How to Manage WordPress Sites: 75 Tasks To Keep Your Site Running Smoothly

How to Manage WordPress Sites: 75 Tasks To Keep Your Site Running Smoothly

Written by

Kristen Wright
on

May 13, 2022

Last Updated on May 13, 2022

Managing a WordPress site means performing daily, weekly and monthly tasks to help your site run smoothly. Use this checklist to help you manage WordPress sites either for yourself or your web design clients.

75 WordPress Site Management Tasks & Tips

The list below includes both one-time tasks for newer WordPress sites and repetitive tasks that will need to be performed on a regular basis.

WordPress Backup Tasks

  • 1. Install a WordPress backup plugin like BackupBuddy to start running automatic WordPress backups
  • 2. Confirm your automatic WordPress backups are running at scheduled intervals
  • 3. Confirm backups are delivering to a safe, off-site storage destination & set up redundant backups (two or more backup file storage locations)
  • 4. Confirm backup files include WordPress database and all files (media library, themes, plugins, etc.)
  • 5. Consider using Stash Live (real-time WordPress backups) if you manage a more active site
  • 6. Delete any old locally-stored backups (these are backups stored on your own server)
  • 7. Delete old backup files stored off-site in BackupBuddy Stash to reduce storage usage
  • 8. Keep a current version of the ImportBuddy script file on hand

WordPress Security Tasks

  • 9. Update WordPress core to latest version
  • 10. Use a WordPress security plugin like iThemes Security to help perform important WordPress security tasks
  • 11. Enable Trusted Devices to identify the devices that you and other users use to log in to your WordPress site
  • 12. Enable 404 Detection because of phishing and other attempts
  • 13. Enable the Banned Users setting to block specific IP addresses and user agents from accessing your site
  • 14. Review logs of Banned User IPs
  • 15. Enable WordPress brute force protection to protect your site against attackers that try to randomly guess login details to your site
  • 16. Enable Network Brute Force Protection to protect your site against known attackers before they reach your site
  • 17. Run a WordPress Malware Scan
  • 18. Enable User Logging to log user actions such as login, editing or saving content and other actions
  • 19. Disable the File Editor in WordPress Tweaks
  • 20. Harden WordPress by using the Away Mode setting to limit access to your WordPress login and admin area (for example, overnight or while you’re on vacation)
  • 21. Whitelist your own IP Address
  • 22. Review WordPress file permissions
  • 23. Remove the Admin user
  • 24. Change WordPress salts & secret keys
  • 25. Activate and set up WordPress two-factor authentication

WordPress Theme & Plugin Tasks