Direct answer: Website maintenance should be continuous for critical availability and security concerns, with routine operational checks performed on a schedule. The exact frequency depends on the technology, how often the site changes, and the consequences of failure.
Not every maintenance task has the same schedule
Uptime and failure monitoring can run continuously or at short intervals. Software and dependency updates should be reviewed as releases and security notices occur. Forms, links, backups, content, and analytics should be checked periodically based on business importance.
A practical monthly review
A monthly operational review can include checking key pages, forms, contact details, HTTPS behavior, backups, software versions, security-oriented observations, analytics anomalies, broken links, and important search/indexing signals. High-traffic or transactional sites may need more frequent review.
Content maintenance matters too
Outdated prices, staff information, hours, service areas, events, policies, and offers can mislead customers and automated retrieval systems. Content should be updated whenever the underlying fact changes rather than waiting for a fixed calendar date.
Maintenance is not a security guarantee
Updates, monitoring, and security checks reduce avoidable risk and improve visibility into problems, but no maintenance schedule can guarantee that a site will never be compromised or fail.
Document what was checked
A useful maintenance process records what was reviewed, what changed, what failed, and what needs follow-up. This creates operational history instead of relying on memory.