How Often Should I Update My Website? A Practical Maintenance Schedule

Your website is never "done." This is the part nobody tells you during the launch celebration. You invested weeks (or months) getting your site built, you hit publish, and then... what? Do you just leave it?

The short answer: no. A website is a living business asset. It needs regular attention, just like your storefront, your equipment, or your marketing materials. But "regular attention" doesn't mean you need to be making changes every day. Different parts of your website need updating on different schedules, and understanding what needs attention when is the difference between a site that keeps working for you and one that slowly decays.

Here's a practical maintenance schedule, organized by frequency.

Weekly to Monthly: Content Updates

Your content is what Google crawls, what visitors read, and what convinces people to do business with you. Keeping it fresh signals to both search engines and visitors that your business is active and current.

Weekly (if you have a blog):

• Publish new blog posts or articles (aim for at least 1-2 per month minimum, weekly if possible)
• Respond to and moderate any blog comments
• Share recent work, projects, or news updates

Monthly:

• Check for outdated information (hours, phone numbers, staff, pricing)
• Update portfolio or case studies with recent work
• Review and refresh your homepage messaging if it references seasonal content
• Add new customer testimonials or reviews
• Update any statistics or data points that have changed

Why it matters: Google's freshness algorithm favors websites that regularly update their content. Sites that haven't been updated in 6+ months gradually lose ranking positions to competitors who are actively publishing. More importantly, visitors who find outdated information (wrong hours, discontinued services, old pricing) lose trust immediately.

Quarterly: SEO and Performance Audits

Every three months, set aside time to dig into how your site is actually performing. This isn't about making changes for the sake of making changes. It's about using data to identify what's working and what isn't.

Quarterly SEO tasks:

• Review Google Analytics for traffic trends, top pages, and conversion rates
• Check Google Search Console for crawl errors, indexing issues, and keyword performance
• Audit your top 10 pages for outdated content, broken links, and optimization opportunities
• Review and update meta titles and descriptions for underperforming pages
• Check your competitors' sites for new features or content you should respond to
• Verify your Google Business Profile is current (photos, hours, categories, posts)
• Run a site speed test and address any new performance issues

Quarterly content audit:

• Identify thin or low-performing pages that should be updated, merged, or removed
• Find content gaps where competitors rank but you don't
• Refresh outdated statistics, screenshots, or references
• Update internal links as you publish new content

If you're not sure which metrics to track, our guide on Google Analytics metrics for small business breaks down exactly what to look at and why.

Every 1-2 Years: Design Refresh

A design refresh is smaller than a full redesign. Think of it as repainting and rearranging furniture rather than renovating the whole house. Your site's structure and underlying code stay the same, but the visual presentation gets modernized.

Signs you need a design refresh:

• Your site looks dated compared to competitors
• Your branding has evolved (new logo, new colors, new messaging) but the website hasn't caught up
• Conversion rates are declining despite steady traffic
• You've added services or products that don't fit cleanly into the current layout
• Users are struggling with specific pages (high bounce rate, low time on page)

What a design refresh typically includes:

• Updated hero section and homepage layout
• New photography or graphics
• Refreshed color palette or typography adjustments
• Improved mobile experience
• Updated calls-to-action based on what's converting
• Streamlined navigation based on user behavior data

A design refresh typically costs 30-50% of a full redesign because you're working within the existing framework rather than starting from scratch.

Every 3-5 Years: Full Redesign

Web design trends, technology standards, and user expectations shift significantly over a 3-5 year period. What looked modern in 2022 looks outdated in 2026. More importantly, the underlying technology may no longer be supported, secure, or performant.

Triggers for a full redesign:

• Your site is more than 4 years old and shows its age
• The underlying platform or CMS is outdated or no longer supported
• Your business has fundamentally changed (new services, new market, new brand)
• Mobile experience is poor and can't be fixed with patches
• Page speed scores are consistently below 50 on mobile
• Your site isn't ADA compliant and can't easily be retrofitted
• Security vulnerabilities exist that can't be patched

What a full redesign involves:

• Complete strategy review and competitor analysis
• New information architecture and sitemap
• Custom design from scratch
• Fresh development on a modern platform
• Content migration and optimization
• SEO migration plan (preserving existing rankings)
• New analytics setup and conversion tracking

If you're on the fence about whether you need a refresh or a full rebuild, our post on signs your website needs a redesign will help you make the call.

Ongoing: Security and Software Updates

This is the maintenance category most businesses neglect, and it's the one with the highest consequences for neglect.

If you run WordPress:

• WordPress core updates: Apply within 1-2 weeks of release
• Plugin updates: Apply weekly (after testing)
• Theme updates: Apply when available
• PHP version updates: Keep current with your host's supported versions
• Security scans: Run monthly at minimum
• Backup verification: Monthly (test that backups actually restore)

If you use a website builder (Wix, Squarespace, Webflow):

• Platform updates are handled automatically
• You're still responsible for reviewing your site after platform updates (things occasionally break)
• Check third-party integrations quarterly to ensure they still work

For all websites:

• SSL certificate renewal (often automatic, but verify annually)
• Domain name renewal (set to auto-renew and confirm payment method is current)
• Email service continuity
• Form testing (submit a test inquiry quarterly to make sure it actually delivers)
• Check for broken links (tools like Screaming Frog or Broken Link Checker make this quick)

The cost of skipping this: Outdated WordPress installations are the number one target for hackers. A compromised site can be used to distribute malware, send spam, or redirect your visitors to malicious sites. Google will flag your site with a security warning, and recovering from a hack takes days to weeks. For WordPress-specific guidance, read our post on WordPress maintenance for small business.

When to Update Immediately

Some changes can't wait for your next scheduled maintenance window. Update your website immediately when:

• Business information changes. New phone number, new address, new hours, new staff. Wrong information costs you customers and hurts your local SEO.
• A service or product is discontinued or added. Don't advertise what you can't deliver. Don't hide what you can.
• Something is broken. Broken contact forms, 404 errors on important pages, images that won't load, checkout processes that fail. These are emergencies.
• A security vulnerability is announced. If your CMS or a plugin has a known vulnerability, update immediately or take the affected feature offline until you can.
• Legal requirements change. Privacy policy updates, new accessibility requirements, licensing changes.
• A negative review or PR issue needs addressing. Sometimes you need to add content or messaging quickly in response to a public situation.
• Seasonal transitions. Holiday hours, seasonal services, time-sensitive promotions.

The Cost of Not Updating

What happens when you neglect your website for a year or more? The decline is gradual, which is what makes it dangerous. You don't notice it until the damage is significant.

Months 1-3 of neglect:

• Small ranking decreases as competitors publish new content
• A few broken links accumulate from external sites that changed
• Software falls behind by one or two versions

Months 3-6 of neglect:

• Noticeable ranking drops for competitive keywords
• Outdated information starts confusing or frustrating customers
• Security vulnerabilities begin to accumulate
• Design starts looking dated relative to competitors

Months 6-12 of neglect:

• Significant ranking losses as Google favors fresher, more maintained sites
• Multiple broken elements across the site
• Customers mention the outdated website in reviews or sales conversations
• Conversion rates decline measurably

Beyond 12 months of neglect:

• The site becomes a liability rather than an asset
• Recovery requires more effort than regular maintenance would have
• A full redesign becomes necessary rather than optional
• Lost revenue from declined traffic and conversions far exceeds what maintenance would have cost

The math is straightforward. Basic website maintenance costs $100-$300/month if you hire it out, or a few hours of your time monthly if you handle it yourself. The cost of a neglected website is measured in lost customers, lost rankings, and an eventual full rebuild that costs thousands. See our breakdown of how much a bad website costs your business for the specific numbers.

Creating Your Maintenance Calendar

Here's a practical calendar you can adapt for your business:

Weekly (15-30 minutes)

• Check for and apply security updates (WordPress sites)
• Review contact form submissions and ensure forms are working
• Publish or schedule blog content (if applicable)

Monthly (1-2 hours)

• Review analytics for unusual traffic patterns
• Update any changed business information
• Add new reviews, testimonials, or portfolio items
• Check site speed and mobile experience
• Verify all forms and CTAs are functional

Quarterly (3-4 hours)

• Full SEO audit (rankings, Search Console, content gaps)
• Content audit (update outdated posts, fix broken links)
• Competitor review (what have they changed?)
• Performance testing (PageSpeed Insights, mobile usability)
• Update Google Business Profile

Annually (full review)

• Evaluate whether a design refresh is needed
• Review hosting and platform performance
• Renew domain and SSL certificates
• Update privacy policy and legal pages
• Set goals and content strategy for the coming year

DIY Updates vs Professional Maintenance

Not every update requires a professional. Here's how to split the work:

Handle yourself:

• Blog publishing and content updates
• Photo and portfolio updates
• Business information changes
• Google Business Profile management
• Basic analytics review
• Social proof updates (new reviews, testimonials)

Hire a professional for:

• Security updates and patches (if you're not technical)
• Design changes beyond simple text and image swaps
• Performance optimization
• SEO technical audits
• Platform migrations or major upgrades
• Broken functionality that involves code

Many web agencies offer monthly maintenance plans ranging from $100-$500/month depending on the scope. These typically include security updates, backups, uptime monitoring, minor content changes, and monthly reporting. For most small businesses, this is worthwhile insurance against the much higher cost of emergency fixes and site recovery.

The Bottom Line

Your website needs attention on four different timescales: weekly/monthly for content, quarterly for performance and SEO, every 1-2 years for design freshness, and every 3-5 years for a complete rebuild. Security maintenance is ongoing and non-negotiable.

The businesses that treat their website as a living asset -- checking it regularly, updating it strategically, and maintaining it proactively -- consistently outperform the ones that build a site and forget about it.

You don't need to spend hours every week on your website. But you do need a system. Pick a day each month for your monthly tasks. Block a half-day each quarter for your deeper review. Put your domain and SSL renewal dates on your calendar. The structure is what keeps a good website good.

If your site has been neglected and you're not sure where it stands, start with our post on signs your website needs a redesign. It will help you determine whether maintenance can bring your site back or whether it's time for something new.