---
title: "How often should you update your website? A simple schedule"
description: "Not sure how often you should update your website? Use this monthly and yearly schedule, learn what Google says about dates, and see when a redesign is due."
url: "https://webleveling.com/blog/how-often-should-you-update-your-website/"
lang: "en"
published: "2026-09-29"
modified: "2026-09-29"
author: "Cal Hewitt"
tags: ["seo","website-maintenance","small-business"]
image: "https://webleveling.com/og/blog-how-often-should-you-update-your-website.jpg"
alternates:
  es: "https://webleveling.com/es/blog/con-que-frecuencia-actualizar-su-sitio-web.md"
---

# How often should you update your website? A simple schedule

Not sure how often you should update your website? Use this monthly and yearly schedule, learn what Google says about dates, and see when a redesign is due.

![A paper planner and a pencil beside a closed laptop and a small brass key ring on a wooden desk.](https://webleveling.com/blog/how-often-should-you-update-your-website/update-website-schedule-featured.jpg)

The footer still says 2023. The holiday hours are from two Decembers ago, and the photo of the team includes someone who left last spring. You have not touched the site in a year or two, and a small voice keeps asking whether that is costing you customers, or rankings, or both. How often you should update your website has a workable answer, and it is smaller than you might fear. A short check once a month and a longer review once a year cover almost everything, with one exception: security and software updates, which should not wait for a calendar. Below is what to check and when, what Google says about dates, and how to tell a site that needs a few repairs from one that needs replacing.

**Key Takeaways**

**Check the facts monthly**

Hours, prices, phone, email, booking links and the contact form should match what a customer gets today. Send yourself a test message and confirm it reaches the right inbox.

**Review the pages yearly**

Service pages, photos, team, testimonials, accessibility and speed get one proper look each year, on a date you put on the calendar.

**A new date is not an update**

Google says an updated date fits a page that has been substantially changed, so change the page first and the label second.

**Redesign when the structure blocks you**

Age alone is not the trigger. A site that cannot run supported software, cannot be edited, or fails on phones is.

## How often should a small business update its website?

Run two routines. The first is a monthly check, about thirty minutes, that confirms the public facts on your site are still true. The second is a yearly review of the pages that bring in customers, which takes an afternoon. Software updates sit outside both: apply them when they appear, because a platform or plugin update can close a security hole.

That rhythm works because a site goes stale in two different ways. Facts change in small ways all the time: a price moves, a number changes, a team member leaves. Pages age more slowly, as your services, your customers' wording and your photos drift away from what the page says. A monthly check catches the first kind. A yearly review catches the second.

Google's [guidance on creating helpful content](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/creating-helpful-content) asks whether a page is accurate and useful to the person reading it. Nothing in the schedule below is meant to please a crawler on a timer. Update a page when its information changes or when you can make it better for the person reading it, and leave it alone when it is still right.

![A closed laptop beside a small brass key ring and a blank index card on a worn wooden desk.](https://webleveling.com/blog/how-often-should-you-update-your-website/monthly-check-key-ring-and-index-card.jpg)

A short check on a fixed day each month is easier to keep than a big project once in a while.

## What should you check on your website every month?

A monthly check is a customer's-eye walk through the facts. You are looking for anything a visitor could act on that is no longer true. The list below takes about half an hour, and the first pass is the longest. Pick a day, such as the first Monday, and put it on your calendar.

Monthly website check

| What to check | What to look for | Why it matters |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Hours and holiday hours | Match your door sign and your Google listing | A customer who arrives to a locked door does not come back to read your apology |
| Prices and offers | Every number matches what you charge now | A price on the site is a promise a customer can quote to you |
| Phone, email, staff names | Tap the number on a phone; read every name | A dead number loses the call |
| Booking and payment links | Click each one through to the end | A broken link loses the sale |
| Contact form | Send a test and confirm it reaches the right inbox | A form that fails silently looks like a quiet week |
| Prominent photos | Does the first screen still look like your business? | The photo at the top sets the first impression |
| Platform, plugin and theme updates | Open the updates screen and apply what is waiting | Updates close security gaps |
| Analytics and Search Console | Are visits still recording? Any sudden drop? | Broken tracking hides a problem for months |

If you use WordPress, open Dashboard, then Updates, and review core, plugins, themes and translations. WordPress.org tells administrators to keep plugins and themes up to date for security and performance, to take a current backup before updating, and to investigate any automatic update that fails. Its [auto-updates documentation](https://wordpress.org/documentation/article/plugins-themes-auto-updates/) says automatic updates for plugins and themes run twice daily when you turn them on. Automatic does not mean finished: after an update, open your contact page and your most important service page and make sure they still work. The [Dashboard Updates screen guide](https://wordpress.org/documentation/article/dashboard-updates-screen/) shows where each item lives, and our post on [checking WordPress plugins for urgent security updates](https://webleveling.com/blog/check-wordpress-plugins-for-urgent-security-updates/) (published October 4, 2026) walks through the steps for plugins specifically.

For tracking, confirm that [Google Analytics](https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/9355966) is still recording visits, and glance at the [Search Console Performance report](https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/10268906) for a sudden change in clicks or indexed pages. You are not hunting for trends yet. You are checking that the instruments still work.

If you do not have a person on call for any of this, our post on [what website maintenance costs](https://webleveling.com/blog/how-much-does-website-maintenance-cost/) (published August 2, 2026) shows what a paid monthly arrangement can and cannot cover, so you can compare it with the free routine above.

## What should you review on your website every year?

Once a year, set aside an afternoon for the pages that carry the business. The monthly check keeps facts true; the yearly review asks whether each page still does its job. Go through every high-value service page and read it as a stranger who has just landed there from a search.

For each page, review the accuracy of the details, the way customers describe their problem, how you explain pricing, any guarantees, the description of your process, the calls to action, and the links to your other pages. Replace photos that no longer look like your business, remove people who have left, and add the people and capabilities you have gained. Refresh testimonials only with real customer experiences that are properly attributed. The FTC's [endorsement and review guidance](https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/advertising-marketing/endorsements-influencers-reviews) requires testimonials to be truthful, and its 2023 guidance prohibits practices that distort consumer reviews.

Yearly website review

| Area | What to review | Standard or source |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Service pages | Accuracy, wording, pricing explanation, calls to action, internal links | Google's helpful content guidance |
| Photos and team | Replace outdated images; remove departed staff | Your own records |
| Testimonials | Real, attributed, current | FTC endorsement guidance |
| Accessibility | Keyboard access, headings, labels, focus visibility, color contrast, alt text, captions, error messages | WCAG 2.2 |
| Mobile and speed | Layout on a current phone; HTTPS; Core Web Vitals | Search Central |
| Housekeeping | Backups, domain renewal, hosting, forms, third-party tools | Your accounts |

Accessibility deserves its own hour. The W3C published [WCAG 2.2](https://www.w3.org/news/2023/web-content-accessibility-guidelines-wcag-2-2-is-a-w3c-recommendation/) as a Recommendation on October 5, 2023, and the [WCAG overview](https://www.w3.org/WAI/standards-guidelines/wcag/) is the place to start. Our [website accessibility checklist](https://webleveling.com/blog/website-accessibility-checklist-small-business/) (published September 10, 2026) gives you a ten-minute first pass with only a keyboard and a browser.

For speed and experience, Google recommends watching Core Web Vitals in Search Console. Its [Core Web Vitals page](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/core-web-vitals) lists the thresholds for a good experience: Largest Contentful Paint within 2.5 seconds, Interaction to Next Paint below 200 milliseconds, and Cumulative Layout Shift below 0.1. If your numbers are outside those ranges, put the worst page at the top of next quarter's list.

The yearly review is a cadence you choose, and Google does not require it. Choose a date that tells you something, such as the week before your busy season, so the fixes land when customers are looking.

![A paper planner lying open beside a pencil and a small stack of blank sticky notes on a desk.](https://webleveling.com/blog/how-often-should-you-update-your-website/yearly-review-planner-pencil-and-notes.jpg)

Put the review on the calendar for a week before your busy season, not after it.

## What does Google say about fresh content and "last updated" dates?

Google's position is practical. Freshness matters most for searches where current information is the point, such as news, prices, laws, schedules and software versions. A page about your hours or your pricing is that kind of page, so it is worth keeping correct. A page that explains something that has not changed does not need touching on a schedule.

On dates, Search Central's [publication dates guidance](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/publication-dates) describes a byline date as Google's estimate of when a page was published or updated, and recommends labeling dates accurately as "Published" or "Last updated." Google says an updated date is appropriate when the page has been substantially changed. Its sitemap guidance, in the [lastmod announcement](https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2023/06/sitemaps-lastmod-ping), defines \`lastmod\` as the date of the last significant modification, and says to use it for an indexed URL only when it reflects a significant update. Google does not use sitemap \`changefreq\` or \`priority\`. A date can appear in search results, but Google does not promise that it will or that it affects ranking.

So, changing a date without improving the page is not a strategy. The date is a label for work you did. The work comes first: fix a price, add a missing step, replace an outdated photo, answer a question customers keep asking. Then let the date reflect it.

![A plain paper tag tied with string to an unchanged glass jar of nails on a workbench.](https://webleveling.com/blog/how-often-should-you-update-your-website/new-tag-same-jar-of-nails.jpg)

A new tag on the same jar changes the label and nothing inside it.

## What is the difference between updating a website and redesigning it?

An update changes parts of a site that is built soundly: the words, photos, forms, prices and links. A redesign changes the structure itself. Most of what is in this post is update work, and it can be done by you in a few hours a month.

A redesign is due when the existing structure stops you from doing important work. A page getting older is not the trigger. The triggers are specific, and you can check each one:

- **The site breaks on current phones**: Buttons are unreachable, text is unreadable, or forms will not submit.
- **It fails important accessibility checks**: Customers cannot use it with a keyboard or screen reader.
- **It cannot run supported software**: WordPress.org lists its [supported versions](https://wordpress.org/documentation/article/supported-versions/), and a site stuck on an unsupported one cannot take security updates.
- **Updates and security fixes keep failing**: Each patch breaks something else.
- **You cannot edit your own content**: Every small change needs a developer.
- **The conversion path is broken**: A visitor cannot get from reading to calling, booking or buying.
- **The site no longer matches the business**: Your services, market or brand have changed.

A merger, a rebrand, a move to a new location structure, a new ecommerce operation or a change in how you take leads are also reasons to rebuild. If the structure is sound, targeted changes to content, menus, forms, templates, speed and calls to action usually serve you better than starting over. Our post on [redesign versus rebuild](https://webleveling.com/blog/website-redesign-vs-rebuild/) (published August 24, 2026) gives a test you can run on your own site, including the result that says leave it alone.

When you do change the structure, protect your search visibility. Google's [site move guidance](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/site-move-with-url-changes) covers redirecting old URLs to new ones, and Google's [SEO starter guide](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/get-started) is a good overall reference before a rebuild.

![A closed metal toolbox beside a roll of blank paper plans tied with string on a garage floor.](https://webleveling.com/blog/how-often-should-you-update-your-website/repair-or-rebuild-toolbox-and-plans.jpg)

Repairs use the tools you already have. A rebuild starts from the plans.

## What should you do first if your site has not been updated in two years?

Start with the parts a customer can act on, then the parts that carry risk, then the parts that make the site better. A two-year gap sounds worse than it is, because the first pass is the same checklist as the monthly one, just longer.

1.  **Fix the facts**: Hours, prices, phone, email, staff and links, as in the monthly table above.
2.  **Apply the pending updates**: Take a backup first. Our guide to [backing up a small business website](https://webleveling.com/blog/how-to-back-up-a-small-business-website/) (published July 14, 2026) explains how, including how to confirm a copy actually restores.
3.  **Test the contact path**: Send a form message and tap the phone number on your own phone.
4.  **Take stock of the pages**: Decide page by page what to update, merge or delete. Our post on [updating, merging or deleting old pages](https://webleveling.com/blog/update-merge-or-delete-old-pages/) (published October 3, 2026) shows how.
5.  **Run the afternoon check**: The [website check you can do in an afternoon](https://webleveling.com/blog/website-check-you-can-do-in-an-afternoon/) covers speed, mobile and links in one pass.
6.  **Check what search engines can read**: Our post on [sitemaps and robots.txt](https://webleveling.com/blog/does-your-website-need-a-sitemap-and-robots-txt/) explains the files that tell search engines which pages to read.

Write the date of each pass on a note you keep with your account logins. Next year's review then starts from a record instead of from memory.

**Quiz: Is your website due for an update?**

1. Which items belong in a monthly website check?
   - Redesigning the home page layout
   - Hours, prices, contact details, forms, links and pending software updates **(correct answer)**
   - Rewriting every blog post
   - Changing the date on each page
2. When does Google say an updated date is appropriate?
   - Every month, on every page
   - Whenever you open the page in your editor
   - When the page has been substantially changed **(correct answer)**
   - Only on the home page
3. Which of these is a reason to redesign rather than update?
   - The site is three years old
   - The site cannot run supported software or be edited without a developer **(correct answer)**
   - You changed one phone number
   - Your logo color is out of fashion

## Frequently Asked Questions About how often should you update your website

**How often should a small business website be updated?**

Check the facts monthly and review the main pages yearly. Apply security and software updates when they appear. Update a page whenever its information changes.

**Does Google penalize a website that has not been updated?**

Search Central describes dates as labels for accurate publication and update information. Freshness matters most for searches that depend on current information, such as prices, laws, schedules and software versions. Keep those pages accurate.

**Will changing the date on a page help it rank?**

No. Google recommends an updated date when the page has been substantially changed, and a \`lastmod\` value only for a significant modification. Improve the page, then let the date reflect it.

**What should I check on my website every month?**

Hours, holiday hours, prices, phone numbers, email addresses, staff names, booking and payment links, the contact form, prominent photos, pending software updates, and whether analytics is recording.

**What should I review on my website every year?**

Service pages, photos, team, testimonials, accessibility against WCAG 2.2, mobile layout, HTTPS, speed and Core Web Vitals, backups, domain and hosting renewals, forms and third-party tools.

**When should I redesign instead of update?**

When the site fails on current phones, fails important accessibility checks, cannot run supported software, keeps failing updates, cannot be edited without a developer, has a broken path to calling or buying, or no longer matches your business.

## Moving Forward

A website stays useful when the facts on it stay true. A half-hour monthly check keeps hours, prices, forms and links accurate, and a yearly afternoon keeps the service pages, photos, team and accessibility current. Security updates come when they come, and dates change only when the page does.

Two years of silence is easy to fix once you have a list. Start with the facts a customer can act on, apply the pending updates after a backup, and put the next monthly check on the calendar today. After a few months it becomes a routine instead of a worry.

If you would rather hand this off, [Web Leveling](https://webleveling.com/) builds and maintains custom websites that you own outright, and our [web design](https://webleveling.com/services/web-design/) work includes rebuilding a site whose structure has run out of road. We work with small and medium businesses across the country and overseas. [Tell us what your site needs and where it stands](https://webleveling.com/contact/), and we can sort which parts are repairs and which are a rebuild.

## Terms

Website update words in this post

Tap a term to see what it means.

**Core Web Vitals.** Google's measures of loading, responsiveness and visual stability on a page.

**lastmod.** The sitemap field that gives the date of a page's last significant modification.

**WCAG 2.2.** The W3C's accessibility standard for web content, published as a Recommendation on October 5, 2023.

**Plugin.** An add-on that gives a WordPress site extra features and needs its own updates.

**Search Console.** Google's free tool that reports how a site appears in search.

**Redesign.** A change to a site's structure, layout and templates rather than only its words and photos.

- [Does My Website Need a Sitemap? What to Check First](https://webleveling.com/blog/does-your-website-need-a-sitemap-and-robots-txt/): Google says a sitemap helps most on large, new, or media-rich sites. Check yours and robots.txt, then submit a sitemap in Search Console if you have one.
- [A website check you can do yourself in an afternoon](https://webleveling.com/blog/website-check-you-can-do-in-an-afternoon/): Run a website audit yourself in one afternoon with free Google tools. Check indexing, your Business Profile, phone and forms first, then speed.
- [Duplicate Content SEO: Check Search Console, Then Fix It](https://webleveling.com/blog/duplicate-content-on-a-small-business-website/): Duplicate content SEO for a small business site: find the pages Google grouped, see which one it chose, and fix town pages, supplier text and URL versions.