We’ve compiled a list of essential monthly maintenance tasks to keep your website running efficiently and provide the best possible user experience. Regardless of your content management system, every website requires daily, weekly, and monthly maintenance to remain fast and efficient. While this is a monthly checklist, some tasks (like security monitoring) benefit from being done more frequently.
1. Perform a Website Speed Audit
Website speed has become even more crucial for SEO rankings and user experience. Use modern tools like Google Lighthouse, GTMetrix, and PageSpeed Insights to run speed tests regularly. Pay special attention to mobile performance since many visitors access websites on mobile devices. Speed bottlenecks can often come from unoptimized images, too many third-party scripts, or slow server response times. If needed, implement lazy loading and remove unnecessary plugins.
2. Monitor Website Security
Cybersecurity threats have only become more sophisticated. Security plugins like Wordfence or Sucuri should always be running in the background, but manually review your security logs. If possible, set up two-factor authentication (2FA) for all admin accounts and run daily malware scans.
3. Review Google Analytics
Google Analytics is still a critical tool for monitoring site performance, but with the rollout of Google Analytics 4 (GA4), you’ll want to ensure you’re collecting the most relevant data. Review your key metrics weekly, including user demographics, popular pages, bounce rates, and conversion paths. This can help you measure specific things, like the effectiveness of on-air mentions driving traffic to specific promotions.
4. Clear Trash
It’s easy for trash to pile up, but old content like expired promotions, events, or contests should be purged regularly. When cleaning up, consider deleting unused draft posts, expired content, and outdated data that might slow down your server. Regularly delete or archive these items to keep your database clean and enhance site performance. It can reduce downtime if your website ever has to be resurrected from a backup. Huge backups take longer to restore and have a higher risk of failure.
5. Clean Up Your Media Library
With WordPress websites that frequently add content, it’s common for the media library to accumulate unused files. Purging these prevents unnecessary server load and keeps your site running faster.
6. Optimize Your Images
Large images are the number one cause of slow websites. Ensure your images are always sized to the application and optimized to reduce file size and ensure faster load times. Consider serving images in next-gen formats like WebP, which are smaller and faster-loading.
7. Review Navigation Menus and User Flow
Make sure your navigation structure remains intuitive and user-friendly. If your station runs special promotions or events regularly, test that these are easy to locate. Conduct user experience testing periodically on desktop and mobile to ensure smooth interaction. Consider whether key actions, like finding a live stream or contest, are just one click away.
8. Check for Broken Links and Redirects
Broken links affect both your SEO and user experience. Check that all essential pages (live streams, podcast pages, contest entries) have proper redirects if you’ve changed the URL structure.
9. Test Your Forms
Ensure every form, from contest entries to advertising inquiries, works as it should and routes to the correct recipients. Test the user experience from form submission to confirmation to make sure everything runs smoothly.
10. Refresh the “Advertise with Us” Page
Your “Advertise with Us” page can be a critical revenue driver. Regularly update this page with new listener statistics, advertising packages, and testimonials. Include the latest opportunities for web-based advertising, such as homepage banners, podcast sponsorships, and newsletter placements.
11. Manage Spam and Comments
Review your comment moderation settings and keep spam under control. Allowing spam comments to pile up not only looks bad but can also bloat your database. Regularly delete spam and moderate legitimate comments to engage with your listeners.
12. Engage with User Comments
If you allow comments on your website, ensure you engage with your audience. Replying to comments helps foster a sense of community, which can translate into loyalty and higher engagement.
13. Update Passwords and Enable 2FA
Passwords should be updated regularly, especially for admin-level accounts. Implement two-factor authentication (2FA) to add an additional layer of security for all users with backend access. Strong passwords and multi-factor authentication greatly reduce the risk of hacking.
14. Remove Inactive Users and Admins
Inactive or former staff members should no longer have access to your website’s backend. This includes removing them as admin users. WordPress allows you to transfer ownership of their posts during the deletion process, which helps maintain continuity without losing valuable content.
15. Test the Website on Multiple Devices
Since most visitors use mobile devices, ensuring your site is optimized across all platforms is critical. You likely don’t have all of these devices of different sizes around the radio station, so a responsive design testing tool like BrowserStack can help you check your site’s performance on various devices and screen sizes.
16. Regularly Update Plugins and CMS System Files
Your content management system and its code will always require feature and security updates. Keep your CMS, themes, and plugins current to ensure optimal performance and security. Set automatic updates where applicable but regularly monitor for compatibility issues when performing these updates manually. Each time you make an update, go through the website to ensure nothing is broken.
17. Check and Optimize Streaming Integration
Your live stream is a critical component of your website. When is the last time you’ve checked it yourself? Ensure your streaming player works flawlessly on all devices (desktop, mobile, and tablet). Test the player frequently to confirm it loads quickly, handles high traffic without buffering issues, and is integrated with SSL for security. Ensure that stream URLs are correctly updated and that any special player features (song info, request buttons, etc.) function as expected.
18. Verify Podcast Feeds and Embeds
If your station has a podcast, ensure the RSS feeds update correctly and that embedded players work on all devices. Platforms like Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Google Podcasts should be syncing new episodes automatically. Additionally, check your podcast page to ensure it’s user-friendly and encourages subscriptions on multiple platforms.
19. Conduct a Regular Content Audit
Periodically review your site’s content to ensure it’s still relevant and up-to-date. This means checking that show details, host bios, program schedules, and promotional content reflect any changes for radio stations. Fresh, accurate content improves user trust, helps SEO, and engages your audience. Consider repurposing older content or removing outdated materials that no longer serve your listeners.
20. Audit Banner Ads and Display Advertising
Since many radio stations depend on advertising revenue, ensure that banner ads and sponsorship placements are appropriately displayed across your website. Review ad performance and adjust positions if necessary to optimize click-through rates. Test the mobile ad display to ensure the site isn’t cluttered or difficult to navigate. Also, ensure that expired or inactive campaigns are removed or archived promptly.
21. Test and Optimize Social Media Integrations
Many radio stations rely heavily on social media for audience engagement. Check that all social media buttons and embeds (such as live feeds from Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or YouTube) work correctly. Make sure that sharing options are configured for each post so users can easily share contests, events, or music news with their networks.
22. Review SEO for Local Listings
Radio stations often have a local focus, so ensure your SEO strategy is tuned to local search optimization. This includes ensuring your Google My Business profile is up to date and that your site is optimized with relevant local keywords (such as town names, local events, or popular nearby attractions). Check your NAP (Name, Address, Phone) details across the site for consistency, and add structured data (schema markup) to improve local search visibility.
23. Optimize for Voice Search
With the rise of smart speakers and voice assistants (like Alexa, Google Assistant, and Siri), ensuring your site is optimized for voice search is essential. Listeners may search for your station by voice to tune into your livestream or get information about shows. Ensure your metadata, schema, and FAQs are structured to answer typical voice queries related to your radio station.
24. Test Geo-Targeted Content and Ads
Using geo-targeting to tailor content and ads if your station serves a specific geographic area. For instance, local events, weather reports, or ads for local businesses should be featured prominently. If you have geo-targeting features, ensure they function as expected and provide relevant content to users based on their location.
25. Review Show Schedules and Hosts
Listeners often check your website to learn about upcoming shows and events. Ensure your show schedules are up-to-date and that the profiles of hosts/DJs are current. If possible, highlight special guest appearances or changes in programming. The schedule must be accurate to avoid confusion for your listeners.
26. Ensure Accessibility Standards (ADA Compliance)
Accessibility is becoming increasingly important for both user experience and legal compliance. Ensure your site follows WCAG 2.1 guidelines, ensuring content is accessible to users with disabilities. This includes adding alt text to images, ensuring your site is keyboard-navigable, and ensuring color contrast is adequate for readability.
27. Review Syndicated Content Feeds
Many radio stations use syndicated content from news services, weather updates, or sports scores. Ensure these feeds or embeds are functioning smoothly, that they’re relevant, and that they aren’t slowing down your site. If these tools are loading slowly or not properly updating, it could impact the user experience.
28. Update Events Calendar
If your station promotes local events, concerts, or contests, ensure the events are current. Many listeners come to the site for event details. Remove outdated events and promote upcoming ones prominently on the homepage.
29. Website Backups
Backups are critical for disaster recovery. Ensure that your backup system runs regularly (daily or weekly, depending on how often you update the site) and that you can restore from the backups without issues. Verify that backups are stored securely off-site (in the cloud) and cover all critical data—posts, media, and user info.
30. Analyze Listener Data from Streaming Analytics
Many streaming services provide listener analytics, such as peak times, geographic locations, and listening durations. Review these analytics to see if they align with your website traffic data. This can help you tailor content updates and marketing efforts more effectively.
Conclusion:
By consistently performing these maintenance tasks, you’ll ensure your radio station’s website stays fast, secure, and optimized for listeners and advertisers. Keeping your site running smoothly improves user experience and maximizes engagement and revenue opportunities. A little time invested each month can prevent more significant problems down the road and keep your digital presence as strong as your on-air signal.
We want to help your radio station grow and succeed online. That journey starts with an amazing website that keeps visitors coming back often. Reach out to us to start your path to online success, or schedule an appointment to see our tools in action.