In the ever-evolving digital landscape, your WordPress website is more than just an online presence—it’s a critical business asset. Just like a car needs regular servicing, your website requires consistent maintenance to ensure optimal performance, security, and reliability. At Webserv, we’ve compiled a comprehensive guide to help you conduct a quick yet thorough health check for your WordPress site. We know you are not a website expert and at times don’t even know where to start, so we have mad this self test super easy.
We have listed the self checks in order of importance according to seriousness
Domain check
Your domain is the very foundation of your online presence. A lapsed domain or incorrect ownership details on your domain can force you to loose access to everything under your domain.
Monitor Domain Expiration
- Make sure you can login to your domain management portal 24/7. If you can not, you should get that access immediately as someone else have more control over the domain.
- Check your domain’s expiration date and set the domain to auto renew.
- Add a secondary card for payment, giving you another layer of protection.
- Make sure you can receive the renewal reminders to your email account
- Maintain correct registration details for the domain, including the right ABN. Check who is registed here. Simply add your domain and search.
DNS check
The DNS is what helps website browsers decide where to find your website. The DNS also holds information about your emails and other custom software solutions and integration you have. Your IT is often the go to people for DNS management. Some website providers like ourselves also manage this for clients.
Now check the following
- Are you aware of who manage the DNS and its configurations?
- Do you have copies of the DNS records? This can come handy one day.
The DNS health is good to be aware of as it can affect you in the future.
Top level web health check
Website Health Assessment
Your website’s security is paramount. Cybercriminals are constantly developing new methods to exploit vulnerabilities, making the website safety even more important:
Follow these steps to find out how safe your site is
Contact your website provider and ask them:
- Which version is my WordPress Core? How many version is my site from latest version?
- Which Plugins are not on latest version? And why not?
- Which version is my theme at and what is the latest version. If they don’t match, you need to ask why.
Pro Tip: It is almost impossible to always have everything updated at all the time. However you should not be more than a couple of versions behind. Its when updates are ignored for months and months that you are running into high risk
Conclusion: If you are far behind in versions, take actions such as contacting someone who understands the process of backups and updates. If you can not get in hold of your provider and access your website, you should take actions within hours.
Review user Access
Login to site or ask website guy to:
- Remove any unused administrator accounts
- Check and remove unfamiliar user profiles
- Ask your website person to
- Implement strong password policies
- Set up two-factor authentication
Hosting server Check
Access to hosting is not needed for most businesses and it is better if your website supplier maintain that access. However, you want to make sure that your website supplier have access. Checking the health of a website server is very technical and direct access to server is needed for many of the things that needs checking.
Here are a couple of things you can do to get an idea about your website hosting health without accessing the hosting environment:
- Simple speed test using Pingdom. Rember to set the test from Australia to get accurate test result. It should be between 1-3 seconds.
- See what PHP version the website hosting is using. Currently as of December 2024 WordPress recommends 8.0 or higher. Use this php test tool to run your own website address for a quick self test.
- Check your mobile responsiveness. All websites should render nicely on mobile screens in 2024
- Find out what backup system is installed on your server. If no backups are in place, you should action this as soon as possible. All website servers can fail.
Testing these 3 things can give you an idea of where your website hosting is at. There are also plugins you can install on your website to get more information. However we recommend leaving those plugins and testing to your website developer or hosting company.
Professional Support
While these checks are basic and crucial, they can be complex and time consuming. Webserv offers comprehensive website health check services, providing peace of mind and expert maintenance.
Our services include:
- Detailed hosting assessments
- Backup and recovery planning
- Ongoing maintenance packages
Do you want us to do a website health check assessment for you? Follow button link to fill out form and get started.
Conclusion
Your WordPress website is a dynamic, living digital asset. Regular health checks aren’t just recommended—they’re essential for protecting your online business presence.
Need a professional assessment? Contact Webserv today for a comprehensive WordPress site health evaluation.
