Most small business websites don't fail dramatically. They drift. A plugin falls behind, a form stops sending, the holiday hours from last December are still up, and the photos on the homepage are from before the remodel. None of it seems urgent, until a customer notices.
This checklist is the starting point we use when we take care of a client's site. You can use it yourself, hand it to a team member, or use it to evaluate whoever maintains your site now.
Monthly tasks
1. Confirm your site is up and fast
Visit your homepage and your two or three most important pages on your phone, not just your laptop. Do they load quickly? Is anything broken or oddly laid out? Ideally, set up uptime monitoring so you're alerted automatically when the site goes down, rather than finding out from a customer.
2. Run software updates
If your site runs on a content management system, update the core software, theme and plugins. Updates fix bugs and patch security holes. Always take a backup first, and check the site afterward. Updates occasionally break things, and it's better to know right away.
3. Check your backups
A backup you've never tested is a hope, not a plan. Confirm backups are actually running, that they're stored somewhere other than your web server, and that you know how to restore one.
4. Test every form and contact path
Submit your contact form, quote request form and newsletter signup. Did the message arrive? Tap your phone number on mobile. Click your email link and your booking link. Forms that quietly stop working are one of the most expensive website problems because you never see the leads you lost.
5. Update your content
This is the step most people skip, and it's the one customers notice. Each month, look for:
- Hours, prices and service areas that changed
- New photos of recent work, products or your team
- Staff who joined or left
- Promotions or announcements that have expired
- New services you offer but don't mention yet
6. Scan for security issues
Use your host's or platform's security tools, or a reputable scanner, to look for malware and suspicious changes. Review user accounts and remove anyone who no longer needs access.
7. Glance at your analytics
You don't need a deep dive. Check whether traffic and inquiries look normal, and whether any page suddenly drops off. Big unexplained changes are worth investigating.
Quarterly tasks
Review your Google Business Profile
Make sure your hours, phone number, website link, services and photos match your website. Inconsistent information confuses customers and search engines alike.
Check for broken links
Links to partner sites, social profiles, client portals and review pages break over time. A free link checker can find them in minutes.
Refresh key pages
Reread your homepage, about page and main service pages. Do they still describe your business accurately? Is your best recent work featured?
Publish something new
A blog post, a new project in your gallery, an updated FAQ. Fresh, useful content gives visitors and search engines a reason to come back.
Yearly tasks
- Renew your domain and confirm auto-renew and contact details are correct. Losing a domain to an expired card is surprisingly common.
- Review hosting: are you on a plan that still fits your traffic and needs?
- Update copyright year, legal pages and policies like your privacy policy.
- Audit accessibility basics: readable text, alt text on images, good color contrast, and forms with clear labels.
- Decide whether you need a redesign: if your site looks dated or is hard to update, a refresh may be cheaper in the long run than patching.
How long does this take?
For a simple site, the monthly tasks might take one to three hours if you know what you're doing, longer if you're learning as you go. The hard part isn't any one task. It's remembering to do all of them, every month, especially during your busiest season.
Make the checklist stick
Put a recurring reminder on your calendar for the same day each month, and keep a simple log of what you checked and changed. Over time the log becomes a useful history when something goes wrong, and it makes handing the work to someone else much easier.
When to hand it off
If you've read this list and thought "I'm not doing most of this," you're in good company. That's exactly why we started KeptWeb. Our plans cover monitoring, updates, backups and security checks, plus the small edits that keep your site current:
- Basic ($49/mo) includes one small edit per month and a monthly report.
- Growth ($99/mo) includes up to four small edits, Google Business Profile updates and a monthly blog post.
- Pro ($149/mo) includes up to 10 small edits per month, two blog posts a month and basic SEO.
Plans are month-to-month and you can cancel anytime online or by email. $0 and discounted builds need a 12-month plan. Learn more about our updates and backups, website monitoring and small edits, or see how we help specific fields like real estate agents and brokers and contractors.
Want a second set of eyes first? Ask for our free website review and we'll run through the key items on this list for your site and tell you what we'd tackle first. Or see our plans.