Getting Started with a Simple WordPress Site Health Check for New Projects

Learn how to run a basic WordPress Site Health check, understand the results, and decide what to fix first on a new or newly inherited site.

Why a Simple Site Health Check Matters on Day One

When you first take ownership of a WordPress site (new build or inherited), it’s tempting to jump straight into design and content. A quick Site Health check gives you a fast, low?tech way to see if anything serious is wrong under the hood before you invest time and money.

WordPress includes a built?in Site Health tool that scans your configuration, performance, and security basics, then groups issues by severity so you know what to tackle first.Source

Where to Find the WordPress Site Health Tool

Assuming you’re using a current version of WordPress and have Administrator access:

• Log in to your WordPress admin area.
• In the left menu, go to Tools ? Site Health.

The Site Health screen has two main tabs:

• Status – runs automatic checks and lists problems and passed tests.
• Info – shows detailed technical information about your setup (read?only).Source

What You Should See

On the Status tab you’ll see:

• A summary line such as “Good” or “Should be improved.”
• A list of Critical issues (if any).
• A list of Recommended improvements.
• A collapsible list of Passed tests.

If you don’t see the Site Health menu at all, the site may be running a very old WordPress version (before 5.2) or your account may not have sufficient permissions.Source

Step 1: Run Your First Site Health Status Check

When you open Tools ? Site Health, WordPress automatically starts checking your site. You’ll see a loading indicator while it runs.

How to Read the Results

Each item in the list includes:

• A short title (for example, “You should use a persistent object cache”).
• A severity label: Critical, Recommended, or Passed.
• A description of what the issue means.
• Suggested steps to fix or improve it.

For a new or newly inherited site, focus first on anything marked Critical, especially if it mentions security, outdated core, or missing HTTPS.

Simple Owner’s Triage Order

1. Security and updates
   Fix items related to outdated WordPress core, themes, plugins, or missing HTTPS (SSL) before you do design work.
2. Backups
   If Site Health mentions backup issues, pause and ensure you have at least one working backup method before making big changes.
3. Performance basics
   Items about caching or large images can usually be handled after security and backups are in place.

Step 2: Use the Info Tab as Your “Site Snapshot”

The Info tab doesn’t fix anything, but it’s extremely useful for documenting your site at the start of a project.

From Tools ? Site Health:

1. Click the Info tab.
2. Expand sections like WordPress, Active Theme, Plugins, and Media Handling.
3. Scroll to the bottom and use the Copy site info to clipboard button if you want to save a snapshot for your records or to share with support.Source

What You Should See

Each section on the Info tab lists key details, such as:

• WordPress version and site language.
• Active and inactive themes.
• Active and inactive plugins.
• Server and PHP versions.

For a non?technical owner, you don’t need to understand every line. Treat this as a “site facts” sheet you can hand to your developer or hosting support if something goes wrong later.

Step 3: Combine Site Health with the Dashboard Overview

The Site Health tool is one part of your overall picture. It works best when you also glance at the main Dashboard to see what’s happening on the site.

From the left menu, click Dashboard ? Home. This screen shows widgets like At a Glance, Activity, and sometimes hosting or plugin panels. You can customize which boxes appear using the Screen Options tab at the top of the page.Source

Quick Owner Checklist from the Dashboard

• Look at At a Glance to see the number of posts, pages, and comments.
• Check for any obvious update notices or warnings.
• Use Screen Options (top right) to hide widgets you don’t need so the important ones stand out.

Step 4: Understand Performance Mentions (Core Web Vitals)

On some hosts or configurations, Site Health may mention performance metrics or tools related to loading speed and responsiveness. These often tie into Google’s Core Web Vitals, which measure how quickly your pages load, respond to input, and stay visually stable for real users.Source

Owner?Level Actions You Can Take

You don’t need to become a performance engineer, but you can:

• Note any Site Health items about page caching or image optimization and add them to your to?do list.
• Ask your host whether server?side caching or a CDN is available.
• Run a quick test in PageSpeed Insights (linked from many hosting dashboards) and save the report for your developer.

Step 5: Decide What You Can Safely Ignore (For Now)

Not every Site Health recommendation needs to be fixed immediately, especially on a small or low?traffic site. As a new owner, it’s helpful to separate “must fix” from “nice to have.”

Usually High Priority

• WordPress core, theme, or plugin updates that are significantly out of date.
• Missing or misconfigured HTTPS (no padlock in the browser address bar).
• Critical PHP or server configuration issues flagged by Site Health.

Usually Medium or Low Priority

• Recommendations about optional modules or extensions you don’t use.
• Suggestions to enable specific caching layers on very small sites.
• Minor improvements that require developer time but don’t affect security.

If you’re unsure, capture the exact wording from Site Health and send it to your developer or support team along with your Site Health Info export.

Optional: Add Extra Diagnostic Tools (If You Have Help)

For many owners, the built?in Site Health tool is enough. If you’re working with a developer or support partner, they may install additional tools that extend Site Health with manual checks like file integrity, debug logs, or PHP compatibility tests.Source

These are helpful for deeper troubleshooting, but you don’t need them just to run a basic health review at the start of a project.

How Often Should You Run a Site Health Check?

As a practical baseline:

• At project start – right after you gain access to the site.
• After major changes – such as new plugins, theme changes, or big content imports.
• Quarterly – as part of a simple maintenance habit.

Site Health runs quickly and doesn’t change anything by itself, so there’s no risk in checking it regularly.

Putting It All Together: A Simple First?Day Workflow

1. Log in to Dashboard ? Home and tidy what you see using Screen Options so important widgets are visible.
2. Go to Tools ? Site Health and review the Status tab, focusing on Critical issues first.
3. Switch to the Info tab and copy the site info to a safe document or share it with your support team.
4. Note any performance?related or backup?related recommendations for follow?up.
5. Schedule a reminder to repeat this quick check after your first round of design and content changes.

By spending 10–15 minutes with the Site Health tool at the beginning of your project, you dramatically reduce the risk of hidden technical problems derailing your launch later.