How often should you update your website?

The short answer: not everything needs the same schedule

Opening hours, contact details and services should change as soon as they change in your business. Content that is still accurate does not need weekly edits. Technical updates need monitoring: an important security fix should not wait until your next monthly review.

Update when something needs correcting or improving. Review regularly so you discover it before it becomes a problem.

Changing a photograph, updating WordPress and redesigning the site are different jobs. Treating them as one can waste time while important work gets overlooked.

Content: update what your customers need to know

In the original article I used a restaurant as an example. A daily menu may need changing every day. A seasonal menu does not need weekly edits. The schedule depends on the business, not on an obligation to keep changing the website.

• Update phone numbers, address, opening hours and contact methods as soon as they change.
• Review services, published prices and availability when there are actual changes.
• Remove expired notices, past dates and services you no longer offer.
• Replace photos and examples when they no longer represent your work, premises or team.

I recommend setting aside a brief monthly review, even when you have no changes planned. Open the site as someone who does not know you would: is your work clear, is the information still accurate and is contacting you easy?

WordPress, plugins and security: do not wait for a failure

A WordPress site has several parts to maintain: the core system, the theme and plugins. New versions may fix bugs, address vulnerabilities or change compatibility. Maintenance therefore involves more than pressing “update” whenever you remember.

Schedule routine update reviews at a frequency suited to the site. If a relevant vulnerability affects something you have installed, assess its urgency and act sooner rather than waiting for a calendar date.

1. Confirm you have a recent, recoverable backup before an important change.
2. Check requirements and compatibility. Test sensitive changes in a separate environment.
3. Afterwards, check key pages, navigation, forms and the features your customers use.
4. If something fails, fix it or restore carefully; an update is not finished until the result is checked.

Automatic updates can help, but they do not replace checks. Static websites are not maintenance-free either: domains, hosting, access and external services such as form delivery still matter.

Technical reference: official WordPress update documentation.

WordPress pros and cons compared with a static site ↗

A simple schedule so nothing is left to chance

This is a starting point, not a universal rule or the schedule for every maintenance plan. A shop taking daily orders needs more attention than an informational site that rarely changes.

Whenever the business changes

Correct opening hours, contact details, services and published prices. Avoid confusion by making changes without waiting until month-end.

Continuously

Monitor availability, security notices and backup completion. Decide who receives alerts and who acts on them.

Every month

Review important content and test contact from a mobile device. Verify the form reaches the inbox, not just that a success message appears.

Every quarter

Take a broader look at links, unclear pages, performance and unused services. Schedule backup restoration tests according to the importance of the site.

Once a year

Review renewals, licences, access and whether the structure still fits the business. Check that unnecessary permissions have been removed.

Do you need to publish a blog post every week?

No. In the old version I recommended posting at least once a week, and even more at the start. I would qualify that advice today: no publishing frequency guarantees Google traffic. Meeting a calendar does not make content useful.

It is better to answer a real customer question and keep a guide accurate than publish three repetitive or shallow articles. Review existing content first: outdated information, broken links, incomplete explanations and questions customers now ask frequently.

If you use Analytics and Search Console, look for reasons to investigate: an important page losing visits, searches that do not match its content or unfinished forms. Data helps you ask better questions, but a drop alone does not prove the design is at fault.

More on this approach: Google guidance on helpful content.

When updates are no longer enough

A website does not need redesigning simply because it is four or five years old. Consider deeper changes when its structure or technology prevents it doing its job. Age is a reason to review, not an expiry date.

• Your business has changed, but the website still describes your old work.
• Reading, navigating or making contact is difficult on mobile.
• Unsupported components or limitations keep forcing you into workarounds.
• The organisation is confusing and cannot be fixed by changing a sentence or image.

Before rebuilding, identify what works and should be preserved: content, URLs that receive traffic, forms and measurement. A targeted improvement is sometimes enough. If you need to compare redesign scope and budgets, read the pricing guide.

How much does a website really cost? ↗

Common questions about updating a website