A lot of businesses pay for website maintenance without really knowing what they're getting. We've taken over sites where the previous "maintenance plan" turned out to be an invoice and nothing else. No updates for two years, no backups, an expired SSL certificate.
So here's what we think a reasonable plan should include, whether you work with us or anyone else.
The essentials
Regular backups, stored off the server. Daily for sites that change often, weekly for static sites. Crucially, stored somewhere other than the same server. If the server goes, a backup on that server goes with it. Ask how often backups are tested by actually restoring one.
Software updates. Core platform, plugins, themes, framework libraries, PHP version. Updates should be tested on a staging copy first for anything beyond minor patches.
Security monitoring. Malware scans, login attempt monitoring, file change alerts. Most hacked sites we clean up were compromised through an outdated plugin that had a known vulnerability for months.
Uptime monitoring. Someone (or something) should notice when your site goes down before your customers tell you.
SSL and domain renewals. Sounds obvious. You'd be surprised how many sites go down because a renewal was missed.
The useful extras
- Small content changes. A set number of hours per month for updating text, adding a team member, swapping a banner.
- Performance checks. A quarterly look at page speed and Core Web Vitals.
- Form testing. Checking that contact forms still deliver emails. This breaks more often than people think, usually because of email configuration changes.
- A monthly report. Short and readable. What was updated, any issues found, uptime percentage, a couple of traffic numbers.
What usually isn't included
New features, redesigns, new pages with custom layouts, and major platform upgrades are normally quoted separately. That's fair, as long as it's clear upfront.
Questions to ask before signing
- Where are backups stored, and when was the last test restore?
- Do you test updates before applying them to the live site?
- How quickly do you respond if the site goes down? During weekends?
- How many hours of changes are included, and do unused hours roll over?
- If we stop working together, do we get all the files, database and access?
That last question matters. You should always own your site and have full access to it.
What it costs
For a typical small business site in India, a solid maintenance plan ranges from about ₹1,500 to ₹6,000 a month, depending on the platform, size and how many content hours are included. E-commerce stores and custom applications cost more because there's more to look after.
That may sound like an expense for something that "just sits there." But a single hack, a lost database, or a week of downtime during a busy season will cost far more. Maintenance is cheap insurance.
