A small business website does not need constant tinkering, but it should not be left unattended. Use this checklist to understand the basic jobs that keep a website recoverable and useful.
Backups
Know how often backups run, where they are stored, how long they are kept and whether somebody has tested the restore process.
Software and server updates
For WordPress, review core, plugins and themes regularly. Also keep an eye on the PHP/server version and unsupported software.
Forms, checkout and bookings
Test the business-critical conversion points periodically. A form can fail silently while the rest of the website looks normal.
Security and uptime
Use sensible account security, monitor outages and review suspicious behaviour. Maintenance reduces avoidable risk; it cannot promise that an internet-facing website will never encounter an attack.
Ownership and access
Keep business-controlled access to the domain, hosting, CMS, email, analytics and important third-party accounts so changing supplier does not become an emergency.