WordPress Monitoring and Maintenance

WordPress like any software package is frequently being updated with new features and fixes for known problems.

As a website administrator you will need to perform periodic maintenance activities like backups and updates.

You will also need to move and redirect pages, manage categories etc.

These maintenance task should be performed on a regular basis on all Websites

Backups -The easiest way of doing this is by using a plugin like updraft Plus. See Backing Up and Restoring WordPress.
Updates -WordPress core files ,themes and plugins are updated on a regular basis and it is important that you keep your site updated. See understanding and managing WordPress Updates.
Comments-If you have enabled comments then it is important that you manage them. This involves approving, replying and deleting them.If you don’t then they can easily get out of hand. See Managing WordPress comments.

When you perform an update WordPress goes into maintenance mode ans the site is unavailable for site visitors.

If you navigate away from the update page before it is complete then it can be stuck in this mode.

Is your website up? Is it running slow? Does it go down frequently?

These are things that you will need to be aware of.

There are many commercial online services available but they can be quite costly, techradar has a review of some of the most popular.

I have developed my own tools that use node-red and I use those.

I also am currently trialling uptimerobot

How is your site performing in Google? Google provides free Webmaster tools and Analytics for this purpose.

Although I have both on my sites the one I use the most frequently is the search console of webmaster tools.

So I would recommend that you add your site to this tool at a minimum and all you need is a Google account.

In addition Webmaster tools is easier to set up.

Related Tutorials and resources