Taking over a WordPress site is similar to inheriting a house; you may encounter unexpected surprises. The previous owner might have maintained everything well, or you could discover issues that require your attention.
Throughout the years, we have assisted numerous individuals in managing WordPress sites and have identified a consistent trend. Those who invest time in thoroughly reviewing their new site from the start tend to avoid many future complications.
The initial steps are vital to ensure the site is secure, functions properly, and is easy to manage. Without a well-defined plan, it’s easy to overlook critical aspects that could negatively impact your site’s performance or visibility in search results.
In this guide, we will outline 11 essential actions to take when you inherit a WordPress site. Let’s ensure your website is secure, operates efficiently, and is positioned to support your project’s growth. 🌱
What Challenges Might You Encounter When Taking Over a Site?
Inheriting a new WordPress website can present numerous challenges.
Whether you have obtained the site from another organization or have been tasked with managing a company website, getting acquainted with the workflow and learning the ins and outs of WordPress may take some time.
Managing a website also involves utilizing tools such as email marketing platforms and various plugins. When you take over a website, ensure you obtain the login credentials for all associated software.
Additionally, your newly acquired website may not be secure. A recommended practice is to create a backup and perform a security scan to identify vulnerabilities. This will help you address potential threats promptly.
In the upcoming sections, we will outline the essential actions to take when you inherit a new WordPress site. You can click the links below to navigate directly to your desired section:
- Collect All Passwords
- Update All Admin Passwords and Email Addresses
- Take Notes and Get Acquainted with the Site
- Establish an Automated Backup System
- Revise User Roles and Permissions
- Conduct Security and Performance Assessments
- Verify Tracking and SEO Setup
- Set Up Version Control and/or a Staging Environment
- Perform a Website Cleanup
- Examine Plugin Configurations
- Enhance Your Hosting Plan
- Frequently Asked Questions: What Steps Should I Take When Inheriting a WordPress Site?
Let’s begin.
1. Collect All Passwords
When you take over a WordPress site, your first step should be to collect all usernames and passwords associated with it.
This should include passwords for web hosting, FTP access, CDN services, domain management, email marketing platforms, and any third-party premium plugins or services utilized by the site.
We recommend arranging a video call with the previous developer or site owners so they can provide a comprehensive overview of the site.
To effectively manage all your website passwords, consider using a password manager. We suggest 1Password, as it is compatible with all your devices, allows for secure sharing, and helps you create stronger passwords.
2. Update All Admin Passwords and Email Addresses
After you have gathered all the passwords, it’s essential to change them.
This step ensures that the former developer or site owner cannot make any changes. Additionally, update all admin email addresses to ensure that only you can reset passwords in the future.
You can accomplish this by navigating to the Users » All Users section in the WordPress admin dashboard and editing the passwords and contact information for all users.
First, update the admin email address for your WordPress site. This email is crucial for receiving important notifications about your website.
Navigate to the Settings » General section and input the new email address.
💡Important: We suggest installing WP Mail SMTP, a highly recommended plugin for ensuring reliable email delivery, before you change the email address. We use it on our own site at CanadaCreate; check out our comprehensive WP Mail SMTP review for more information.
3. Take Notes and Get Acquainted with the Site
Before making any changes to the site, it’s essential to take notes and familiarize yourself with its structure. If you’re new to WordPress, refer to our beginner’s guide to understand what WordPress is all about.
Understanding the purpose and functionality of each plugin used on the website is crucial.
Additionally, review the theme settings and the widgets currently in use.
You can jot down notes on various functionalities, features you wish to modify, and other observations.
💡Important:It’s beneficial to document these notes in Google Docs, Dropbox Paper, or another platform to ensure you don’t lose them. This information will provide clarity on the website’s workings. If you require additional assistance, consider reaching out to the previous owner or developer of the site.
4. Establish an Automated Backup System
Backups serve as your primary defense against any potential online issues. The previous site owner might have installed backup plugins that store files in their remote storage accounts.
It’s essential to implement your own backup solutions. There are numerous reliable WordPress backup plugins available, such as Duplicator.
We currently utilize Duplicator on several partner brand websites, making it a highly recommended backup plugin. For more information, refer to our comprehensive review of Duplicator.
Ensure that your backups are configured to save in a remote location like Google Drive, Dropbox, or a similar service.
It’s also crucial to create a complete backup of your WordPress site before making any changes. This will allow you to restore your website if any issues arise.
5. Revise User Roles and Permissions
As a developer managing a website, it’s important to collaborate with your client to assign appropriate user roles and permissions to their team members.
Aim to restrict the administrator user role to individuals who genuinely need to perform administrative tasks, such as changing themes, installing plugins, or adding new users to the site.
To modify a user role, navigate to Users » All Users in your WordPress dashboard, select a user profile to edit, then scroll to the ‘Role’ section and choose the desired user role.
If you are managing your own site, take the time to review user access. Create new user accounts for authors if necessary.
For any older author and editor accounts that are no longer needed, update those accounts by changing their email addresses and passwords. Refer to our guide on how to disable user accounts without deleting them.
6. Conduct Security and Performance Scans
Next, ensure that your new WordPress website is secure and operates efficiently.
For security scans, we recommend Sucuri, the leading WordPress security plugin available. It enables you to easily scan your website for malicious code, security threats, and vulnerabilities.
Explore our comprehensive guide on WordPress security for in-depth information.
To assess performance, utilize any of the available online website speed testing tools.
We suggest using the IsItWP speed test tool, which is user-friendly and provides a thorough analysis of your website’s speed.
It’s crucial to ensure that your caching settings are correctly configured.
Many WordPress hosting providers, such as Bluehost and SiteGround, offer integrated caching solutions that can be activated through your hosting account. Additionally, you can implement a WordPress caching plugin to enhance your website’s speed immediately.
If the site isn’t utilizing a CDN, consider implementing a CDN service. Refer to our guide on the benefits of using a CDN for further insights.
For additional strategies and tips, check out our ultimate guide to enhancing WordPress speed and performance.
7. Verify Proper Tracking and SEO Setup
If you’ve taken over a new website, the previous owner may have transferred the Google Analytics property to your account.
Many website owners simply insert the Google Analytics code into their WordPress theme, but this code may be lost when the theme is updated or changed.
Ensure that Google Analytics is correctly set up on your website by using MonsterInsights or by manually adding the tracking code to your WordPress theme.
Additionally, the previous owner of the site may have transferred the Google Search Console property to your account.
Confirm that your site has XML Sitemaps configured for the Search Console. It’s also advisable to review the Google Search Console reports to identify any crawling issues or errors on your site.
We suggest using All in One SEO (AIOSEO) as it is the top SEO plugin for WordPress. This tool allows you to easily optimize your site for search engines without needing to hire an expert.
At CanadaCreate, we strongly endorse AIOSEO. We utilize it for various tasks, including managing our XML sitemaps, meta descriptions, title tags, and OpenGraph settings for social media platforms like Facebook and X. For more information, check out our comprehensive AIOSEO review.
8. Set Up Version Control and/or a Staging Site
If you are a developer, it is highly advisable to implement version control for your site. Using platforms like GitHub or BitBucket makes this process straightforward.
If you’re not a developer, we highly recommend creating a WordPress staging site. This will provide you with a stable testing environment before making any changes live. This step is essential for all users.
If you’re hesitant to set this up yourself, consider using SiteGround, a managed WordPress hosting provider that offers a powerful staging environment along with Git version control integration.
Other budget-friendly hosting providers for small businesses, such as Bluehost, also provide staging features at competitive prices.
9. Perform a Website Cleanup
After getting acquainted with your new website, it’s important to remove any unnecessary items. Delete inactive plugins, themes, and any unneeded user accounts.
Additionally, access your WordPress database to optimize it. Some poorly designed plugins may leave behind database tables even after deletion. If you find any, it’s best to remove them.
Check out our beginner’s guide to WordPress database management for tips on safely optimizing your WordPress database.
10. Check Plugin Settings
A typical WordPress site utilizes multiple plugins that may still reference previous owners. As the new owner of the website, it’s important to update these settings.
For instance, the contact form plugin on the site might still be sending notifications to outdated email addresses. Additionally, WordPress SEO plugins may still link to the previous owner’s social media accounts.
You can identify some of these issues by thoroughly exploring the website and testing all its functionalities. Furthermore, reviewing and updating plugin settings as necessary can be beneficial.
11. Upgrade Your Hosting Service
If your website speed test indicates that your site remains slow despite having caching enabled, it may be time to upgrade your hosting plan.
For client websites, your performance tests can help persuade the client to switch hosting providers. If you own the website, you simply need to select an appropriate web host.
We recommend SiteGround or Bluehost, as they are among the leading hosting companies and are officially endorsed as WordPress hosting providers.
If your website has outgrown shared hosting, consider transitioning to a managed WordPress hosting service like Hostinger or Rocket.net.
Refer to our guide on transferring WordPress to a new host for detailed, step-by-step instructions on migrating your website.
FAQs: What Actions Should I Take When Inheriting a WordPress Site?
Do you have more questions? Here are some common concerns people face when taking over a WordPress site:
What is the first step I should take when inheriting a WordPress site?
Begin by collecting all essential login credentials, including web hosting, domain, WordPress admin, and email accounts. Next, update all passwords and ensure that the recovery emails are directed to you. This will grant you complete control moving forward.
How can I ensure the security of the site?
Conduct a comprehensive security scan using a security plugin. Additionally, review the site’s current security measures, update all components (WordPress core, plugins, and themes), and monitor for any suspicious activity.
What tools can assist me in managing the site more effectively?
You should establish a few essential tools:
- Backups: Utilize a tool like Duplicator or UpdraftPlus.
- SEO: Consider using All in One SEO for optimizing search visibility.
- Performance: A dependable hosting provider like Bluehost or SiteGround can help maintain speed and stability.
These tools will significantly simplify daily management tasks.
How frequently should I back up the website?
This depends on how often the site is updated. A good practice is to automate backups on a daily or weekly basis, ensuring you are always prepared in case of any issues.
What steps can I take to improve the performance of my inherited website?
Begin by conducting a speed test using tools such as PageSpeed Insights or GTmetrix. After that, implement caching, optimize your images, and consider upgrading to a more reliable hosting plan if your current one is causing slow performance.
We hope this article has provided valuable guidance on managing an inherited WordPress site. Additionally, you may find it helpful to explore our list of key metrics to track on your WordPress site and learn how to set up form tracking in Google Analytics.
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