Website Maintenance Checklist: 10 Checks to Keep Your Site Healthy

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Check it actually works

Visit your website as a customer would. Fill in the forms and click through a few pages on a computer and a phone. A broken contact form can cost you enquiries for months before anyone notices, so send yourself a test enquiry now and then.

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Check it's online at all

It sounds obvious, but we've met companies whose website had been down for years without anyone noticing. A free uptime monitor will email you the moment your site stops responding.

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Check it works on a phone

For many businesses, well over half of all visitors arrive on a mobile. If your site is awkward to use on a small screen, or doesn't load at all, those visitors simply go elsewhere.

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Check your contact details

Has someone left? Has the phone number changed, or the office moved? Out-of-date details are one of the most common problems we find, even on otherwise good websites.

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Keep your content current

Pages written years ago rarely describe what your business does today. Make sure your services, prices, case studies and claims reflect the business you run now.

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Review your meta titles and descriptions

These short summaries tell search engines, and searchers, what each page is about. When a page changes but its description doesn't, search engines get mixed signals and your ranking can suffer. Our digital marketing and SEO team checks these as standard.

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Make sure it's legal

Rules and expectations change. Review your terms and conditions and your privacy and cookie policies (UK GDPR applies to almost every business website). If you sell online, check your delivery and returns information too.

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Prune and refresh your news

AI-powered search reads your news alongside the rest of your site to work out who you are and what you offer. Old, off-topic articles that contradict your current services can lower your visibility. Keep what's relevant, update what's worth updating, and retire the rest with 301 redirects.

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Use 301 redirects when pages move

A 301 redirect tells browsers and search engines that a page has moved permanently, and where to find it. If you remove /my-news-from-1990/, a 301 can send visitors and Google to /my-news-from-2026/, which keeps most of the ranking the old page had earned. Redirects are easy to get wrong, so this is usually a job for your web developer.

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Be wary of "free" website audits

Plenty of companies send out alarming automated reports, hoping you'll pay them to fix even the simplest problem. Website owners forward these to us every week. More often than not the "fixes" aren't needed, and some would actually harm your ranking. Ask a reputable, local web company to look at your site properly instead.

How often should I maintain my website?

Cirrus Design Studio recommends a quick check every couple of weeks: make sure the site loads, the forms work, it displays properly on a phone and the contact details are correct. Review the content and meta descriptions every few months, and the legal pages at least once a year.

How long does a website last before it needs redesigning?

Most websites last around three to four years before they start to look and perform their age. A well-designed website built for modern, AI-powered search usually lasts four to five years, especially if it's maintained regularly.

What is a 301 redirect?

A 301 redirect permanently sends visitors and search engines from an old web address to a new one. Links to the old page keep working, and the new page keeps most of the search ranking the old one had earned.

Can you maintain a website you didn't build?

Yes. Cirrus Design Studio checks and maintains websites built by other companies, whether they run on Wix, our own Hydra CMS or another platform. Get in touch and we'll tell you where your site stands.