Your website crashes, and you have no idea where your backups are—or how to restore them.
Let’s make sure that never happens.
An annual business fire drill is a simple but powerful way to prevent disasters like these, saving you time, money, and unnecessary stress. It’s your chance to check that everything behind the scenes is working smoothly, from website security to financial operations.
Just like some people keep an emergency bag packed with essentials—flashlights, batteries, first-aid supplies—you should have a proactive system in place to minimize potential problems in your business before they turn into real issues.
Below is a 12-point checklist to help you keep your business running smoothly all year long.
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Securing your digital assets
The first step in your annual business fire drill is to secure your digital assets. This means reviewing your login credentials, website backups, and domain settings to ensure nothing slips through the cracks.
1. Review and test your passwords
Do you have a list of usernames and passwords for your most important online accounts? More importantly, do you know where that list is?
If you store your credentials digitally, consider keeping a hard copy backup in a safe place. If your digital list gets lost, corrupted, or accidentally deleted, you’ll be glad you did.
Next, test your logins manually—especially for your website. Don’t just assume your saved credentials still work. Type in your username and password to confirm access. If something isn’t working, fix it now before you need to log in urgently.
2. Verify your website backups
Are you confident your website is being backed up regularly? And just as important, do you have multiple backups stored in different locations?
If all your backups are in one place—like on your web host’s server—you’re putting all your eggs in one basket. Ideally, you should have at least one offsite backup, such as cloud storage or an external hard drive.
Once you confirm your backups exist, test a restore. Having a backup is useless if you don’t know how to use it. Restoring a website isn’t always a simple “copy and paste” operation, so make sure you (or your web person) know exactly how to bring your site back online if needed.
3. Check your domain renewals
Your domain name is what keeps your website online, and if it expires, your site will disappear immediately.
Double-check that your domain is set to auto-renew. Sometimes settings get switched by accident, or your payment method expires without you realizing it.
And don’t forget—domain renewals and website hosting renewals are separate things. Make sure both are up to date to prevent any unexpected downtime.
Auditing your website
Now that your digital assets are secure, it’s time to audit your website. This step ensures your site is functional, mobile-friendly, and up to date.
4. Test website functionality
Click through every page on your website. Look for broken links, missing images, or anything that isn’t working as expected.
For any forms on your site—contact forms, quote requests, appointment bookings—submit a test form to confirm it’s working properly. If you rely on leads from your website, this step is critical.
5. Check mobile optimization
Pull out your phone and visit your site. Are pages loading quickly? Is the site easy to navigate?
Just because the desktop version works fine doesn’t mean the mobile version is in good shape. Since a large portion of your traffic likely comes from mobile users, make sure their experience is smooth.
6. Re-evaluate your website content
Look for outdated graphics, old copy, or stale page layouts. The internet changes fast—a lot can happen in just a year.
Check the copyright date in your footer. A small detail like this might seem minor, but it makes a difference in how modern and up-to-date your business appears.
7. Test social media integration
Make sure your social media icons link to active profiles. If any links are broken, or if you’ve abandoned certain platforms, remove them. Sending visitors to an inactive social media account makes it look like you’re not paying attention.
8. Review Google Analytics (or similar tools)
Your website analytics tell you what’s working and what isn’t. Make sure your tracking tools are still installed and functioning properly.
Check your most popular pages, visitor behavior, and conversion rates. If you’re not reviewing your data, you’re flying blind.
Streamlining operations
An annual business fire drill isn’t just about avoiding disasters—it’s also about streamlining operations to save time and money.
9. Audit recurring expenses
Go through your credit card statements and PayPal account. Are you still paying for services you no longer use?
Canceling just one $20-per-month subscription saves you $240 per year—money better spent elsewhere.
10. Clean up your email list
If you use an email marketing service, you’re probably paying based on the number of subscribers. Removing inactive subscribers can reduce costs and keep your list focused on engaged contacts.
11. Declutter your digital workspace
A cluttered computer desktop, folder system, or cloud storage slows you down. Take some time to organize files so you can work more efficiently.
12. Reassess software tools
Review the software you use for email marketing, project management, or daily operations.
Are you paying for multiple tools when one tool could replace two or three? Streamlining your software can save money and reduce complexity in your workflow.
Making your plan actionable
The final step is to document your plan. Because if it’s not in writing, it doesn’t exist.
Create a simple, step-by-step checklist outlining everything your business needs to run smoothly. Include:
- Important login credentials for your website, social media, and other critical accounts.
- Steps for restoring your website if it goes down.
- How to access financial accounts to pay vendors or employees.
Keep a password-protected digital file and a printed hard copy in a secure location.
Share your checklist with a trusted person
If something happens to you—whether it’s a medical emergency or something worse—someone needs to be able to step in. Consider sharing your checklist with a family member, friend, or team member.
Hopefully, you’ll never need to use this checklist in an emergency. But if you do, you’ll be prepared—and that peace of mind is priceless.
Conclusion
This 12-point business fire drill ensures everything behind the scenes of your business is running smoothly—from website security to streamlining operations. By taking the time to check your logins, backups, website functionality, and business tools, you’ll save yourself headaches, stress, and even money.
And the best part? You only need to do this once per year.
Now’s a great time to take a closer look at your website itself. Even if everything seems fine, there might be clear signs that it’s time for a redesign or modernization. Doing this checkup now means fewer surprises later—and a website that continues to work for you, not against you.
