1. Test customer-facing conversion flows
Opening the homepage does not confirm that your website can capture business. Test contact forms and confirm receipt in the mailbox or CRM; check phone and WhatsApp links on mobile. For a store, use a sandbox payment or an explicitly authorized test order and verify its status and notifications. Reaching the payment screen is not enough. Repeat critical checks after changes as well as during routine maintenance.
2. Verify off-site backups and server disk space
Check the latest backup result, its coverage and the storage location. Expired credentials, storage limits or application changes can cause failures. Review available space and retained versions, then schedule a representative restoration in an isolated environment. Record whether files, database and configuration produced a working application, rather than treating a recent archive timestamp as proof of recovery.
3. Review domains, SSL renewals, updates and user access
Check domain expiry, the renewal owner and the payment method where auto-renewal is used. Verify that certificate renewal actually succeeds rather than assuming automation is working. Review important CMS and plugin advisories. Before revoking former staff or contractor access, confirm business ownership, recovery methods and service-account dependencies. Escalate urgent findings when discovered instead of waiting for the next monthly review.
Make maintenance a record you can repeat
For each check record date, system, method, result, evidence and owner of the next action. Scheduled review should complement event-driven checks after updates, access changes or suspicious activity rather than postponing a known problem until next month.
- Submit an approved test through the full enquiry journey.
- Check backup coverage and a separate restore-test schedule.
- Review account ownership, updates and renewals.
- Assign action and retest date for every exception.
Scheduled checks and urgent triggers
A useful monthly summary states completed checks, changes, untested areas and upcoming decisions. Payment tests need authorization and synthetic data. Do not record credentials or customer details in the maintenance log. A copy timestamp is not a restore test.
| Check | Evidence | Trigger outside schedule |
|---|---|---|
| Form | Destination receipt | Missing lead |
| Backup | Job and coverage review | Failed job or incident |
| Access | Current administrator list | Employee/contractor departure |
Example: the form works but the lead never arrives
The form displays success but no email arrives. Recording final receipt catches the failure that a visual homepage review misses. This is an illustrative scenario, not a customer case or a promised result.
