WordPress website maintenance checklist. Part 1
The web development process has become relatively easy, thanks to the wonderful CMS’s, one of which is WordPress. (You could use something else... but why would you?) Nevertheless, WordPress website maintenance can be a difficult task. At the same time, you can not ignore it if you want to get the best results. Having a website that does not function well or has performance problems can easily lead to trouble in the form of loss of trust in the brand of your valued and loyal customers and a decrease in revenue. If you want to avoid these problems, then the competent support of your site is extremely important.
However, when it comes to supporting a website, there are many factors that need to be considered — from daily backup of the entire site to security checks, installation and support for WordPress plugins, viewing items on the page, removing unused plugins and much more.
To simplify your task, we created a detailed WordPress website maintenance checklist, following which you can easily keep your website in order. Therefore, having read this information and following all the recommendations, you will get a great website that will provide a positive user experience and high positions on the search results page.
WordPress website maintenance checklist
1. Analysis of site speed
Systematically checking the website loading speed is very important, as it improves the user's perception, and the result gives more traffic and sales.
2. Check for broken links
Broken links can have a negative impact on the rating of your site for the search engines, because they prevent search engines from effectively indexing your site. Therefore, it is very important to immediately find and restore them.
3. Redirect 301 for deadlinks
The user will be probably disappointed if they click on a link and hit a 404 error page. Therefore, to avoid this, use 301 redirects to go from broken links to working pages.
4. Checking Sidebar links
To make sure that your site/blog is up to date, check the sidebar and blogroll links regularly to avoid the appearance of dead links and irrelevant content.
5. Upgrading WordPress to the latest version
In order not to lose the new features and ensure your website has the highest level of security, it is very important to update WordPress to the latest version.
6. Remove spam comments
To make sure that your site/blog is not littered with spam and well optimized, remove spam from comments in a timely manner.
7. Delete unnecessary themes
Obsolete themes are the most common reason for having a website hacked. Therefore, to maintain the security of your site at a high level, you must delete unnecessary themes from the WordPress directory.
8. Uninstall unnecessary plugins
Too many plugins can negatively affect the speed of your site and put security at risk. Therefore it is extremely important to remove unnecessary plugins WordPress.
9. Upgrade WordPress plugins
Outdated plugins expose your site to the risk of being hacked, so you should follow the regular update for WordPress plugins.
10. Update WordPress themes
For additional functionality and efficiency of your site, you must update the WordPress theme to the latest version.
11. Update WordPress widgets
Along with plugins and themes, regular updating of WordPress widgets will ensure your site’s smooth operation and excellent appearance.
12. Empty Recycle bin
Emptying the recycle bin of data should become a daily ritual so that your site works quickly and correctly.
13. Monitoring site security
In addition to regular backups and updates, as well as site performance tests, you must perform security checks permanently to secure your site from hacker attacks.
14. Empty media files
The main reason for the lack of space in the site’s file storage in the temporary and duplicate media files. Therefore, remove this unnecessary garbage from your site's media library to improve its performance.
15. Optimize database tables
Cleaning up the database after removing the plugin or theme will help you optimize database management to speed up the operation of your site.
16. Test the site for device compatibility
If your site is viewed from different browsers and mobile devices, you should take care of its compatibility with each of them. Otherwise, you risk losing potential customers.
17. Check your download links
To maintain the usability of your website at the proper level, regularly check the download links for operativity.
18. Check links to social networks
Responses in social networks can significantly affect the position of the site on the search results page. Therefore, it is important to ensure that all links to social networks on your site are working.
19. Optimizing images
Using SEO image optimization, you will be able to download content more quickly, which will lead to more efficient indexing of the site by search engines and an improvement of user perception.
20. Update images
Since the visual elements of the site are what attract the attention of the user in the first place, updating the images in the header of the site and on the website was a necessary condition for its productivity.
21. Check website navigation
Chaotic navigation is the main source of frustration for users. Therefore, it is worth checking all the navigation links to ensure the users have a pleasant interaction with the site.
22. Check e-mail subscription and feedback forms
If e-mail and feedback forms are the main source for attracting new customers, then checking their functionality should become a daily task for you.
23. View Google Analytics
Google Analytics provides an understanding of how well your site works and can suggest ways to improve its productivity. Therefore, it is worth reviewing this report weekly.
24. Check out Google Webmaster tools
Console for webmasters Google is one of the most powerful free SEO tools that need to be checked, because it provides up-to-date information about optimization.
25. Delete drafts and revision of posts
If your blog is maintained on a regular basis, then the chance that your database is littered with revisions and draft posts is high. Therefore, you need to track them down and delete them every week.
Conclusion
WordPress website maintenance is extremely important if you want to collect generous dividends from your day-to-day painstaking work in the future. This not a complete WordPress website maintenance checklist that you need to ensure the security and effective operation of your web resource. Follow our blog updates and wait for the next part of our incredibly effective recommendations for WordPress website maintenance. If you have any questions, our web support team is always available.