Good article Ryan
It's amazing how easily the ROT sets in.
I think your spread sheet suggestion, attention to detail and a proper maintenance schedule is the simple answer for anything other than corporate or government websites. Humans are forgetful animals. Most websites need checking for topicality at least once a month because information gets dated or irrelevant.
Then, whenever I have to change anything, I check the complete website against the WC3 validators which are online, free and pick up broken links and errors in syntax.
I then make a new sitemap. I think that's good enough for most sites. The discipline needed to do it is another thing.
