WordPress Maintenance Services

WordPress sites require ongoing attention to remain secure, fast, and functional. My maintenance services keep your site updated, backed up, monitored, and running smoothly so you can focus on running your business instead of worrying about technical issues.

Why WordPress Maintenance Matters

Neglected WordPress sites become security risks and performance problems. Outdated plugins and themes contain vulnerabilities that hackers actively exploit through automated scanning tools. Regular updates close these security holes before attackers find and exploit them.

Beyond security concerns, maintenance prevents the gradual performance degradation that comes from database bloat, orphaned data, accumulated transients, and configuration drift. A well-maintained site stays fast, reliable, and functional for years.

WordPress Core, Plugin, and Theme Updates

I handle all updates to WordPress core, plugins, and themes on your behalf. But updates are never applied blindly or automatically. Each update is reviewed for compatibility concerns, tested on staging when appropriate, and applied at optimal times to minimize any risk of disruption to your business operations.

Update Management Process

• Weekly Review: Check for available updates across core, plugins, and themes
• Compatibility Assessment: Review changelogs and known issues before major updates
• Staging Testing: Test significant updates on staging environment when warranted
• Scheduled Application: Apply updates during low-traffic periods to minimize impact
• Rollback Capability: Immediate rollback available if any issues arise post-update
• Documentation: Record all changes made for audit trail and troubleshooting

Security Monitoring and Protection

Proactive security monitoring catches threats before they cause damage to your site or reputation. I implement multiple layers of protection and continuous monitoring to keep your WordPress installation secure.

• Malware Scanning: Daily automated scans for malicious code, backdoors, suspicious files, and known malware signatures
• File Integrity Monitoring: Instant alerts when WordPress core files are modified unexpectedly outside of updates
• Login Protection: Brute force attack prevention, failed login monitoring, two-factor authentication enforcement, and suspicious activity alerts
• Web Application Firewall: Block known attack patterns, malicious requests, and suspicious traffic before it reaches your site
• Blacklist Monitoring: Regular checks against security blacklists and Google Safe Browsing to catch reputation issues early
• Vulnerability Alerts: Notifications when installed plugins or themes have disclosed security vulnerabilities

Automated Daily Backups

Comprehensive backups ensure you can recover from any disaster including hacks, server failures, accidental deletions, or update problems. I configure automated daily backup systems that protect your entire WordPress installation.

• Complete File Backup: All WordPress files including themes, plugins, uploads, and custom code
• Database Backup: Full database exports capturing all content, settings, and configuration
• Off-Site Storage: Backups stored in separate cloud locations for geographic redundancy
• Retention Policy: Minimum 30-day backup retention allowing point-in-time recovery
• Verification Testing: Regular backup integrity verification to ensure recoverability
• One-Click Restoration: Rapid restoration capability when disaster recovery is needed

Uptime Monitoring

When your site goes down, every minute of downtime costs you visitors, revenue, and reputation. I monitor uptime from multiple geographic locations worldwide with checks every 5 minutes around the clock.

If downtime occurs, I receive immediate alerts and begin troubleshooting the issue before you even notice. Most issues can be resolved quickly, minimizing impact on your business and customers.

Performance Monitoring

Speed degradation often happens gradually as content accumulates, plugins add overhead, and database queries slow down. Monthly performance audits catch slowdowns early before they significantly impact user experience or search rankings.

• Core Web Vitals Tracking: Monitor LCP, INP, and CLS scores over time
• Page Load Time Monitoring: Track load times across key pages and user journeys
• Server Response Time: Monitor TTFB and server health metrics
• Database Performance: Query analysis and slow query identification
• Resource Usage: Server CPU, memory, and storage monitoring

Database Optimization

WordPress databases grow bloated over time with accumulated post revisions, expired transient data, spam comments, trashed content, and orphaned metadata. Monthly database optimization maintains performance.

• Revision Cleanup: Remove excess post revisions while keeping recent versions
• Transient Clearing: Delete expired transients that serve no purpose
• Spam Removal: Clear spam comments and trashed content
• Table Optimization: Optimize database tables to reclaim space and improve query speed
• Orphan Cleanup: Remove orphaned post meta and relationship data

Content and Link Auditing

Broken links and missing images create poor user experiences and can harm SEO. Regular content audits identify issues that need attention.

• Broken Link Detection: Scan for broken internal and external links
• Missing Media: Identify missing images and media files
• 404 Error Monitoring: Track and fix pages returning 404 errors
• Redirect Audit: Review redirect chains and fix inefficient redirects
• Content Updates: Flag outdated content that may need refreshing

Monthly Maintenance Reports

You receive clear monthly reports covering everything done on your site during the maintenance period:

• Updates applied with version numbers and dates
• Security scan results and any threats blocked
• Backup verification status and storage usage
• Uptime statistics and any downtime incidents
• Performance metrics and trends over time
• Issues discovered and actions taken to resolve them
• Recommendations for improvements or attention needed

Priority Support

When issues arise with your site, maintenance clients receive priority response ahead of other requests. Email support questions are answered within one business day. Urgent security issues and site-down emergencies receive same-day attention and resolution.

What Is Not Included

Maintenance services keep your existing site running smoothly and securely. New features, design changes, content creation, and major functionality additions are separate projects quoted individually based on scope and requirements.

However, maintenance clients receive preferred scheduling for additional work and discounted rates on development projects as a benefit of the ongoing relationship.

Maintenance Plan Options

I offer maintenance plans scaled to match site complexity and support requirements. Basic plans suit simple sites with minimal plugins and straightforward hosting. Comprehensive plans cover complex sites with custom functionality, multiple third-party integrations, WooCommerce stores, and higher traffic volumes.

All maintenance plans include core maintenance tasks, security monitoring, automated backups, and monthly reporting. Higher tiers add more frequent monitoring, faster support response times, and included development hours for small changes and improvements.

Getting Started

New maintenance engagements begin with a comprehensive site health check to document current status, identify any immediate issues requiring attention, and establish baseline metrics for ongoing monitoring.

From there, I implement monitoring systems, configure backup automation, apply any pending updates, and establish the ongoing maintenance routine that keeps your site healthy and secure.