It’s Saturday.  Which means somewhere in Dallas–Fort Worth, a small-business owner has a list.  Mow the lawn.  ✓ Done.  Fix the leaky faucet.  ✓ Done.  Clean the garage.  Let’s not get carried away.  Maybe next year.  Then there’s another list.  The one sitting quietly inside your laptop.  Your…

WEBSITE HONEY-DO LIST.

You know the list.  Replace those old photos.  Update the services page.  Fix that broken link.  Add the new reviews.  Change the employee who hasn’t worked here since 2023.  Figure out why the contact form stopped emailing us.  Finally fix the mobile version.  And every week you tell yourself:

“I’ll get to that.”

At DFW Website Designers, we’ve spent 17+ years building more than 1,250 websites, and we currently help manage 550+ websites.  Here’s something we’ve learned:  Websites rarely become outdated overnight.  They become outdated one little thing at a time.  A photo here.  A broken link there.  An old service.  A phone number.  A plugin update.  A staff change.  A forgotten page.  Eventually you look at the website and think:  “When did this get so old?”

Probably sometime between:  “I’ll fix it next week”  and  “Has it really been three years?”  So pour another cup of Saturday coffee.  Here’s your website honey-do list.

1. Replace Those Old Photos

Let’s start with something easy.  Look at the photos on your website.  Are they current?  Do they represent your business today?  Or does your About page feature:  Employees who left.  Trucks you sold.  Products you discontinued.  An office you moved out of.  A hairstyle you deeply regret.  

Photos communicate more than we realize.  Fresh, real photography tells customers:  This business is active.  These are the people I’ll work with.  This is what the company looks like today.  You don’t necessarily need a professional photo shoot every six months.  But your website shouldn’t feel like a time capsule.

2. Update Your Services

Businesses evolve.  Maybe you added:  A new service.  A new product.  A new location.  Financing.  Emergency service.  Commercial work.  Residential work.  Online scheduling.  A new specialty.  Does your website know?  We’ve met business owners who tell us:

“Oh, that’s actually our biggest service now.”

Great!  Where is it on the website?

“It’s not.”

Your website cannot sell something it doesn’t explain.  Review your services and ask:  Is this still what we actually do?

3. Remove Services You Don’t Offer Anymore

The opposite problem happens too.  Maybe you stopped providing something two years ago.  But Google still sends people to that page.  Then your phone rings.  “Do you guys still do XYZ?”  No.  “But it’s on your website.”  Oops.

Outdated information wastes:  Your customer’s time.  Your employee’s time.  And potentially Google’s understanding of what your business currently offers.  Keep the website aligned with the real business.

4. Fix Broken Links

Click around your website.  Seriously.  Click the buttons.  Click the navigation.  Click the links.  You may discover:  404 PAGE NOT FOUND  That’s not exactly the customer journey we designed.  Links break for all kinds of reasons.  Pages move.  Websites disappear.  URLs change.  Products are removed.  Staff pages are deleted.  Old PDFs vanish.

WordPress specifically recommends periodically checking for dead links as part of routine site maintenance. WordPress Website Maintenance Guidance  A broken link is usually a small problem.  Unless it’s the link your customer needs.

5. Test Your Contact Form

We’ve talked about this all week because it’s that important.  Fill out your own contact form.  Do it.  Name:  Fred Test  Email:  Your email.  Message:

Testing the website form. Please ignore.

Submit.  Now what happens?  Did you receive it?  Did the customer confirmation arrive?  Did it land in spam?  Did the right employee receive the notification?  Did the thank-you message appear?  Did anything happen?  A contact form that doesn’t work can silently cost you business.  The scary part is:  You may never know what you missed.

6. Check Your Phone Number

This sounds ridiculous.  Check it anyway.  Especially if your company has:  Moved.  Changed phone systems.  Added locations.  Changed tracking numbers.  Changed departments.  Acquired another company.  Now check the phone number on mobile.  Can you tap it?

If someone wants to call you, don’t make them memorize ten digits and switch apps like it’s 2006.  Tap → Call.  Easy.

7. Look at Your Website on Your Phone

Not your desktop.  Your phone.  Pretend you’re a customer.  Can you read everything?  Does the navigation work?  Are buttons easy to tap?  Does text overlap?  Are photos cut off strangely?  Does some giant popup cover the entire screen?  Can you find the phone number?  Can you complete the form?

Google recommends that sites provide a good page experience and work well across devices, including mobile. Google Search Central: Page Experience  Your website doesn’t need to merely fit on a phone.  It needs to be usable on one.

8. Add Your New Reviews

You worked hard for those reviews.  Use them.  If your website says:  “Here’s what our customers say…”  and the newest review is from 2021…  the customer may wonder:  Has anyone hired these people lately?  Add fresh testimonials.  Use reviews near:  Services.  Calls to action.  Contact forms.  Landing pages.

Google encourages businesses to engage with reviews, noting that helpful responses and positive customer feedback can help a business stand out. Google Business Profile Review Guidance

Your happy customers are some of your best salespeople.  Put them to work.

9. Update Your Team

Ah yes.  The former employee who lives forever on the company website.  Meet Steve!  Steve hasn’t worked there since the Cowboys had a different quarterback.  Check your:  About page.  Leadership page.  Team page.  Staff bios.  Contact information.  Department listings.  Add new people.  Remove former employees.  Update titles.  Replace photos.

This is particularly important for professional services where customers want to know who they’re hiring.

10. Check Your Calls to Action

Look at each important page.  What do you want the visitor to do next?  Is it obvious?  Maybe:  CALL NOW, REQUEST A QUOTE, SCHEDULE SERVICE, BOOK A CONSULTATION, GET STARTED, or CONTACT US.  If the visitor reaches the bottom of your page and thinks:  “Okay…now what?”  we have a problem.  Every important page should have a logical next step.

11. Update Old Content

Here’s one of my favorites.  You visit a website in 2026.  Homepage:  COVID-19 UPDATE Guys.  I think we can move that below the fold now.  Look for:  Old announcements.  Expired specials.  Past events.  Old dates.  Former locations.  Old hours.  Discontinued products.  Outdated policies.  Ancient blog posts displayed as “Latest News.”

A website that obviously hasn’t been updated can make the business itself look neglected.

12. Check Your Copyright Year

This is tiny.  But customers notice tiny things.  Scroll to your footer.  Does it say:  © 2021  It’s 2026.  Does an old copyright year mean your business is terrible?  Of course not.  But it can contribute to the feeling that:  Nobody is maintaining this website.

And that’s today’s entire point.  Small things add up.

13. Update WordPress, Plugins and Themes

Now we’re getting into the stuff business owners really don’t want to spend Saturday doing.  Your WordPress website may rely on:  WordPress core.  Theme files.  Plugins.  Security tools.  Forms.  Page builders.  Integrations.  These components receive updates.

WordPress recommends keeping the platform updated, and its maintenance documentation also stresses regular site maintenance and backups. WordPress Updates Guidance  But here’s an important point:  Don’t blindly click UPDATE EVERYTHING on a critical business website without having a current backup and a recovery plan.

Sometimes updates conflict.  Sometimes plugins break.  Sometimes layouts change.  Sometimes you get the exciting Saturday afternoon experience of:  “Why is my homepage completely white?”  That’s why maintenance should be a process, not random button clicking.

14. Make Sure You Have Backups

Question:  If your website disappeared today…  could you restore it?  Not:  “I think the hosting company probably has something.”  Do you actually know?

A proper website backup strategy should account for both website files and the database. WordPress’s documentation specifically notes that a complete backup requires both. WordPress Backup Guidance

Think of backups like insurance.  Nobody gets excited about them.  Until the day you need one.  Then suddenly:  BEST THING WE EVER BOUGHT.

15. Ask the Biggest Question: Does This Website Still Represent Us?

Now forget the little stuff.  Step back.  Look at the whole website.  Ask:  Does this look like our business today?  Maybe your company has grown dramatically.  You have:  More employees.  Better clients.  Larger projects.  More locations.  More experience.  Better equipment.  Better branding.  More reviews.  More services.

But your website still represents the business you were seven years ago.  That’s not really a maintenance problem anymore.  It may be time for a redesign.  We talked about this recently:  Your business has grown. Has your website?  Your website should represent where the company is now.  Not where it was when someone originally built the site.

How Websites Get Neglected

Here’s what happens.  Monday:  You’re running the business.  Tuesday:  Customer emergency.  Wednesday:  Payroll.  Thursday:  Sales meeting.  Friday:  Employee issue.  Saturday:  Family.  Sunday:  Church, football, rest.  Then Monday starts again.  When exactly were you supposed to:

Update WordPress?  Optimize images?  Replace staff photos?  Test forms?  Run backups?  Fix mobile spacing?  Update service pages?  Check broken links?  That’s why website maintenance gets postponed.  Not because business owners don’t care.  Because they have businesses to run.

The Website Honey-Do List Keeps Growing

One task becomes three.  Three becomes seven.  Seven becomes:  WEBSITE TO-DO LIST: 23 ITEMS  Then you stop opening the list.  This is exactly why recurring website maintenance makes sense.  Instead of waiting until something becomes a major problem, handle the little things continuously.

Maintenance Isn’t Just Fixing Things That Break

People hear:  Website Maintenance and imagine:  “Call somebody when the website goes down.”  That’s part of it.  But good website support can also include ongoing attention to:  Updates, Backups, Security, Content Changes, Troubleshooting, Technical Support, and Small Website Fixes.  The goal isn’t simply:  Keep website alive.

The goal is:  Keep website useful.

Security Isn’t a One-Time Checkbox

Website security isn’t:  “We secured it when we launched.”  Technology changes.  Software changes.  Threats change.  Plugins change.  Passwords change.  People change.  WordPress’s security guidance emphasizes keeping software current, using trusted sources and maintaining appropriate security practices over time. WordPress Hardening Guidance

Security is ongoing.  Which is another excellent reason not to put website maintenance on the same schedule as cleaning the garage.  Maybe next year.

Your Saturday 15-Minute Website Check

I’m not asking you to spend your entire Saturday working on your website.  Actually, please don’t.  Here’s the quick version.  Set a timer for:  15 MINUTES  Open your website on your phone.  Then:  1. Read the homepage.  Still accurate?  2. Click the main navigation.  Everything work?  3. Click the phone number.  Does it call?  4. Submit the contact form.  Does it arrive?  5. Check the services.  Still current?  6. Check the team.  Everybody still work there?  7. Look at the reviews.  Anything newer to add?  8. Check the footer.  Current information?  9. Look at mobile.  Anything weird?  10. Ask one final question:  Would I trust this company based on this website?

That’s it.  You may find nothing.  Great.  Or you may suddenly discover why the website hasn’t generated a lead since March.

Don’t Wait Until Something Breaks

There are two ways to maintain almost anything.  Reactive:  Wait until it breaks.  Then panic.  Or:  Proactive:  Take care of small things before they become big things.  Websites are no different.  A plugin that’s six months behind may eventually cause trouble.

A broken form may cost leads.  An expired promotion may confuse customers.  Old staff information may look careless.  A slow mobile page may frustrate visitors.  A forgotten backup may become a disaster.  Most website problems are easier to handle before they’re emergencies.

You Run the Business. Let Somebody Help Run the Website.

This is exactly why DFW Website Designers offers ongoing Website Hosting & Support for $35/month.  We currently help manage 550+ websites.  Because our clients have better things to do than spend Saturday morning wondering:  “What exactly is a WordPress plugin conflict?”  

We help with the technical side so business owners can focus on:  Customers.  Employees.  Sales.  Operations.  Family.  And maybe…  finally…  the garage.  Our philosophy is simple:  Real People.  Real Support.  No Tech Headaches.

Your Website Is Never Really “Done”

A website launch isn’t the finish line.  It’s the beginning.  Your company will change.  Your customers will change.  Your services will change.  Technology will change.  Search will change.  Your team will change.  Your website needs to change with them.  That doesn’t mean rebuilding it every six months.  It means paying attention.  Maintaining it.  Updating it.  Improving it.  Keeping it aligned with the real business.

So What’s on Your Website Honey-Do List?

Maybe today it’s:  Replace old photos.  Maybe:  Update services.  Maybe:  Fix broken links.  Maybe:  Test the form.  Maybe:  Add reviews.  Maybe:  Fix mobile.  Maybe it’s all 15.

Whatever it is, stop saying:  “I’ll get to it.”  Either put a few minutes on the calendar…  or let somebody else get to it.

At DFW Website Designers, we’ve spent 17+ years building more than 1,250 websites, and we currently help manage 550+ websites for businesses that don’t want website maintenance becoming another item on Saturday’s list.  You run the business.  We’ll help run the website.  Now…  about that garage.  Maybe next year.