You don’t need to be a developer to keep your WordPress site in good shape. There are a handful of things any site owner can check regularly that will catch most problems before they become serious. Here’s the short list I give to clients.
Check your updates
WordPress core, themes, and plugins all receive updates that include security patches, bug fixes, and performance improvements. Keeping everything current is the single highest-return maintenance task you can do.
In your WordPress dashboard, go to Dashboard → Updates. If there’s a backlog, work through it — core first, then plugins, then themes. If you’re not sure whether an update is safe, make a backup first.
Review your backups
Speaking of backups: when did you last confirm yours are working? Many people set up a backup plugin and never check whether it’s actually running.
Log into your backup solution and verify that recent backups exist and that they can be restored. A backup you’ve never tested is a backup you can’t trust.
Run a speed check
Site speed affects both user experience and SEO. Run your homepage through Google’s PageSpeed Insights and look at the score for mobile — that’s the one that matters most.
If the score is below 50, you have a performance problem worth addressing. Common culprits: oversized images, too many plugins, slow hosting.
Check for broken links
Broken internal links frustrate visitors and signal to search engines that your site isn’t well maintained. Use a free tool like Broken Link Checker (available as a WordPress plugin) to scan for 404 errors.
Fix what you find — update the links, or remove them if the content they point to is gone.
Look at your security basics
A few simple checks:
- Are you using a strong, unique password for your admin account?
- Is your login URL the default
/wp-admin? (Consider changing it.) - Do you have a security plugin running basic protection?
- Is your SSL certificate current? (Your URL should start with
https://)
None of these require technical expertise. They just require attention.
Do this quarterly
A WordPress health check doesn’t have to be exhaustive. Running through these five areas every three months — updates, backups, speed, broken links, security basics — will catch most issues before they become expensive.
The sites that stay healthy are the ones with owners who pay consistent, unheroic attention. That’s available to everyone.