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    Monthly Blog Maintenance Checklist

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      Like anything you want to keep healthy and well oiled, blogs need regular maintenance. Set aside a few minutes each month and follow these these steps to keep your blog fit, fast and secure. Some of the tips outlined below refer to WordPress blogs, but most platforms offer similar tools.
      1. Update themes, plugins and software to latest editions – You should do this as updates become available to plug security holes and speed up your blog. At the very least, do it during your monthly checkup. Be careful when hacking the code to themes and plugins to affect the look and feel of your blog as these changes may be lost with new updates.
      2. Get rid of unused plugins – Delete unused plugins as they take up space, slow down your site and create additional security vulnerabilities.
      3. Check for broken links – Broken links annoy visitors and can have a negative impact on your site’s ratings with search engines. Use an online broken links checker to find broken links on your site. WordPress users can, instead, download the handy Broken Link Checker plugin which checks your posts, comments and other content for broken links and missing images, and notifies you if any are found.
      4. Clean up drafts and revisions – WordPress saves a draft of your post or page every time you update them. Multiply the number of posts you’ve written by 3 or 10 or 25 revisions and you get an idea of how bloated the database can get. Clean up your drafts, revisions and other data with WP-Optimize plugin. Or, if you prefer, install Revision Control plugin and limit revisions per post or page as you create them.
      5. Update your About Page – This page is often created and forgotten. But much may have changed since then. Review monthly to ensure it’s accurate and current.
      6. Back up – This should be done more than once a month, and you can automate the process. Install a free plugin like WordPress Backup to Dropbox, choose a day, time and how often you wish your backup to be performed and the file will be delivered to your Dropbox account. If you’re not comfortable with a free solution, check out BackUpBuddy which backs up your entire WordPress installation. Widgets, themes, plugins and files.
      7. Use the sidebar to create value for visitors – Create widgets on the sidebar column of your blog of top posts, useful sites, and other content that visitors will find useful. Review and update monthly.
      Hey blogging community, any other monthly maintenance tips? Please share in the comments below.
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