A website needs sufficient maintenance or it is exposed to cyber threats like spamming, malware attacks, slow speed, and the possibility of losing customer trust. Regular site maintenance allows identifying issues before they turn complex and unfixable. Stay proactive to avoid the common and sudden system glitches and collapses. 

Set My Site is one of the popular WordPress website maintenance services, you can approach. The professionals help to improve web performance and maintain the overall user experience. A WordPress website is a machine with lots of moving parts. It needs regular maintenance to make sure the components run smoothly and seamlessly. 

Tips for optimal WordPress website maintenance

Create site backups

Before making changes ensure to have website data backed up. It is a practice to avoid misfortunes. It may seem taxing but the time taken is valuable. The best way is to have automated backup schedules but ensure to test the process regularly. 

It ensures data is properly backed up. Store backup files in separate locations. To make the backup process easy use the WP backup plugin!

Enable maintenance mode

Never avoid enabling maintenance mode during major changes on the website. Major changes are the ones that can potentially break your website or trigger a bad user experience. Maintenance mode ensures that some functions are disabled or some pages are blocked. 

The task sounds daunting but with the WP plugin, you can easily enable maintenance mode. It is advisable to take the website offline, while maintenance. It avoids compromising the user experience which is essential for SEO.

Check link performance

Links performance impacts user experience and Google bots. As the website grows checking for broken links and building internal links is daunting. There are SEO plugins that can help you boost website visibility and drive organic traffic. 

Find the broken links and fix them to avoid getting penalized by Google. The internal linking structure has to be strategic. SEO plugins can help to find pages without any inbound/outbound links and fix them quickly. 

Update WP website

WordPress core, themes, and plugins need to be regularly updated. It helps to avoid security vulnerabilities and bugs issues. WordPress regularly updates its programs to enhance functionality, handle security threats, and fix bugs. Updated software ensures that your site is secure. 

During maintenance first, update WordPress followed by themes and ultimately the plugin. It reduces the risk of conflicts that can impact website performance, especially if the website is large. Apply updates one after another to trace potential glitches if they should occur. If you are busy choose a plugin to manage updates automatically the moment a new version is introduced.

Database management

The WordPress database is a warehouse where every file associated with the website is stored. It includes username, comments, posts & pages, as well as themes & plugin settings. The complexity and weight of your database will depend on the number of plugins, themes, content, and comment added to the website. 

Eventually, the site can slow down and you will find that retrieving data from the database takes longer. To keep the database clean use a database clean plugin. It keeps data organized and eliminates clutter. 

Google search console & Google Analytics

You gain a clear picture of website performance. Monitor the website’s downtime, which pages load slowly, and even broken links. 

Create a website maintenance routine because it ensures that your WP site operates smoothly!