By Gecko Studio · updated October 2026
Have you ever wondered which maintenance tasks a WordPress site needs on a regular basis? They are routine jobs that take very little time, but they keep your site protected and running at full performance. This post explains which tasks you need to do regularly and how to do each one. For the done-for-you version, see our WordPress maintenance service.
Why carry out WordPress maintenance?
Your WordPress site comprises your hosting, the WordPress software itself, plugins and themes, and then your own content and images on top. Together they make up the website your visitors and customers see.
Many people do no maintenance until something breaks. But if you want good performance, simple tasks need doing regularly, so that your site is always in good working order.
What are the essential WordPress maintenance tasks?
1. Change your passwords
Your password is the first line of defence against unauthorised access. You must create strong, unique passwords, but even strong ones can be compromised without you knowing. So change them regularly: the WordPress admin area, FTP or SSH accounts and the database password.
Maintaining a WordPress site is not difficult, but it is time-consuming and complications can arise.
2. Create backups
Your site should have a plugin that creates backups, such as UpdraftPlus or BackupBuddy. These usually create copies automatically, but it is advisable to run one manually from time to time. After each backup, check it is properly stored in the location of your choice (Dropbox, Google Drive and so on).
3. Update your files
Always keep WordPress, its plugins and its themes on the latest version. Sometimes the licence for a theme or plugin expires and the update fails. To make sure every theme and plugin is up to date, check manually in the updates section.
4. Remove spam comments
You can use the Akismet plugin to fight spam comments. Occasionally it flags a genuine comment as spam, so check that no real comments have been caught.
Update plugins whenever a new version appears. Most of the time the updates are for security or for compatibility with new versions of WordPress.
5. Test your forms
Creating forms in WordPress is easy with plugins such as WPForms. But if your email service provider is misconfigured, forms can stop sending. Test every form on your site to make sure it works.
6. Optimise the database
WordPress stores all content, comments, users and settings in its database. Over time it can accumulate a lot of unnecessary data, which makes your backups bigger and slows their upload, download and restoration.
7. Run performance tests
As time passes you add content, install new plugins or change theme, and all of it can harm performance. Faster sites give a better user experience and help your search rankings, so check performance regularly.
8. Fix 404 errors
If a visitor lands on a page that does not exist on your site, they see a 404 error page. These errors come from mistyped addresses or pages that are no longer available and make for a poor experience. Find the 404 pages on your WordPress site and redirect them.
9. Find broken links
As your site grows, some external sites your older articles linked to will disappear. You may also add broken images or mistyped links without noticing. Hunt for broken links as part of your routine.
10. Run SEO audits
Another regular task is a thorough review of all your content, using Google Search Console and Google Analytics. Analytics shows where your visitors come from and how they behave, so you can spot content with lots of traffic but a low conversion rate. Search Console shows the keywords your site appears for, and which articles could climb by being updated. An SEO plugin such as All in One SEO gives you an on-page score and specific optimisation tips. If you want a professional view, request a free SEO audit.
11. Optimise images
Images that take a long time to load slow your page. You will find some of yours are simply too big. Optimise your images and media library to spot the problem and find images that can be reduced.
12. Review security logs
We have already covered security habits such as changing passwords and making backups. You should also review your site's access logs for unusual activity.
13. Fix problems caused by the maintenance itself
Some maintenance tasks, such as checking for broken links or running certain plugins, can slow your site down. If you run a staging site, do the maintenance there and publish afterwards.
Most people do not have one, so some unexpected errors are common. One way round this is to put your site into maintenance mode or to do these tasks at quiet times.
The cost of not doing it: what a hacked site costs
These 13 tasks take little time when done regularly. The expensive part is letting them slide until the site is hacked or loaded with malware, because then you are no longer preventing but fixing in a hurry, with the site down.
What to do after a hack
Even if the attack lasts minutes, cleaning up does not. You usually have to:
- reset all passwords: WordPress admin, FTP or SSH accounts and the database;
- find and remove the malware and spam that got into files and the database;
- close the vulnerability they used, or they will be back;
- restore the site from a clean backup, if there is one (which is why task 2 is not optional);
- notify users if personal data has leaked;
- ask Google to review the site if it has flagged it as dangerous.
What you pay without it showing on an invoice
On top of the cleaning hours, every hour the site is down is an hour without orders, bookings or enquiries. If Google or the browser warns visitors that the site is not safe, trust takes far longer to return than the site takes to come back. And the hours you spend on this are hours you do not spend on your business, which is why prevention is better.
Do it yourself or hand it over?
It is perfectly possible to do it yourself, especially on a small blog or personal site. To decide, answer honestly:
- How much time a month can you give these tasks without neglecting everything else?
- Is it a small site, or an online shop with many products and orders?
- Can you afford to have the site down for a day?
- Are you confident you can do each task properly, including the backup and its restoration?
If, for an online shop or a site your business lives on, the answer to any of these is "no", the sensible move is to leave it to a professional. The price of a WordPress maintenance plan depends on who does it, which tasks it includes and the type of site, but it is usually well below the cost of cleaning up a hacked site, and cheap compared with the sales lost while it is down.
In short, regular maintenance not only keeps your WordPress site running well but also improves security, performance and user experience, which means happier visitors and customers.
If you do not have time for these tasks or think they belong with a professional, get in touch with Gecko Studio and we will help with whatever you need.
