ANNUAL WEBSITE MAINTENANCE: A SIMPLE GUIDE FOR A NEW YEAR

Discover how small, intentional updates can keep your website clear, functional, and aligned as a new year begins.



This practical guide walks through the essential annual check-in every site needs — from reviewing content and testing forms to confirming backups, updates, and performance basics. Rather than focusing on full redesigns or trend-driven changes, this post emphasizes steady maintenance: the quiet work that prevents broken links, outdated information, security issues, and usability gaps from piling up over time. Designed for small business owners, nonprofits, creatives, and teams managing their own sites, this checklist helps you approach website upkeep with clarity instead of overwhelm.

The start of a new year often comes with pressure to overhaul everything. Your website doesn’t need that.

What it does need is a quick, intentional check-in — small updates that keep things accurate, functional, and aligned with where your work is now. Most of these take minutes, not weeks, and they prevent bigger issues down the road.

Here’s a simple annual reset I recommend.

SITE MAINTENANCE BASICS

No matter what platform you’re on, a few quiet checks prevent most website headaches:

• Hosting & platform health
  Make sure your hosting or subscription is active, paid, and still appropriate for your traffic. If your site feels slower than it used to, this is often the reason.

• Updates (WordPress + others)
  If you’re on WordPress, update core, themes, and plugins intentionally — and remove anything unused. If you’re on Squarespace or another hosted platform, updates are mostly handled for you, but it’s still worth reviewing integrations and embedded tools to be sure everything’s still working as expected.

• Broken links & missing images
  Click around like a first-time visitor. Look for 404s, outdated PDFs, or images that no longer load. These issues creep in quietly and chip away at trust.

• Backups (yes, really)
  Confirm that backups exist and that you know how to restore one if needed. WordPress users should verify automated backups at the host or plugin level. Squarespace users should periodically export or duplicate key pages. I’ve written a short guide on backing up Squarespace site, check it out via the link below.

HOW TO BACKUP A SQUARESPACE WEBSITE

UPDATE THE DETAILS

Start with the low-hanging fruit:

• Footer copyright year
• Team names, titles, or bios
• Hours, locations, or pricing language

These are tiny details, but outdated info quietly erodes trust.

REVIEW YOUR LEGAL PAGES

Privacy policies, terms, and cookie notices tend to get set once and forgotten. But tools, forms, and data collection practices change.

At minimum:

• Confirm your privacy policy reflects your current forms and integrations
• Make sure required pages are published and linked in your footer
• Check that contact emails listed actually go somewhere monitored

If you’ve added newsletters, donations, bookings, or new analytics tools in the last year, this matters more than you think.

And, if you're asking yourself "Does my webiste need a privacy policy?", the answer is YES! Check out the linked post to learn more.

TEST YOUR FORMS LIKE A STRANGER

Fill out your own forms on desktop and mobile:

• Do submissions actually arrive?
• Is the confirmation message clear?
• Are automations or notifications firing correctly?

Forms break quietly. Annual testing prevents missed inquiries and awkward follow-ups.

READ YOUR WEB COPY OUTLOUD

This sounds silly, but it works.

Ask yourself:

• Is it immediately clear who this is for?
• Does it reflect what I actually do now, not two years ago?
• What questions would I have if I was a customer/client/donor/etc that I’m not answering
• Are there offerings I’ve stopped promoting but never removed?

You don’t need new copy — often you just need to delete or simplify.

CHECK MOBILE BEHAVIOR

More than half of your visitors are likely on their phones.

Look for:

• Text that feels cramped or oversized
• Buttons that are hard to tap
• Images that slow things down
• Any overlapping/non-responsive areas

GLANCE AT THE METRICS

You don’t need a full analytics deep dive, but it’s worth checking:

• Are people finding your site via search at all?
• Are your most important pages still getting traffic?
• Has anything dropped off suddenly?

Big changes often signal simple fixes.

DECIDE WHAT NOT TO FIX

This is the most underrated step.

Make a short list:

• What’s fine for now
• What’s worth revisiting later
• What actually needs attention in the next 3–6 months

Websites work best when they evolve steadily, not in panic mode.

WHEN IT’S TIME FOR HELP

If your checklist turns into a longer list — new pages, SEO cleanup, accessibility updates, or system improvements — that’s usually a sign your site is ready for its next phase, not a full teardown.

A few thoughtful updates can often extend the life of a site by years.

If you want a second set of eyes or help implementing updates, I offer site audits, refresh projects, and ongoing website maintenance services. Reach out to schedule a free discovery call to talk through what would actually be useful.