Q: Nothing on my site is broken. Why does it need maintenance?
⚠️ Before you start: back up your site first (files + database). Updates are the most common cause of a site going down, and a backup is what brings it back up.
What this fixes:
A site that nobody touches drifts. Plugins fall behind, the theme stops matching the WordPress version, links break, and old dates and old claims sit on the page. Each one is small. Together they tell search engines, AI tools, and visitors that nobody is home. Most sites we audit with stale dates and broken social links are also months behind on updates.
Steps:
- Log in to WordPress and open Tools → Site Health. Read the "Critical" and "Recommended" items. That is your starting list.
- Open Dashboard → Updates. Note how many plugin, theme, and core updates are waiting. If it's more than a handful, that's the finding.
- Delete every plugin and theme you're not using. Deactivated plugins still get hacked. Fewer parts means less to maintain.
- Update in this order: plugins first, then the theme, then WordPress core. Update a few at a time and load the homepage after each batch. If something breaks, you'll know which update did it.
- Confirm PHP is on a version WordPress still supports (Site Health tells you). If not, ask your host to move it. Do this last, after everything else is up to date.
- Set a recurring calendar reminder — the first Monday of every month works — with this checklist: run updates, check Site Health, click through your main pages and one form, look at the footer year, and open your Google Business Profile once.
- Keep a short log. One line per month: what you updated, what broke, what you fixed. When something goes wrong later, that log is the first thing anyone will ask for.
- Turn on automatic updates only for minor WordPress core releases and for plugins you trust. Leave major theme and page-builder updates manual.
How to check it worked:
Site Health shows no critical items, Dashboard → Updates shows zero pending, the footer year is current, and the maintenance log has an entry for this month.
Tools you may need (free):
- WordPress Site Health (Tools → Site Health) — built-in.
- UpdraftPlus (https://wordpress.org/plugins/updraftplus/) — scheduled backups if your host doesn't provide them.
- Broken Link Checker (https://wordpress.org/plugins/broken-link-checker/) — run it once a month, then deactivate it; it's heavy.
- A calendar reminder. Nothing fancier is required.
Common mistakes to avoid:
- Updating everything at once with no backup, then guessing which update broke the site.
- Leaving deactivated plugins installed "just in case."
- Letting the host auto-update PHP without checking the site afterward.
- Treating "the site loads" as proof it's fine. Loading is not the same as current.
When to call SEO Doctor:
- An update broke the site, and you can't get back to the backup.
- Site Health shows a critical item you don't understand.
- You want SEO Doctor to run the monthly check for you.