A church website maintenance checklist should cover both the software and the information people depend on. Keep WordPress maintained, confirm you can recover the site, and regularly check the paths visitors and members use. Give each task an owner so the work continues when staff and volunteers change.
It helps to treat maintenance as a repeating responsibility, with room for urgent issues between reviews. A monthly reminder is useful for routine checks; it should not mean waiting until next month to address a known security problem or an incorrect service time.
Start with a short handoff document
Write down who owns the domain, hosting, WordPress administration, and important connected services. Include renewal responsibilities and the right support contacts. Store credentials in an appropriate password manager rather than putting passwords in this document or a shared email thread.
The document should answer everyday questions: who changes a gathering time, who receives contact forms, who updates plugins, and who is called if the site goes down? These may be different people. Name a backup contact for responsibilities that cannot wait for one person’s return.
Match account access to each person’s work
Review who can sign in and what they need to do. Someone adding weekly announcements may not need permission to install plugins or manage other users. The official WordPress roles guide explains how roles control capabilities. Choose access for the assigned work, and have your administrator check any custom roles or permissions added by plugins.
Use individual accounts so people can be offboarded without changing a shared login for the entire team. When someone leaves a role, arrange ownership of their content and remove unneeded access promptly. Review the domain, hosting, email, and connected tools too; WordPress is only one part of the setup.
Enable multifactor authentication wherever the service supports it, especially for administrative and recovery accounts. CISA’s MFA tip sheet (PDF) describes adding an extra verification step to a login. Keep recovery methods secure and available to authorized leaders so a lost phone does not become a lasting loss of access.
Confirm recovery before making software changes
Know when the last successful backup ran, what it covers, how long it is retained, and who can restore it. Ask your website partner to establish a recovery check appropriate to the site. A backup being listed in a dashboard and a completed recovery are different things.
Before updating, confirm a current backup is available. WordPress’s update guidance recommends backing up first so you can restore the site if there is a problem. For larger changes, use a staging copy to review the update and important functions before applying it publicly.
Agree on responsibility for WordPress, theme, and plugin updates, including paid licenses. If a plugin is abandoned or conflicts with other software, flag it for a replacement plan. Avoid installing another plugin as the default answer to every request; first check whether existing tools can meet the need.
Give your team a manageable care routine
If one volunteer is carrying every technical task, Firm Foundation Digital can help clarify the website responsibilities. Bring your current tools, support arrangement, and recurring problems so we can discuss appropriate care and any separately scoped repairs.
Run this monthly church website maintenance checklist
Use the same small set of checks each month and after meaningful site changes. Record what you checked, what failed, and who will handle it. That record makes follow-up easier than a vague “the website needs attention” message.
- Visitor information: Confirm meeting times, addresses, directions, contact details, and children’s ministry information with the appropriate leaders.
- Forms: Send a clearly labeled test through the public contact path and confirm receipt. Coordinate with the recipient so the test does not trigger unnecessary follow-up.
- Events and groups: Remove expired promotions, check registration destinations, and confirm the visible calendar matches the current schedule.
- Sermons and media: Play a recent message and review its title, date, description, and available captions or transcript.
- Giving links: Verify that the link reaches the church’s correct giving page. Coordinate any transaction testing with the authorized finance team and provider.
- Mobile use: Check the menu, visitor page, and important buttons on a phone, while signed out of WordPress.
- Technical care: Confirm backup status, review outstanding updates, and document any errors or support requests.
Give seasonal content an expiration plan
A Christmas announcement can be correct when published and misleading a few weeks later. When adding a campaign or special gathering, set its review or removal date at the same time. Include related banners, homepage buttons, registration links, and downloadable files in the cleanup.
Review staff and volunteer information when roles change, and schedule a broader content review several times a year. Ask ministry leaders to verify their own pages. The website coordinator can manage the process without being expected to know every room assignment and program detail.
Leave the next volunteer a workable routine
Keep the checklist, contacts, and recent maintenance notes together. Write down how to report a problem and who can approve repair work. Clear boundaries help a volunteer know when to stop troubleshooting and ask for experienced help.
For a closer look at the public experience, use the church website visitor checklist. Compare the hosting and care options with the responsibilities your team has identified.
Leave the next volunteer a clearer handoff
Contact Firm Foundation Digital with your church website and the maintenance tasks your team needs help handling. We can review the care options, explain plan inclusions, and discuss a practical arrangement for updates, checks, and technical support.