This sets up a task that runs automatically on a schedule — and unlike a one-time fix, it keeps running after we’re done, which means someone needs to own it going forward: know it exists, know roughly what it should do, and notice if it silently stops working. We build it, document it clearly, and tell you plainly what happens if it fails.
What happens when this eventually breaks
Scheduled tasks don’t fail loudly — a script that stops running six months from now, because a plugin update changed something it depended on, typically produces no error anyone sees unless it’s specifically being watched for. We’ll build in reasonable failure notification where feasible, but the ongoing responsibility for noticing and acting on that notification is yours, not something we monitor on your behalf indefinitely.
Scheduled task automation setup
A scheduled task built and documented — with a plain answer for what happens when it fails.
- Full backup taken before we start
- If we can’t fix it, you get your money back
- We never ask for your own password
What we need from you
- A clear spec of what the task should do and how often it should run
- Hosting access sufficient to configure a scheduled task (via WP-Cron or a genuine server-level cron job)
- Confirmation of who on your team should be notified if the task fails, and how
This or something else?
| You want a task set up to run automatically and repeatedly on a schedule | This fix covers it |
| You want a genuine server-level cron job specifically, rather than WordPress’s own scheduling system | Custom cron job creation & monitoring, the more technical, server-level version |
| You have a one-time operation, not something that needs to recur | WP-CLI batch operation from supplied spec, the one-time version |
| An existing scheduled task has stopped working | Worth describing the specific failure directly — likely a diagnostic fix rather than a fresh setup |
What we do
- Confirm the task’s logic and intended schedule
- Build and implement the scheduled task
- Configure failure notification to your specified recipient, where technically feasible
- Test the task runs correctly on its first scheduled execution
- Document what the task does, its schedule, and how to check its status
- Provide a written record of ownership: what it does, who’s responsible for it, and what to do if it fails
What is included
- A scheduled task built and implemented to your specified logic and timing
- Failure notification configured where technically feasible
- Verified first successful execution
- Written documentation covering ownership, expected behaviour, and failure response
Not included
- Ongoing monitoring of the task’s continued success indefinitely — that responsibility is documented and handed to you, not retained by us as a standing service
- Fixing the task if it breaks due to an unrelated future change, unless engaged separately at that time
- Guaranteeing the task continues working indefinitely as your site’s plugins and environment evolve
- Building failure notification where the specific hosting environment doesn’t reasonably support it
Questions about this fix
What actually happens if this script fails six months from now?
If failure notification was feasible and configured, your specified recipient gets alerted; if nobody acts on that notification, or if notification wasn't feasible for this specific task, the script simply stops working silently until someone happens to notice its effects are missing — which is exactly why we're explicit about this now rather than after it happens.
Who owns this automation after you're done building it?
You do — we document what it does, how it's configured, and how to recognise if it's failed, but the ongoing responsibility for knowing it exists and checking on it periodically is yours, not something we monitor indefinitely as part of this one-time fix.
Can you monitor this for us on an ongoing basis instead?
Not as part of this fix — that would be a different kind of standing arrangement; what's included here is building the task correctly, with failure notification where feasible, and documentation clear enough that whoever's responsible for your site can recognise and respond to a problem.
What if a future plugin update breaks this script?
That's a real, ongoing risk with any automation built against a specific environment — if it happens, that's a new diagnostic fix at that time, not something covered by this initial setup indefinitely.
Why can't you just make this fail loudly on its own forever?
We build in notification where the hosting environment reasonably supports it, but no notification method is guaranteed to work forever without any oversight — an email address changes, a Slack integration gets disconnected — which is why ongoing ownership matters regardless of how good the initial notification setup is.
Related fixes
If this is the second time this year
A bad update breaking the site is a symptom of updates not being tested first. Care plans run every update on a staging clone before it reaches your live site, which is the actual fix for this happening again.
Your access, your rules
Create a separate admin account for us and delete it when we are done. For anything else, we get in touch and agree a method — never a form field on this site, never by reply to an email.
We back up first, always
Before anything is touched we take a full backup and keep it for 30 days. If a fix goes wrong, we put the site back exactly as it was.
If it is not what you bought
If the problem turns out smaller than what you ordered, we refund the difference. If it is bigger, we stop and send a quote before doing any extra work.
If we cannot fix it
You get back what we received. Diagnosis is on us — you only pay when the problem is actually solved. The payment processor takes its fee before the money reaches us, so we never hold it and it is not ours to return. That is true here as everywhere else.
If it comes back
Reply within seven days of delivery and we put it back on the bench at no cost. The fix is not finished until it holds.
What we are responsible for
If something goes wrong with a fix, our responsibility is limited to what you paid for it. We take a full backup first so mistakes can be undone, and we tell you before doing anything outside what you bought.