WP maintenance checklist, and what CMSHands does
13 jobs that keep a WP site working, by week, month and year, and which ones a free plugin can help with from a chat in your WP dashboard.
- Nothing changes without your OK
- Undo in one click, or a warning first
- No account, no password to share
Needs WP 6.3 to 7.1, PHP 8.0 or newer, and an administrator login. One site per install.
The download is a plugin. Turning it on connects your site to cmshands.com and adds 3 small rescue files. Deleting the plugin removes them and everything it stored. What we send
Bookmark this page and tick off each line as you go. There are 13 jobs, grouped by how often to do them. Each one says where to find it in your WP dashboard: the screens you log in to at yoursite.com/wp-admin.
Where CMSHands fits. CMSHands is a free plugin that adds a chat to your WP dashboard. From this list, it checks your site once a day on the free plan and answers the health, admin and plugin questions. When you ask, it updates plugins one at a time and puts the old version back if the site got worse.
Those updates are for plugins from the WP plugin directory: the free plugins at wordpress.org, the ones Plugins › Add Plugin searches (Add New Plugin on older WP). CMSHands doesn't make backups, update WP itself, or install or update themes. Where it can do a job, the line says what to type in its chat.
Every picture on this page is real, from our test site: a WP site we run to try every task before we write about it.
Every week
1. Open your site like a visitor would
Load your home page and your busiest page, on a phone too. A blank page or an error message comes before everything else on this list.
CMSHands does this check for you once a day on the free plan, and at once if the site crashes. Add your email to get an alert when it finds a problem.
2. See what needs updating
Go to Dashboard › Updates. It lists new versions of WP itself, your plugins and your themes. Read the note under each plugin. On our test site, Safe SVG's said “This is a security release, it is recommended to upgrade immediately.”
The health report in the picture at the top ended with “One thing I did not check: whether any of those plugins has a newer version available. Say the word and I'll look.” We said “Yes, please look.” It listed the same 7 plugins, with the version installed and the new one. Nothing on the site changed.
3. Update plugins one at a time
Update one, then open your site before you do the next. If something looks wrong, you know which plugin did it.
With CMSHands, type “Update my plugins one at a time, and check the site after each.” You get one card per plugin: a box in the chat that shows exactly what would change. After you press its button, it checks your site. If the site got worse, the old version goes back on its own.
Each plugin is its own card and counts as one of your free changes. Premium plugins aren't covered. Here's a real plugin update on our test site, step by step.
Every month
4. Make sure a recent backup exists
Your host or a backup plugin makes it, so check the date of the newest one. Ask your host once how you'd get it back if you needed to.
CMSHands doesn't make backups. Ask it “Is my site backed up?” and it tells you what it finds, even when the answer is no.
5. Update WP itself
Open Dashboard › Updates again. Many sites update WP on their own, and this screen tells you if yours does. Ours says “This site is automatically kept up to date with each new version of WordPress.” If yours doesn't, check your backup first, then update.
Before a big update, ask CMSHands “Is it safe to update WordPress?” It checks your plugins and theme and tells you if the update looks safe. You run the update yourself.
6. Remove plugins you don't use
In Plugins › Installed Plugins, choose Inactive. A switched-off plugin is still on your site and still needs updates. Delete the ones you won't switch back on.
CMSHands can do this when you ask, one card per plugin. Switching a plugin off can be undone. Deleting one can't, and the card says so before you press. WP won't delete a plugin that is still switched on.
7. Check who can log in as an administrator
Go to Users › All Users and choose Administrator. Anyone who no longer works on the site shouldn't be on that list.
Ask CMSHands “Who can log in to my site as an administrator?” and it lists them. It only reads the list: it can't add or remove users. It can also list outdated plugins and administrators in one answer.
8. Look for plugins nobody looks after any more
Each plugin's page at wordpress.org shows when it was last updated. If one hasn't changed in over a year, look for one that has.
Ask CMSHands “Are any of my plugins no longer looked after?” and it checks the ones from the WP plugin directory for you.
9. Test your contact form
Send yourself a message through it. A form can stop sending email without any sign on the site. If you sell online, place a test order too.
10. Read WP's own health check
Go to Tools › Site Health. It lists what WP thinks needs attention, with a short reason for each. Open a line to read what to do about it.
Or ask CMSHands for a health report, as in the picture at the top: “Give me a quick health report.” It loads your site the way a visitor would, looks for crashes, and lists your plugins, your theme and your WP and PHP versions. It changes nothing.
To read the errors your site logs, ask “What are the errors on my site?” It reads your error log and tells you what each error means.
Every 3 months
11. Check your SSL certificate
It's what puts the padlock and https in front of your address. To see the date it runs out, click the icon left of your address in the browser, then open the certificate.
Many hosts renew it on their own. CMSHands warns you in its chat when 14 days or fewer are left, but it can't renew the certificate.
12. Check your PHP version
PHP is the language WP runs on; your host sets its version. Find it in Tools › Site Health, on the Info tab under Server.
The CMSHands health report names it too: PHP 8.4.26 on our test site. Before you ask your host for a newer one, check that a plugin works with your PHP version.
Once a year
13. Renew what keeps the site online
Check that your domain and hosting renew on a card that still works. Do the same for premium plugin licenses, since their updates usually stop when a license runs out.
If your site breaks
If CMSHands was on your site before it broke, we find what broke and prepare a fix. A person at CMSHands approves it before it runs.
It can't be installed into a site that won't load, so install it while your site works. Tried on our test sites; hosts differ.
Free to start
CMSHands is free to start: 3 changes with no account, then 10 a month once you add your email. Questions are free, up to 30 a day.
- Nothing changes without your OK
- Undo in one click, or a warning first
- No account, no password to share
Needs WP 6.3 to 7.1, PHP 8.0 or newer, and an administrator login. One site per install.
The download is a plugin. Turning it on connects your site to cmshands.com and adds 3 small rescue files. Deleting the plugin removes them and everything it stored. What we send
What it won't do here
Backups, harmful code and slow pages
WP itself and themes
Premium plugins
One card per plugin
A site that is already down
Questions
What is WordPress maintenance?
It's the small, regular jobs that keep a WP site working: updating plugins, themes and WP itself, keeping a recent backup, checking that the site loads, and checking who can log in. Done often, each job stays small.
Why is WordPress maintenance important?
Because small problems grow. An old plugin can stop working with a new WP version, an SSL certificate can run out, and a contact form can stop sending email without telling you. The benefit of a weekly look is that you catch these while they're still small.
How often should I do WordPress maintenance?
A quick look every week: does the site load, and what needs updating. A longer pass every month: backups, unused plugins, who's an administrator and Tools › Site Health. Every 3 months, check your SSL certificate and PHP version. Once a year, check your domain and hosting renew.
What goes in a WordPress maintenance report?
The date, whether the site was up, the versions of WP, PHP and each plugin, what you updated and what still waits, the date of the newest backup, and who can log in as an administrator. A CMSHands health report covers several of these in one question; you add the backup date.
Can I maintain my WordPress site myself?
Yes. Most of this list happens in your WP dashboard with your own login. Backups and the SSL certificate usually sit with your host, so find out where yours live. Do the weekly part on the same day each week, and write down what you updated: it helps when something breaks later.
Does CMSHands do all of this for me?
No, part of it. It checks your site once a day on the free plan, answers questions like a health report or who's an administrator, and updates directory plugins one at a time, checking the site after each. It doesn't make backups, scan for harmful code, make pages faster or update WP itself.
Written by CMSHands team. Checked on WP 7.1, Oct 11, 2026.
Try it on your own site
Needs WP 6.3 to 7.1, PHP 8.0 or newer, and an administrator login. One site per install.
The download is a plugin. Turning it on connects your site to cmshands.com and adds 3 small rescue files. Deleting the plugin removes them and everything it stored. What we send
Download the plugin.
It's free: 3 changes to try it. No account, no card.
Upload and activate it.
In your dashboard: Plugins › Add Plugin › Upload Plugin (Add New Plugin on older WP). Choose the file, press Install Now, then Activate Plugin.
Press Turn on.
Press Turn on CMSHands. No account, no key, no password.