Why maintenance matters
Websites are software, and software changes constantly. Patchstack recorded 11,334 new security vulnerabilities in the WordPress ecosystem in 2025 — up 42% from the year before, with most found in plugins. Speed also drifts as content and plugins pile up, and Google has found that 53% of mobile visits are abandoned when pages take longer than three seconds to load.
Every month
These tasks prevent most problems before they start:
- Update the CMS, plugins, and themes — after testing on a staging copy
- Confirm daily backups are running, and test a restore occasionally
- Review uptime and security scan alerts
- Check that every form sends and arrives
- Update hours, prices, staff, and promotions
- Review analytics for sudden drops in traffic or conversions
Every quarter
A deeper review keeps the site fast and findable:
- Run a speed and Core Web Vitals check on key pages
- Find and fix broken links and 404 errors
- Review Google Search Console for indexing and security issues
- Remove unused plugins and user accounts
- Refresh content on your most important service pages
Every year
Step back and look at the bigger picture:
- Renew the domain and SSL certificate (or confirm auto-renewal)
- Review hosting performance and cost
- Run an accessibility review
- Update your privacy policy and legal pages
- Decide whether the site needs a redesign to keep up with your business
Do it yourself or hand it off?
If someone on your team is comfortable with the tasks above and has time each month, you can manage maintenance internally. If not, a care plan is usually cheaper than recovering from a hacked or broken site.
Cardinal's website care plans cost $299, $499, or $799 per month, are month-to-month, and include updates, daily backups, 24/7 uptime monitoring, security scanning, and monthly content changes.
Want this handled for you? Start with a free site health check, then choose a month-to-month care plan.