WordPress Maintenance: Complete Guide (2026)

Why You Need a WordPress Maintenance SOP

You invested in a WordPress website. It looks great. It’s generating leads.

But now you need to update content, publish blog posts, or create new pages—and you’re stuck waiting on a developer for every small change.

Sound familiar?

This guide is your Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for managing your WordPress site yourself. No coding required. Just clear, step-by-step instructions for the most common tasks every WordPress site owner needs to know.

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Getting Started: Accessing Your WordPress Dashboard

How to Log In

1. Open your browser and go to yourwebsite.com/wp-admin
2. Enter your username and password
3. Click Log In

Pro Tip: Bookmark your login URL. If you can’t remember your password, click “Lost your password?” on the login page to reset it via email.

Understanding the Dashboard

Once logged in, you’ll see the WordPress Dashboard. Here’s what matters:

• Posts — Where you create and manage blog articles
• Pages — Where you create and manage static pages (About, Services, Contact, etc.)
• Media — Your image and file library
• Appearance — Theme settings and customization
• Plugins — Extensions that add functionality
• Users — Manage who has access to your site
• Settings — General site configuration

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SOP 1: Updating Plugins (Critical for Security)

Plugin updates are the single most important maintenance task you can do. Outdated plugins are the #1 cause of WordPress security breaches.

Before You Update

1. Check when the last backup was made — Go to your backup plugin (UpdraftPlus, BlogVault, etc.) and confirm a recent backup exists
2. Never update all plugins at once — Update them one at a time

Step-by-Step Plugin Update

1. Go to Dashboard → Updates (you’ll see a notification badge if updates are available)
2. Scroll down to the Plugins section
3. Read the changelog for each plugin (click “View version details”) to understand what changed
4. Select ONE plugin at a time
5. Click Update Plugins
6. Wait for the “Updated successfully” message
7. Visit your site’s front end and check that nothing looks broken
8. Repeat for the next plugin

What to Do If Something Breaks

1. Don’t panic. Most issues are temporary
2. Go to Plugins → Installed Plugins
3. Find the plugin you just updated
4. Click Deactivate — this will disable it without deleting it
5. Check your site again — if the issue is resolved, the plugin was the problem
6. Contact your developer or the plugin’s support team for help
7. If your site is completely broken and you can’t access the dashboard, restore from your backup

Update Schedule

Task	Frequency
Check for plugin updates	Weekly
Apply plugin updates	Weekly (after backup)
WordPress core updates	When available (minor = auto, major = manual)
Theme updates	When available

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SOP 2: Creating a Blog Post

Consistent blogging is one of the best things you can do for SEO. Here’s how to publish a post from start to finish.

Step-by-Step

1. Go to Posts → Add New Post
2. Enter your title in the top field
3. Write your content in the block editor (Gutenberg):
   • Press Enter to create a new paragraph
   • Use the ”+” button to add different blocks (images, headings, lists, etc.)
   • Use Heading blocks (H2, H3) to structure your content — this is critical for SEO

Adding Images to Your Post

1. Click the ”+” button and select Image
2. Choose Upload to add a new image or Media Library to use an existing one
3. After inserting, fill in the Alt Text field — describe what the image shows (important for SEO and accessibility)
4. Adjust the image size if needed using the block settings on the right panel

Setting Up Your Post for SEO (Yoast / Rank Math)

1. Scroll down below the editor to find the SEO plugin section
2. Write a compelling SEO Title (60 characters max)
3. Write a Meta Description (155 characters max) — this appears in Google search results
4. Set your Focus Keyword — the main term you want to rank for
5. Follow the plugin’s suggestions to improve your score (green = good, orange = needs work, red = fix it)

Categories and Tags

1. In the right sidebar, find Categories
2. Check the relevant category (or create a new one)
3. Add relevant Tags — use 3-5 tags per post
4. Tags should be specific keywords related to the post content

Featured Image

1. In the right sidebar, find Featured Image
2. Click Set Featured Image
3. Upload or select an image from the Media Library
4. This image will appear as the thumbnail on your blog listing page and social media shares

Publishing

1. Click Preview to see how your post will look
2. Review the content, formatting, and images
3. When ready, click Publish
4. Choose the publish date (now or schedule for later)
5. Confirm by clicking Publish again

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SOP 3: Creating a New Page

Pages are for static content like “About Us,” “Services,” or “Contact.”

Using the Block Editor (Gutenberg)

1. Go to Pages → Add New Page

2. Enter the page title

3. Build your content using blocks:

   • Paragraph — Regular text
   • Heading — Section titles (H2, H3, H4)
   • Image — Photos and graphics
   • Columns — Multi-column layouts
   • Buttons — Call-to-action buttons
   • Spacer — Add vertical spacing
   • Group — Group blocks together for styling

4. Set the Featured Image in the right sidebar

5. Under Page Attributes, select a Template if your theme offers multiple layouts

6. Click Preview to review

7. Click Publish

Using Elementor (If Installed)

1. Go to Pages → Add New Page

2. Enter the page title

3. Click Edit with Elementor (blue button)

4. The Elementor visual builder will open

5. Drag and drop widgets from the left panel:

   • Heading — Titles and subtitles
   • Text Editor — Rich text content
   • Image — Photos
   • Button — CTAs
   • Icon Box — Feature highlights
   • Image Box — Image with text
   • Spacer — Vertical spacing
   • Divider — Horizontal line separator
   • Google Maps — Embedded map
   • Form — Contact forms (Elementor Pro)

6. Click any element to edit it

7. Use the three tabs in the left panel:

   • Content — Change text, images, links
   • Style — Colors, fonts, spacing, borders
   • Advanced — Margins, padding, animations, responsive settings

8. Click the eye icon (Preview) to see the live result

9. Click Publish or Update

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SOP 4: Duplicating a Page

Sometimes you want to create a new page that’s similar to an existing one. Duplicating saves time.

Method 1: Using a Plugin (Recommended)

1. Install and activate the “Duplicate Page” or “Yoast Duplicate Post” plugin
2. Go to Pages → All Pages
3. Hover over the page you want to duplicate
4. Click Clone or Duplicate
5. A new draft copy of the page will appear in your page list
6. Click Edit to modify the duplicate
7. Change the title, content, and slug as needed
8. Publish when ready

Method 2: Manual Copy with Elementor

1. Open the page you want to copy in Elementor
2. Right-click on the main section
3. Select Copy
4. Create a new page and open it in Elementor
5. Right-click on the empty area and select Paste
6. Adjust content as needed
7. Publish the new page

Method 3: Elementor Template Export/Import

1. Open the source page in Elementor
2. Click the arrow icon (bottom left) → Save as Template
3. Name your template and save it
4. Create a new page → Edit with Elementor
5. Click the folder icon → My Templates tab
6. Find your saved template and click Insert
7. Modify the content
8. Publish

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SOP 5: Creating Components with Elementor

Elementor lets you build reusable sections and widgets without code.

Building a Hero Section

1. Open a page in Elementor
2. Click the ”+” to add a new section
3. Choose a single column structure
4. Click the section settings (six dots icon):
   • Set Content Width to “Full Width”
   • Set Min Height to 500px (or as desired)
   • Add a Background Image or gradient
5. Add a Heading widget — your main title
6. Add a Text Editor widget — your subtitle or description
7. Add a Button widget — your call to action
8. Style each element using the Style tab

Building a Services Grid

1. Add a new section with 3 columns
2. In each column, add an Icon Box widget:
   • Choose an icon
   • Add a title
   • Add a description
3. Style the section:
   • Add padding (40px top and bottom)
   • Set background color
   • Add box shadow for depth

Building a Testimonials Section

1. Add a new section (single column)
2. Add the Testimonial widget (or Testimonial Carousel for multiple)
3. Fill in:
   • Customer quote
   • Customer name
   • Customer title/company
   • Customer photo
4. Style with background color, borders, and typography

Saving Sections as Templates

You can reuse any section across multiple pages:

1. Right-click the section handle (six dots)
2. Select Save as Template
3. Name it descriptively (e.g., “Hero - Blue Background”)
4. To reuse: Click the folder icon → My Templates → Insert

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SOP 6: Managing Images and Media

Proper image management keeps your site fast and professional.

Uploading Images

1. Go to Media → Add New Media File
2. Drag and drop files or click Select Files
3. After upload, click on the image to edit its details:
   • Alt Text — Describe the image (for SEO and accessibility)
   • Title — Image name
   • Caption — Optional text displayed below the image
   • Description — Internal notes

Image Best Practices

Aspect	Recommendation
File format	WebP or JPEG for photos, PNG for graphics with transparency
Max file size	Under 200KB per image
Dimensions	Max 1920px wide for full-width images
Naming	Use descriptive filenames: team-meeting-office.webp not IMG_4523.webp
Alt text	Always fill in — describe what the image shows

Optimizing Images

If you have an image optimization plugin (Smush, ShortPixel, Imagify):

1. Go to Media → Library
2. Look for the optimization status on each image
3. Click Optimize or Compress for unoptimized images
4. Or use the Bulk Optimize feature to process all images at once

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SOP 7: Managing Menus

Your navigation menu is how visitors find their way around.

Editing an Existing Menu

1. Go to Appearance → Menus
2. Select your menu from the dropdown (or it may already be selected)
3. To add a page: Check the page in the left panel → Click Add to Menu
4. To reorder items: Drag and drop menu items up or down
5. To create a dropdown: Drag a menu item slightly to the right (it becomes a sub-item)
6. To rename a menu item: Click the dropdown arrow on the item → Change the Navigation Label
7. To remove an item: Click the dropdown arrow → Click Remove
8. Click Save Menu

Adding a Custom Link

1. In the Custom Links box on the left
2. Enter the URL and Link Text
3. Click Add to Menu
4. This is useful for linking to external sites or specific sections

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SOP 8: Managing Users

Control who has access to your WordPress site and what they can do.

User Roles Explained

Role	Can Do
Administrator	Everything — full site control
Editor	Publish/edit all posts and pages
Author	Publish/edit their own posts only
Contributor	Write posts but can’t publish them
Subscriber	Read content only

Adding a New User

1. Go to Users → Add New User
2. Fill in the required fields (username, email)
3. Select the appropriate Role
4. Click Add New User

Security Tip: Only give Administrator access to people who absolutely need it. Most content creators only need the Editor or Author role.

Removing a User

1. Go to Users → All Users
2. Hover over the user and click Delete
3. Choose to attribute their content to another user (recommended) or delete their content
4. Confirm deletion

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SOP 9: Creating and Managing Contact Forms

Most WordPress sites use a form plugin like WPForms, Contact Form 7, or Elementor Pro Forms.

Editing an Existing Form (WPForms Example)

1. Go to WPForms → All Forms
2. Click Edit on the form you want to modify
3. Drag and drop fields from the left panel
4. Click any field to edit its settings:
   • Label — The field name visitors see
   • Required — Whether the field must be filled
   • Placeholder — Example text inside the field
5. Click Settings to change:
   • Notification emails — Where form submissions are sent
   • Confirmation message — What users see after submitting
6. Click Save

Embedding a Form on a Page

1. Edit the page where you want the form
2. Add a WPForms block (or your form plugin’s block)
3. Select the form from the dropdown
4. Update the page

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SOP 10: Backing Up Your Site

Backups are your safety net. If anything goes wrong, a backup lets you restore your site to a working state.

Using UpdraftPlus (Free)

1. Go to Settings → UpdraftPlus Backups
2. Click Backup Now
3. Check both Include your database and Include your files
4. Click Backup Now to start
5. Wait for the process to complete

Setting Up Automatic Backups

1. Go to Settings → UpdraftPlus Backups → Settings tab
2. Set Files backup schedule to Weekly
3. Set Database backup schedule to Daily
4. Choose a remote storage option (Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.)
5. Connect your storage account
6. Click Save Changes

When to Create a Manual Backup

• Before updating plugins, themes, or WordPress core
• Before making significant changes to your site
• Before installing a new plugin
• After completing a major content update

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SOP 11: Checking Site Speed and Performance

A slow site kills conversions. Here’s how to monitor performance.

Quick Speed Check

1. Go to PageSpeed Insights
2. Enter your website URL
3. Review your scores:
   • 90-100 — Excellent
   • 50-89 — Needs improvement
   • 0-49 — Poor, needs immediate attention

Common Speed Fixes You Can Do

• Delete unused plugins — Go to Plugins → Installed Plugins → Delete any you don’t use
• Optimize images — Use your image optimization plugin
• Enable caching — Make sure your caching plugin (WP Rocket, W3 Total Cache, LiteSpeed Cache) is active and configured
• Limit post revisions — Ask your developer to add revision limits

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SOP 12: Basic SEO Checklist for Every Page

Before publishing any page or post, run through this checklist:

Content SEO

• Title contains your target keyword
• Meta description is written (155 characters max) and includes the keyword
• Content has a clear H1 (the page title)
• Content uses H2 and H3 subheadings to organize sections
• Target keyword appears in the first 100 words
• Content is at least 300 words (ideally 1,000+ for blog posts)
• Internal links to other pages on your site are included
• At least one external link to a reputable source

Technical SEO

• URL slug is short and descriptive (e.g., /services/web-design not /page-id-4827)
• All images have alt text
• Page loads in under 3 seconds
• Page is mobile-friendly (preview on mobile before publishing)

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SOP 13: Updating Existing Content

Keeping content fresh signals to Google that your site is active.

Editing a Page

1. Go to Pages → All Pages
2. Hover over the page and click Edit (block editor) or Edit with Elementor
3. Make your changes
4. Click Update (not Publish — Update saves changes to an already published page)

Editing a Blog Post

1. Go to Posts → All Posts
2. Find the post (use the search bar if needed)
3. Click Edit
4. Make your changes
5. Update the date if you’re making significant revisions (this re-publishes the post as “fresh” content)
6. Click Update

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Monthly Maintenance Checklist

Print this out and run through it once a month:

Task	When	Priority
Update all plugins	Weekly	High
Update WordPress core	When available	High
Create a full backup	Before updates	High
Review and reply to form submissions	Weekly	Medium
Check site speed	Monthly	Medium
Review SEO scores on key pages	Monthly	Medium
Delete spam comments	Weekly	Low
Delete unused media files	Monthly	Low
Review user accounts	Monthly	Low
Check for broken links	Monthly	Medium
Review Google Analytics / Search Console	Monthly	Medium

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Common Issues and Quick Fixes

”White Screen of Death”

Cause: Usually a plugin conflict or PHP error.

Fix:

1. Try accessing /wp-admin — if it works, deactivate the last plugin you updated
2. If you can’t access the admin, contact your developer or hosting support to disable plugins via FTP

”Briefly Unavailable for Scheduled Maintenance”

Cause: An update was interrupted.

Fix:

1. Contact your hosting provider or developer to delete the .maintenance file from your site’s root directory
2. This file is automatically created during updates and removed when they complete

Can’t Upload Images

Cause: Usually a file size or permission issue.

Fix:

1. Check if the image is under your hosting’s upload limit (usually 32MB or 64MB)
2. Try resizing the image to be smaller
3. Check that your WordPress upload folder has correct permissions (contact hosting if unsure)

Site is Slow

Cause: Multiple possible factors.

Fix:

1. Run a speed test at PageSpeed Insights
2. Optimize images
3. Clear your cache (caching plugin → Clear All Cache)
4. Deactivate plugins one by one to find if one is causing the slowdown

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When to Call Your Developer

While this guide covers the basics, some tasks should be left to professionals:

• Custom functionality — Adding features that don’t exist in plugins
• Theme customization — CSS, PHP, or template changes
• Security incidents — If you suspect your site was hacked
• Migration — Moving your site to a new host
• E-commerce setup — WooCommerce configuration and customization
• Performance optimization — Server-level caching, CDN setup, database optimization
• API integrations — Connecting your site to external services

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Final Thoughts

Managing your WordPress site doesn’t require a computer science degree. With these SOPs, you can handle 90% of day-to-day maintenance yourself.

The key is consistency. Update your plugins weekly. Publish content regularly. Back up before making changes. And when something feels beyond your comfort zone, don’t hesitate to reach out to a professional.

Your website is a business asset. Treat it like one.

Need help with something beyond basic maintenance? Contact our team — we specialize in WordPress development, performance optimization, and custom solutions that grow with your business.