The following is a brief explanation of the various maintenance tasks you will want to perform to keep your site running smoothly.
1. Update Your CMS
Content Management Systems like WordPress will release ongoing updates on a regular basis. You will want to check that WordPress or whatever CMS you are using is kept up-to-date.
2. Update Plugins
You will also want to check that all of the plugins you are using are up-to-date. If any of them need updating simply click the “update” link in the plugins section.
3. Update Theme/Template
You will also want to check for updates released for your theme if you are using a premium WordPress theme. Theme marketplaces such as Themeforest will provide automated updates from their servers.
4. Delete Spam Comments
It is a good idea to go in and delete any spam comments to help keep the site running smoothly.
5. Create & Download Backups
Although most host services will automatically generate their own backups of your site it is still a good idea to go in and generate a full backup of all files and then download the backup to your computer.
6. Optimize Your Database
You will also want to optimize your database at least once a month. You can use a variety of different Database plugins such as WP-Optimize that will do this for you. Always make a backup of your database before you optimize just to be safe. Most of the plugins to optimize your database will also come with a function to generate a backup first.
7. Check Over Content
It is also a good idea to do a quick check on your content every week or two to ensure that everything is accurate and up-to-date.
8. Check for Broken Links
You can use online tools such as www.brokenlinkcheck.com to scan your site for broken links. Then, go in to your CMS and fix each of the links.