What Is Included in Website Maintenance?

A website is not finished when it launches. The software it runs on, the plugins and themes, and the hosting all keep changing. Maintenance is the routine work that keeps the site safe, working and current. Without it, a site slowly becomes slower, less secure and more likely to break.

Here is what a sensible maintenance plan covers, and what to check before you agree to one.

The core of a plan

Software updates

WordPress core, themes and plugins release updates regularly, and many contain security fixes. A good plan applies them on a schedule, with a backup first and a check afterwards, instead of clicking “update all” and hoping.

Backups

Backups only matter if they work. A good plan:

• Runs backups automatically on a schedule that suits your site
• Stores them away from the web server itself
• Tests a restore from time to time

A shop that takes orders needs more frequent backups than a five-page brochure site.

Security checks

Routine security work includes removing unused plugins, themes and user accounts, checking that strong passwords and two-step login are used, and watching for known issues. WordPress publishes general guidance in its hardening guide.

Uptime and basic performance monitoring

Someone should find out the site is down before your customers do. Basic monitoring alerts you and checks that pages are not getting slower.

Small content changes

A new price, new opening hours, a replaced photo. Most plans include a defined amount of these each month. The exact amount should be written down.

A short report

A brief monthly summary of what was done gives you visibility, and proof that the plan is worth paying for.

What a plan often does not include

Be clear about these, because they are where disagreements start:

• New features or new pages beyond the agreed allowance
• Redesigns
• Ongoing SEO and content writing, which are separate services
• Fixing problems caused by third parties, such as your host or a plugin vendor, beyond reasonable help
• Recovery from a site that was compromised before the plan began, which is usually a separate cleanup

Questions to ask before you sign

1. What exactly is included each month, and how many content changes?
2. How often are backups taken, and where are they stored?
3. What happens if an update breaks the site?
4. How quickly will you respond to an urgent problem?
5. Who has access to my site, and are the accounts in my name?
6. Can I cancel, and what happens to my site if I do?
7. What do I get as proof the work is being done?

How much does it cost?

It depends on the size and type of the site and how many changes you need, which is why we quote maintenance after reviewing your site and do not publish a single price. A small brochure site needs far less than an online shop. Be wary of anyone quoting a flat figure without having looked at what they will be maintaining.

Do you need a plan at all?

If you are comfortable doing updates and backups yourself, and you have time to do them reliably, you might not. If you would rather not think about it, or if a broken site would cost you money, a plan is cheap insurance. A middle path is also possible: a plan with a small scope that covers only updates, backups and monitoring.

Our approach

Our website maintenance plans are optional and quoted separately. They are written down so you know exactly what is included. If you would like to know what your site needs, get in touch.

Sources

• Developer.WordPress.org, Hardening WordPress