# WordPress Maintenance
## Duplicate Page Fixes
### myretonmarquees.co.uk (2026-08-09)
Problem: Ahrefs flagged 21 duplicate pages (HS 17).
Root cause: - 4 pages with “-2” suffix (WordPress auto-creates duplicates on slug conflict) - 5 legal pages with template content (terms-of-use, disclaimer, etc.) - 16 category archives indexed
Fixes applied: 1. `rank_math_robots = [“noindex”]` on legal pages 2. Category archives noindexed via filter in `functions.php` 3. Canonical URLs set on “-2” pages 4. Sitemap regenerated, rewrite rules flushed
Code added to functions.php: ```php // Noindex all category archive pages to prevent duplicate content global $wp_query; add_filter(“rank_math/helpers/noindex_tax_archive”, function($noindex, $tax) {
return true;
}, 10, 2); ```
### Preventing “-2” duplicates in the future
When recreating pages with existing slugs: 1. Delete the old page FIRST (or move to trash) 2. Then create the new page 3. This prevents WordPress from appending “-2”
WordPress CLI: ```bash # Check for -2 duplicates wp –path=/home/domain.com/public_html –allow-root post list –post_type=page –fields=ID,post_name –format=table | grep -E '-[0-9]+$'
# Fix by updating slug wp –path=/home/domain.com/public_html –allow-root post update 123 –post_name=“contact-us” ```
## PageSpeed Optimization
See WordPress performance skill for PageSpeed diagnostics and fixes.
## Security
- Wordfence: Check via `wp –path=/home/domain.com/public_html –allow-root wf status` - Updates: Monitor via MainWP or `wp –allow-root core update-check`