{"id":20386,"date":"2026-11-02T12:24:36","date_gmt":"2026-11-02T11:24:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stage.surver.nl\/kennisbank\/wordpress-onderhoud-checklist\/"},"modified":"2026-11-03T14:54:03","modified_gmt":"2026-11-03T13:54:03","slug":"wordpress-maintenance-checklist","status":"publish","type":"kennisbank","link":"https:\/\/stage.surver.nl\/en\/kennisbank\/wordpress-onderhoud-checklist\/","title":{"rendered":"WordPress Maintenance Checklist: Weekly, Monthly, and Annual"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"WordPress<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Your site is up and running, so you don\u2019t pay it much attention. Until a plugin update breaks something or a license quietly expires. Weekly: check for updates and verify backups. Monthly: run a malware scan, review user accounts, perform a speed test, test forms and the checkout process, and clean up the database. Annually: remove unused plugins and themes; check the PHP version, licenses, and SSL. Below, I\u2019ll walk you through this WordPress maintenance checklist, including what your hosting provider already handles for you. It\u2019s part of the broader guide WordPress Management: The Complete Guide<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The checklist at a glance<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A maintenance checklist is a fixed list of tasks organized by frequency, with the person responsible for each task listed in the last column. I think that last column is the most important, because that\u2019s where things go wrong in practice. Many website owners assume that their hosting provider takes care of everything, when in fact a hosting provider mainly monitors the server and doesn\u2019t check whether your contact form is still working.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Task<\/th>How often<\/th>Does your hosting provider already offer this?<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
View updates, install security updates<\/td>Weekly<\/td>No, you or your maintenance provider<\/td><\/tr>
Backing Up Data<\/td>Every day<\/td>Yes<\/td><\/tr>
Check whether the backup was successful<\/td>Weekly<\/td>No<\/td><\/tr>
Malware Scan and Firewall<\/td>Ongoing<\/td>Yes<\/td><\/tr>
Monitoring Your Site's Uptime<\/td>Ongoing<\/td>Partially, only with a maintenance subscription<\/td><\/tr>
Users, Speed, and Forms<\/td>Monthly<\/td>No<\/td><\/tr>
Clean Up the Database<\/td>Monthly<\/td>No<\/td><\/tr>
Restoring a Backup as a Test<\/td>Quarterly<\/td>No<\/td><\/tr>
Check plugins, PHP version, and licenses<\/td>Annual<\/td>No<\/td><\/tr>
Renew an SSL Certificate<\/td>Check annually<\/td>Yes, as long as the DNS points to your hosting provider<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Weekly: Check for updates and verify backups<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Every week, check to see what updates are available and verify that your latest backup was successful. Think of it like checking the tire pressure on your car. My advice for updates is to update at least once a month, but apply security updates immediately. As far as I\u2019m concerned, minor maintenance releases can be done automatically. I install major updates to the WordPress core, your theme, or a plugin like WooCommerce manually, after creating a backup and preferably first on a staging environment<\/a>, a copy of your site where you can test things safely. You can read about how to do that in Updating WordPress Safely<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When checking the backup, I look at two things: the date of the last automatic backup and its size. If a backup is suddenly much smaller than the previous one, something was left out. Also, don\u2019t store your backups only on the same server as your site, because if that server has problems, you\u2019ll lose everything at once. If a major update is coming up, make an extra backup yourself, for example in Installatron. More about schedules and storage in WordPress Backup and Migration: The Complete Guide<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After that, I always take a moment to browse through the site myself. While you\u2019re at it, check the notifications from your security system, your uptime monitoring, and Google Search Console. If comments are enabled, delete any spam comments right away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Monthly: Security, Speed, and Functionality<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Once a month, check to make sure your site is still secure, fast, and up and running. I start with the malware scan. With a good hosting provider, this runs continuously, but it\u2019s still your job to review the results. If the scan finds something you don\u2019t trust, read what you need to do at WordPress hacked<\/a>. Next, I review the users and their user roles. Former employees and your previous web developer no longer need administrator accounts, and every forgotten account is a door left wide open.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the speed test, I use PageSpeed Insights on your three or four most important pages, and I pay particular attention to the Core Web Vitals. If the score remains red even though you haven't made any changes, the problem is often more deep-seated, and it helps WordPress Speed Optimization<\/a>. Also, test your forms by filling one out yourself and checking to see if the email arrives. A form that fails silently is the most common hidden error I encounter. I also clean up revisions, spam, and expired transients by to clean up your WordPress database<\/a>, and I check the 404 errors in Search Console to fix broken links.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For WooCommerce online stores<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Test your online store monthly as a customer. Place a test order using a real payment method or in test mode, and check whether the order confirmation and other transactional emails are delivered. After every update, I check whether the payment and shipping links still work, because that\u2019s usually where things go wrong. More on that in How to Update WooCommerce Without Breaking Your Checkout<\/a>. Would you rather not do it yourself? Then we'll test the checkout process, payment methods, and integrations for you WooCommerce Management<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Quarterly and annually: recovery test and cleanup round<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Every quarter, restore a backup as a test, and every year, clean up and look ahead. A backup you\u2019ve never restored is a promise, not a safety net. So restore it at least once a quarter to a copy of your site\u2014for example, a clone in Installatron\u2014and check that everything works. See restore a backup<\/a>. While you're at it, take a critical look at your plugins. Which ones do you actually still use?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once a year, your site undergoes a checkup, similar to a vehicle inspection. These are the points I go over during that checkup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n