About this site
This site exists because WordPress is harder than it should be — and most of the advice out there makes it harder still.
If you run a WordPress site and you are not a developer, you already know the feeling. You search for a simple answer. You find a 6,000-word post written for an audience of developers, or a list of ten plugins that all do the same thing, or advice so vague it might as well be no advice at all. You close the tab more confused than when you opened it.
That is the problem WordPress Maintain is here to fix.
What this site covers
WordPress Maintain is a blog and email newsletter written for people who run WordPress sites and want to keep them healthy — without hiring a developer for every small thing.
Every post here covers one of five things:
- WordPress basics — how the platform actually works, explained without the jargon
- Maintenance and security — updates, backups, uptime, and what to do when something breaks
- Plugin reviews — honest assessments of real tools, with no affiliate pressure shaping the verdict
- Performance and speed — caching, images, and hosting decisions that actually move the needle
- Troubleshooting — common errors, with step-by-step guidance to resolve them
The writing is plain. The advice is specific. No filler.
Who writes here
My name is Daniel Oneil. I write every post on this site.
I am not a developer. I do not run a WordPress agency. I do not have a product to sell you. I run WordPress sites, I have made most of the mistakes you can make, and I have spent a lot of time figuring out what actually works.
That is the whole premise. A person who uses WordPress, writing for other people who use WordPress, with no agenda beyond giving useful advice.
Why an independent blog in 2026
The big WordPress publications are useful. But most of them are businesses first and publications second. They review plugins their affiliate programmes depend on. They publish tutorials written by contractors who may never have touched the plugin they are describing. They cover everything, which means they go deep on nothing.
WordPress Maintain is different by design. There are no advertisers. There are no affiliate relationships at launch. When I recommend something, I recommend it because I use it or because I have tested it. When I tell you something has a problem, I tell you what the problem actually is.
The business model is simple: readers who find this useful pay for a subscription. That is it.
What you get as a subscriber
Free subscribers get access to select posts and the newsletter, which goes out with new posts and quick tips between them.
Paid subscribers get full access to every post, past and future.
Either way, no algorithm decides whether you see the next thing I write. It goes straight to your inbox.