Complete Website Maintenance Checklist
Why Website Maintenance Matters
Launching your website is a big deal, it’s the moment everything you’ve been working on comes to life. But even the best websites aren’t a “set it and forget it” situation. Like any part of your business, your site needs a little ongoing attention to keep it running smoothly.
Think of it like getting a car detailed, changing the oil, or watering your plants. Regular check-ins help prevent bigger issues down the road and keep things looking fresh and feeling functional. Even small updates can make a big difference in how your site performs, how people interact with it, and how confident you feel when you send someone to it.
Website maintenance isn’t just about fixing things when they break. It’s about staying ahead of the game, making sure your site stays fast, secure, and aligned with your business as it grows and changes.
In this guide, I’ll break down what to check and how often, whether you’re the DIY type or planning to hand it off. I’ve also put together a downloadable checklist you can print, bookmark, or share with your team.
Let’s dive in.
Weekly Maintenance Tasks
These are the little things that don’t take much time but make a big difference if you stay on top of them. Think of this as your “quick tidy,” not a full deep clean, but enough to keep things humming along.
Here’s what’s worth checking once a week:
None of this needs to eat up your Monday morning, you can knock most of it out in 10–15 minutes, or even less if you have a system. It’s just a nice way to give your site a little love each week and catch anything that might be off before it snowballs.
Monthly Maintenance Tasks
This is where we zoom out a bit and look at the bigger picture. These tasks don’t need your attention every week, but doing them once a month helps keep your site running clean, fast, and aligned with your goals.
Set a calendar reminder if you’re the forgetful type, future you will be grateful.
Quarterly Maintenance Tasks
These are your “big picture” check-ins, the kind of things that help your site keep up with your business as it evolves. Once a quarter (every 3 months or so), set aside an hour or two to step back and make sure everything still feels aligned, intentional, and running smoothly.
This is also a great time to look at your site with fresh eyes: Does it still reflect your brand? Is it easy to navigate? If someone landed on your homepage today, would they get it?
These seasonal check-ins help your website grow with you, not get left behind.
Annual Maintenance Tasks
Once a year, it’s worth doing a full sweep of your website, a little deeper than your monthly or quarterly tasks. Think of it as your digital spring cleaning. It’s a chance to refresh, reassess, and make sure your site is still working for you.
You don’t have to do this all in one sitting, but if you can block off a chunk of time once a year (maybe when you’re already in planning mode), you’ll set your site up for another solid stretch.
Doing this once a year is enough to stay sharp without feeling overwhelming. Plus, it’s a great excuse to take pride in how far your site (and your business) has come.
Should You DIY or Hire a Pro?
Alright, let’s talk realistically: you can handle a lot of website maintenance on your own, especially if you’ve got a good checklist and a bit of tech comfort. But just because you can doesn’t always mean you want to. And that’s totally valid.
Here’s a little breakdown to help you decide:
🖌️ Good DIY Tasks
- Clicking around to test links and forms
- Updating text and images
- Running speed or SEO checks
- Posting blogs or new products
- Approving comments or clearing spam
- Keeping an eye on analytics (even casually)
These are all totally doable with a little time, and once you get into a rhythm, they’re pretty straightforward.
🧠 Things You Might Want Help With
- Fixing broken code or weird plugin conflicts
- Managing backups and security settings
- Troubleshooting performance issues
- Keeping up with SEO best practices
- Updating site design as your brand evolves
- Auditing for accessibility and compliance
If any of these make your eyes glaze over, that’s your cue it might be worth outsourcing.
If you love being hands-on and have the time to check in regularly, DIY is totally doable — especially with a guide like this one. But if you’re busy running your business and want your site to just work in the background, bringing in some help can take a lot off your plate.
And hey, if that sounds like something you want, I’ve got you. ✌️
Free Website Maintenance Checklist (Download + Print)
If you’re the kind of person who loves crossing things off a list (same), I’ve put together a free, printable checklist to make all this way easier to keep up with.
Whether you’re handling everything yourself or passing tasks off to a VA or teammate, this checklist helps you stay consistent without having to remember it all from scratch every month.
REady to Work with a Dev?
If you’d rather not worry about plugin updates, broken links, or backend weirdness, I’ve got you. Whether you need ongoing maintenance or help with a one-time fix, I make it easy to keep your site running smoothly…so you can focus on your business.