To keep your WordPress website secure and operating at peak performance, we advise scheduling some routine WordPress maintenance tasks.
It may seem like a hassle, but it’s a very important work that needs to be done on regularly basis to keep your site secure and healthy.
If you’re unsure of where to start (or why), read on as we will lay down the essentials for you in this article.
Just like most platforms, WordPress is always ever changing and evolving, which means things could get obsolete quickly if you neglect upkeep or updates.
You might think you won’t need all those shiny new updates, but maintenance is more than that. It can save you from having to deal with the potential problems an outdated website poses in the future, including:
Fortunately, most WordPress maintenance tasks require no sophisticated tools or advanced technical skills to carry out. It’s a simple but worthwhile investment that will greatly benefit you in the long run.
Now that you know why WordPress maintenance matters, let’s take a look at some key tasks you should already be doing:
Frequency: immediately if a security update is available, quarterly for remaining updates
In addition to new features, keeping up with WordPress updates also enhances the security and speed of your website.
However, some plugins you use might be incompatible with the newest updates. So before implementing any changes, you might want to check on a staging website first. If your hosting provider doesn’t offer a native website-cloning feature, you can use plugins such as WP Staging or Stagecoach.
While you’re doing this task, it’s good practice to delete the plugins and themes you no longer use. That way, you can free more space and limit the vulnerability risks to your website.
Frequency: daily, and whenever you deploy larger update to your site
There are two kinds of WordPress backups – file backups and database backups. The former is comprised of plugins, themes, and core installation files, while the latter consists of website data such as posts, comments, users, and more. A fully functional WordPress backup is a combination of both.
Generally, it’s advisable to create multiple backups and save them in three different locations just in case one of them gets corrupted. You can save them on your local computer, in an external HDD, or in cloud storage, for example.
As for how often, it really depends, but a good rule of thumb is to have automatic daily backups.
Additionally, you can also back up your WordPress site manually or automatically. Most hosting providers offer automated backups as a part of their service. There are also plugins like UpDraftPlus, BackWPup, or VaultPress that can do the job for you.
However, manual backups are not without their merit. Manual backups should be done whenever you launch a larger update, especially one that will effect your database.
Need some help? Find out more about the proper ways to back up your WordPress site here!
Frequency: continuous automatic scanning
WordPress is generally secure, but it’s not immune to malware. A key WordPress maintenance task is security hardening and scanning. There are plenty of security plugins you can use to automate and ease the process. Sucuri, WordFence, and MalCare are some of the most popular ones.
However, a thorough security scan might take a toll on your server. So it’s better to schedule your security maintenance when the traffic is low. On top of scanning your website, make sure to check your website’s error and access logs to see whether there’s any suspicious activity. We also recommend using strong passwords and changing them regularly.
Finally, good quality hosting such as WPEngine should have an in-built security scanning as part of the package taking the burden of security scans away from you.
Frequency: quarterly
The more data you pile up, the more memory they consume. Hence why you should purge your drafts, old content, revisions, unused media files, and trash from time to time.
Another thing you should delete is spam comments. Not only having them around is bad for your website’s reputation, but they also eat up space. You can use tools like Akismet, Antispam Bee or CleanTalk to fend off spam comments.
Aside from giving you a clutter-free dashboard, doing this will also ease the load on your website. After all, a bloated website decreases performance, which brings us to the next point.
Frequency: quarterly
According to Google, the ideal load time for websites is 2 seconds, and 3 seconds if it’s on mobile. Anything longer than that affects user experience and causes a higher bounce rate. You can check your WordPress site’s page load speed by using tools like Google Search Console or GTMetrix. These tools will offer you insights on how to improve your website’s speed on top of telling you the time it takes to load.
Frequency: quarterly
A crucial part of WordPress maintenance is making sure everything is running as it should. Here are a few components you’d want to check for errors or poor performance:
While maintenance sounds like tedious work, keeping your WordPress website in tip-top shape is paramount. An unmaintained WordPress site can compromise security, functionalities, and user experience. It’s a simple investment that will go a long way.
That being said, if the notion of WordPress maintenance still overwhelms you, consider hiring a WordPress retainer expert to do it on your behalf. That way, you can focus on other, more exciting aspects of running a website.
