A WordPress site is like a storefront with the lights always on. Even when you’re asleep, bots still knock on the door, customers still browse, and updates still roll out.
This WordPress website maintenance checklist 2026 is a website maintenance plan you can hand to a marketer, a site owner, or a dev. It’s built for real life: busy weeks, tight budgets, and the occasional “why is the site blank?” panic.
You’ll get a clear schedule, safe update habits, a quick audit checklist for new sites, and a simple rollback workflow that helps you fix issues fast without guessing.
What’s different about WordPress maintenance in 2026
In 2026, maintenance isn’t just “update plugins and hope.” It requires a strategy for CMS updates and software security patches as WordPress core keeps moving, browsers keep tightening rules, and security scanners have gotten better at spotting weak spots.
As of February 2026, the latest WordPress core updates include WordPress 6.9.1 (Feb 3, 2026), a maintenance update with bug fixes across core and the block editor. WordPress 6.9 landed in December 2025 with editing and collaboration improvements, and WordPress 7.0 is in development with beta starting Feb 19, 2026 and a planned stable release in April 2026. The takeaway is simple: stay current on 6.9.x to minimize website maintenance cost through reduced long-term expenses and emergency fixes, and treat 7.0 like a “test first” moment, not a live-site experiment.
Maintenance also looks more like a repeatable SOP now. Teams want proof that backups work, that changes were tested, and that access is controlled. If you need official references to ground your process, WordPress keeps a solid set of docs in its maintenance documentation section, plus a practical overview in WordPress site maintenance.
One more 2026 reality check: hosting stacks matter more than they used to. Keep an eye on your PHP version (many sites aim for PHP 8+ for better speed and security), make sure SSL is valid, and don’t let expired domains or DNS misfires become your “mystery outage.”
The WordPress maintenance checklist (what to do, why it matters, how to do it)
A good WordPress maintenance checklist has two layers: repeatable weekly habits, and monthly “catch what’s hiding” checks. Below are the core tasks most WordPress sites need, written so both non-technical and technical owners can follow it.
Updates and Change Control (Core, Plugin and Theme Updates)
- What it is: Keeping WordPress core, plugins, and themes current, plus removing unused ones.
- Why it matters: Updates patch security issues, fix bugs, and keep your site compatible with PHP and browsers.
- How to do it: Review updates weekly, read changelogs for major versions, update on staging first, then push live. For core steps, follow Updating WordPress.
Regular Website Backups You Can Actually Restore
- What it is: Automated backups of both files and database, stored offsite, with real restore tests.
- Why it matters: A backup that can’t restore is just a comforting story.
- How to do it: Use your host backup tool or a backup plugin (examples include UpdraftPlus or Jetpack). Follow the 3-2-1 idea: more than one copy, at least one offsite. Test a restore monthly on staging.
Security and Malware Scan That Don’t Waste Time
- What it is: Locking down logins, scanning for malware, limiting access, and watching for suspicious behavior.
- Why it matters: WordPress is popular, and popularity attracts attacks. Most compromises come from outdated plugins, weak passwords, or over-permissioned users.
- How to do it: Use strong passwords and MFA, limit admin accounts, and run regular scans with a security plugin for malware protection or host scanner. For a clear best-practice list, see WordPress security best practices.
Website Speed and Performance (speed, uptime, broken stuff)
- What it is: Keeping pages fast, images efficient, and the site stable during traffic spikes.
- Why it matters: Slow sites bleed leads. A site that “mostly works” still loses trust.
- How to do it: Enable caching, perform image compression and optimization, watch Core Web Vitals in Search Console, and run a speed test monthly. If you’re comparing plugin categories, this overview of plugins that speed up WordPress is a useful starting point (we use and recommend Perfmatters).
Maintenance schedule table (copy into your SOP)
| Task | Frequency | Who owns it | Tools | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regular website backups (files + DB) | Daily (stores) / Weekly (most sites) | Dev/IT | Host backups, backup plugin | Store offsite, keep 30 days if possible |
| Restore test on staging | Monthly | Dev | Staging site, backup tool | Time the restore, document steps |
| WordPress core updates | Weekly (or ASAP for security) | Dev | WP Dashboard | Stay on 6.9.x until 7.0 is stable |
| Plugin and theme updates | Weekly | Dev | WP Dashboard | Remove unused plugins and themes |
| Visual spot-check of key pages | Weekly | Marketing | Browser, forms test | Check homepage, contact form, checkout |
| Security scan + login review | Weekly | Dev/IT | Security plugin, host tools | Confirm MFA, watch admin users |
| Uptime monitoring review | Weekly | Marketing/IT | Uptime monitor | Investigate repeated blips |
| Website speed and performance test and cache review | Monthly | Dev | Performance plugin, speed test | Watch LCP, CLS, TTFB trends |
| Database optimization (revisions, transients, spam comment removal) | Monthly | Dev | DB tool plugin | Backup first, avoid “clean all” blindly |
| Broken links check + 404 review | Monthly | Marketing | Analytics, crawl tool | Fix broken links, redirect retired pages |
| SEO basics check (indexing, titles, sitemap, Search Console review) | Monthly | Marketing | Search Console | Watch sudden drops, fix quickly |
| SSL certificates, domain, and DNS review | Quarterly | IT/Owner | Registrar, host panel | Prevent expiration surprises |
Safe updates in 2026: staging, backups, and a rollback plan
Most WordPress disasters happen during updates, not because updates are bad, but because there’s no safety net. Treat every change like paint in a rented room. Put down the tarp first.
A safe update routine (quick SOP):
- Staging first: Clone live to staging, run updates, click through templates, test forms, test checkout, then schedule the live push.
- Backup before and after: Take an on-demand backup right before updates, then confirm the scheduled backup still runs after.
- Read changelogs for big jumps: Major plugin versions, WooCommerce updates, page builders, and theme framework updates deserve extra testing.
- Know your rollback path: Decide ahead of time whether you’ll restore a backup, roll back a plugin version, or revert code from Git.
Quick audit checklist for new clients or inherited sites
Use this when you take over a WordPress site, or before you add it to your care program, prioritizing user experience UX enhancements and site reliability.
- Confirm WordPress, PHP, and plugin versions are supported (nothing abandoned).
- Verify backups exist, are offsite, and can restore.
- List must-have plugins, remove duplicates and anything unused.
- Review admin users, remove old staff, enable MFA where possible.
- Check SSL status, mixed content warnings, and redirect rules.
- Scan for malware and unknown admin accounts.
- Perform form functionality test (contact, quote, lead gen), confirm email delivery.
- Test mobile responsiveness and browser compatibility testing.
- Check uptime history and obvious performance bottlenecks.
- Verify technical SEO maintenance, including meta tags and schema markup.
- Review 404s, implement 404 error fixes, and redirects, especially after redesigns.
- Complete a content refresh checklist for outdated pages.
- Confirm analytics and Search Console access is in the client’s name.
Troubleshooting and rollback workflow (when something breaks)
- Confirm the symptom: Is it front-end only, admin only, or site-wide? Check on mobile and desktop.
- Check logs and status: Host error logs with PHP error debugging, security plugin alerts, and uptime monitor notes.
- Isolate the change: If the issue appeared after an update, disable the most recent plugin update first (on staging if possible).
- Restore if needed: Roll back to the last known good backup, then re-apply updates one at a time.
- Document the fix: What changed, what failed, what solved it, and how to prevent a repeat.
Need Help
We offer WordPress care programs, and you can learn more about them here.