What to check on every client site, and what monitoring can take off the list.
In this article
- What should be on an agency website maintenance checklist?
- Which checks can be automated versus done manually?
- How often should each check run?
- Example maintenance checklist
- How does monitoring fit into a maintenance retainer?
- FAQ
An agency website maintenance checklist should cover uptime, SSL certificate validity, DNS configuration, domain expiry, backups, plugin and core updates, and broken-link checks for every client site. Running these checks manually across dozens of clients is slow and inconsistent, so agencies typically automate the availability, security and domain checks and reserve manual time for updates, backups and content review.
Key takeaways
- A maintenance checklist should separate what can be automated (uptime, SSL, DNS, domain expiry) from what still needs a person (updates, backups, content review).
- Sentinel automates the ongoing HTTP, SSL, DNS and domain-expiry checks that would otherwise mean logging into each client’s site or registrar individually.
- Alerts should go to a named person per client, not a shared inbox, so nothing is missed during holiday cover or staff turnover.
- A written checklist is evidence for the retainer relationship – proof of what was actually checked, not just promised.
What should be on an agency website maintenance checklist?
At minimum: site availability, SSL certificate status, DNS configuration, domain expiry, CMS core and plugin updates, backup verification, and a periodic check for broken links or forms. The first four are continuous, infrastructure-level checks; the rest are periodic tasks that still need a person to action them.
Agencies that only track the second group – updates and backups – are usually the ones caught out by an expired certificate or a lapsed domain, because nothing was watching those in between visits.
Which checks can be automated versus done manually?
Uptime, SSL certificate validity and expiry, DNS configuration and domain WHOIS status can all run continuously without a person checking in. Sentinel performs ongoing HTTP checks, monitors SSL certificate validity and expiry, audits DNS records for misconfiguration, and monitors WHOIS data for domain expiry risk, registrar changes and ownership changes – all as standing checks rather than one-off audits.
Plugin and core updates, backup verification and content review still need a person, since they involve judgement calls about compatibility, testing and client sign-off that monitoring can’t make.
How often should each check run?
Availability, SSL, DNS and domain checks should run continuously – these are exactly the categories where a gap of even a day can mean a missed renewal or an unnoticed outage. Updates and backups are typically weekly. Broader reviews, like checking forms and links across a site, are typically monthly.
Example maintenance checklist
| Check | Frequency | Automated with Sentinel? | Manual owner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Uptime / HTTP availability | Continuous | Yes | – |
| SSL certificate validity and expiry | Continuous | Yes | – |
| DNS configuration | Continuous | Yes | – |
| Domain expiry / WHOIS | Continuous | Yes | – |
| Core / plugin / theme updates | Weekly | No | Dev team |
| Backups verified | Weekly | No | Dev team |
| Broken links / forms | Monthly | No | Account manager |
Download the printable Agency Website Maintenance Checklist (PDF) – a client-ready, fillable version of the table above.
How does monitoring fit into a maintenance retainer?
Monitoring gives a maintenance retainer something to point to. Instead of a client wondering what they’re paying for between visible updates, the agency can show that uptime, SSL, DNS and domain status were watched continuously all month, and that the manual work (updates, backups, reviews) happened on top of that baseline, not instead of it.
Frequently asked questions
Does automated monitoring replace the need for a maintenance retainer?
No. Monitoring covers the infrastructure-level checks that can run continuously – uptime, SSL, DNS and domain status. Updates, backups, testing and content changes still require a person, which is what the retainer pays for.
How do agencies decide who owns each checklist item?
Most split it by function: dev team owns updates and backups, account managers own client-facing reviews, and monitoring alerts are routed to whoever is best placed to act on that specific client, set per monitor.
What’s the difference between monitoring and maintenance?
Monitoring is continuous observation that flags a problem as it happens. Maintenance is the scheduled work – updates, backups, reviews – that a person carries out, ideally informed by what monitoring has already ruled in or out.
Turn your checklist into a standing process
A checklist only works if the continuous parts of it don’t depend on someone remembering to check. Sentinel automates the uptime, SSL, DNS and domain-expiry checks behind every client maintenance retainer. This article is part of Sentinel’s guide to website monitoring for agencies.