Synthetic example: one month's WordPress update report with passes, a hold and a decision needed

The invented site and its checklist

Everything here is made up. "Harbour Bakes" is an imaginary five-page bakery site with a contact form and an order-request form. The plugin names, version numbers and results are invented to show the shape of a report, not the output of a real test. The agreed checklist has four pages (home, menu, contact, order request) and two forms, each with a pass condition written beforehand.

• Home loads at desktop and phone width with the hero image and menu.
• Menu page lists all items with prices.
• Contact form: a marked test shows a success message and one saved entry.
• Order-request form: a marked test with a date in the future shows the success message and one saved entry.

The report

Updates were applied on the staging copy in three groups. The report records each one with the result of the whole checklist run after its group, and for a hold it records a failure that anyone can repeat.

• Read the table by row: group, update, result, evidence.

If the matrix is wider than the box, scroll horizontally to read every column. Keyboard: focus the matrix and use Left/Right.

group | update (made up)           | from -> to      | result        | evidence
1     | seo-helper plugin            | 3.2.1 -> 3.2.2  | pass          | checklist 6/6, log clean
1     | image-resize plugin          | 1.9.0 -> 1.9.1  | pass          | checklist 6/6, log clean
2     | forms-pro plugin             | 4.4.0 -> 4.5.0  | HOLD          | order form: date field stays empty after submit; steps R1-R4
2     | booking-widget plugin        | 2.0.3 -> 2.1.0  | decision      | menu page layout changes; new spacing; owner to accept or reject
3     | theme (child of Parent Two)  | 5.8 -> 5.9      | pass          | checklist 6/6; screenshots match at 3 widths
3     | security patch (core-style)  | 6.x.1 -> 6.x.2  | pass          | checklist 6/6; apply first on live

Repeat steps R1-R4 for the hold: (R1) open order request; (R2) pick a date; (R3) submit; (R4) open the saved entry and see the date blank.

How to read it

Four rows pass and the report gives the order in which to apply them live, putting the security patch first. One update is held because the order form loses the date after the forms plugin moved to 4.5.0, a failure with repeat steps. One row needs the owner: nothing broke, but the menu page spacing changed, which only the owner can accept as "fine" or "not what we wanted". The report does not decide that for them. Each row can be reversed by reinstalling the previous version, which the report keeps.

• Pass: all checklist items passed after the group was applied.
• Hold: do not apply yet; the failure is repeatable.
• Decision needed: nothing is broken by the checklist, but the change is visible.

What this example does not prove

It is not a record of any real site, update or customer. The groups, versions and failure are invented. A pass means only that the listed pages and forms passed on a staging copy; it says nothing about pages outside the checklist or about the live site until your team applies the updates and runs a short live check. It also shows nothing about how long a real test takes.

• Do not read the numbers as typical.
• A real report would also list the staging copy's date and the update list it started from.

Use it to specify an enquiry

If you want a monthly report in this shape, send the theme name, a count of active plugins, the pages and forms that matter and who applies updates. The standing staging-test service has a published test price of GBP 145 a month for one site; it works only on a private staging copy, never touches the live site, and does not include backups or monitoring. Finding why a held update fails is the separate conflict job. Prices are untested proposals and payment follows the agreed terms.

• Send names and counts, never logins.