintenance in an easy to follow checklist. Each task includes written step-by-step instructions, a video to follow along + warnings about what to watch out for. Grab the kit + stop overthinking your maintenance. Step 5 from the list above would be to then schedule your first maintenance hour.
A WordPress maintenance plan that doesn’t take your time
I’m not sure why I saved the best news for last, but here we are. I said that you need to have a plan, but that doesn’t mean you have to be the one doing the work. Whether you’re ready to join the Site Care Club or have me tackle monthly maintenance while you keep your site planted where it is, you can absolutely ignore your site upkeep + have someone else handle it. My 5-hour retainers usually cover 6 months of WordPress care + my hosting is nothing like those crappy bulk plans you’ve been dealing with from day one.
No matter which route you go — DIY maintenance, following my exact process or handing it over to never think about it again — your WordPress site needs maintenance. It’s way better than emailing me on New Years Day asking me to unhack your site riddled with bad links + even worse language. (Yes, that really happened to someone. And I helped them out.)