Eric Mutema

Question 06 of 06

What does WordPress maintenance actually include?

Short answer

Good WordPress maintenance covers updates to core, themes and plugins with a backup before each one, off-site backups, uptime and error monitoring, security hardening, performance checks, and someone to fix what breaks. Redesigns and new features are usually separate projects.

The essentials

  • Updates to WordPress core, themes and plugins, with a backup first and a check afterwards that key pages, forms and checkout still work.
  • Backups stored off the server, so a hosting problem doesn't take your backups with it.
  • Uptime monitoring, so you hear about downtime before your customers do.
  • Error monitoring: PHP errors, failed scheduled tasks and failed emails.
  • Security: removing unused plugins and accounts, reviewing who has admin access, and keeping PHP on a supported version.
  • Performance: caching, database cleanup and checks on Core Web Vitals.

What separates good care from an update button

Anyone can click Update all. The value is in what happens when something goes wrong: tracing why forms stopped sending, why pages time out under bot traffic, or why renewals stopped charging, and fixing the cause instead of the symptom.

How often

Security updates should go on as soon as they're released and tested. Other updates, checks and reports can run on a weekly or monthly rhythm, depending on how busy the site is and how much it earns.

What's usually not included

Redesigns, new features, migrations and large content projects are normally quoted separately, though a good care arrangement leaves some time each month for small changes.

  • WordPress care & maintenance: Updates, backups and fixes handled each month, so you run your business instead of troubleshooting your site.
  • Global Atlanta case study: Moved a 30-year-old international business publication off Newspack to a custom GeneratePress build, then stabilized its performance, data and security.
  • Heritage Hills case study: Membership, email and store work for the nonprofit that protects Oklahoma City's Heritage Hills historic district, plus an MCP server so AI tools can manage the site.

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