What website maintenance actually covers
Website maintenance is the routine work that keeps a live site safe and working: updating software, taking backups, watching uptime, scanning for malware, fixing broken things and making small edits. Without it, plugins fall behind, security holes stay open and small problems become expensive ones.
Most hacked small business sites aren’t singled out. They’re running an outdated plugin with a known vulnerability, and an automated bot finds it. A care plan closes that gap with tested updates on a schedule.
We maintain WordPress, Webflow, Next.js and Laravel sites, whether we built them or someone else did. For WordPress, the care plan is the most common thing clients add after launch.
What’s in a WordPress care plan
Tested updates
Core, theme and plugin updates applied on a staging copy first, checked, then pushed live. If something breaks, we roll back.
Off-site backups
Daily automated backups stored away from your host, with restore tests so we know they work.
Uptime monitoring
Checks every few minutes, with alerts to our team when the site goes down and a log of every incident.
Security
Firewall, malware scans, login protection, two-factor for admins and removal of unused plugins and users.
Small edits
Text changes, new team members, image swaps, a new blog post layout or form tweaks, handled by request over email or WhatsApp.
Health checks
Broken links, form tests, SSL expiry, PHP version, Core Web Vitals and Search Console errors reviewed on a schedule.
How we take over maintenance
- Onboarding audit We check software versions, plugins, hosting, backups, security and speed, and list anything that needs fixing first.
- Cleanup Outdated or abandoned plugins are replaced or removed, admin users are reviewed, and backups and monitoring are switched on.
- Routine schedule Updates, scans and health checks run on a fixed schedule. Edit requests are handled as they come in.
- Reporting Every two weeks you get a report listing updates applied, uptime, backups taken, issues found and edits completed.
Included on non-WordPress sites
- Next.js: dependency updates, build checks and Vercel or Netlify monitoring
- Laravel: core and package updates, queue and log monitoring, server patches via Forge
- Webflow: content edits, form checks, broken link and redirect management
- All sites: uptime alerts, SSL checks, Search Console review and backups where the platform allows
When maintenance turns into bigger work
Sometimes a care plan uncovers problems that small fixes won’t solve, like a site that fails Core Web Vitals on every template or a theme that’s no longer supported. In those cases we’ll recommend a focused project such as speed and Core Web Vitals work, a website migration to better hosting, or a full website redesign, with a separate proposal so you can decide.
If your site was hacked and needs cleaning before a plan can start, tell us when you get in touch. We’ll restore from a clean backup where one exists, remove malware, close the hole that let it in and request a review in Search Console if Google flagged the site.
Questions we get about website maintenance
Can’t I just turn on automatic updates?
You can, and some sites run fine that way. The risk is a plugin update that conflicts with your theme and takes the site down overnight with nobody watching. We test on staging first and keep backups ready to roll back.
Do you maintain sites you didn’t build?
Yes. We start with an onboarding audit and fix anything urgent before the plan begins, so we’re not responsible for problems we inherited without knowing about them.
How fast do you respond if the site goes down?
Our monitoring alerts us automatically, and we start investigating as soon as the alert comes in during working hours. Response times for your plan are written into the proposal.
Are content edits included?
Small edits are included up to the amount agreed in your plan. Larger changes like new page templates are quoted separately so the monthly price stays predictable.
How much does a care plan cost?
It depends on the platform, the site’s size and how many edits you need each month. We price it after a free audit with a fixed monthly scope.