A maintenance plan should list in writing what is updated and how often, how backups are kept and tested, what is monitored, how fast problems are fixed, which small changes are included and what costs extra.

One line on the invoice

Many small businesses pay a monthly fee that the invoice describes in two words: website maintenance.

Ask what it covers and the answers differ. The business assumes backups, fixes and any small change it asks for. The provider understood plugin updates and little else.

Neither side is being unreasonable. The word simply has no fixed meaning, and the gap only shows when something breaks.

A plan that says what it covers settles the question before then, which is better for the business and for the people doing the work.

What the word can mean

The second causes the most disappointment. Nobody knows whether an untested backup works until the day it is needed, which tends to be the worst day of the year.

Updates

The plan should name what gets updated: WordPress itself, the plugins, the theme, and any premium plugin whose licence must be renewed for updates to keep arriving.

It should say how often. Monthly suits most sites, with security releases applied within a few days, since attackers read the release notes too.

And it should say what happens after an update. Someone checks the home page, the forms and anything that takes payment, rather than assuming that silence means success.

Backups

Write down how often a backup is taken, whether it covers both the files and the database, where it is stored and how long each copy is kept.

A backup kept only on the same server as the site can disappear with the server. At least one copy should live somewhere else.

Above all, the plan should say whether a restore is included in the fee, and how often a test restore is done. That is the difference between having backups and having a way back.

Monitoring

Monitoring means someone hears about a problem before a customer does.

At a minimum that means a check that the site is up, with an alert when it is not; a warning before the security certificate or the domain expires; and a regular test of the contact or quote form.

Most plans leave out the form test, yet a form can fail quietly for weeks while the rest of the site looks perfectly normal.

A worked example

A trucking company with a dozen flatbeds, hauling building materials around the Lower Mainland, paid a monthly fee listed on its invoices as website maintenance.

The site's main job was a rate request form for contractors and suppliers. In the spring a plugin update broke it. Requests stopped arriving, and nobody noticed for five weeks.

When the dispatcher finally asked why the form had gone quiet, the provider fixed it within a day and billed the hours, because the fee covered updates only.

The backups turned out to be the host's own, kept for a week. Nobody had been dishonest. The plan had simply never been written down.

The company and the provider then agreed a one-page plan: monthly updates followed by a form test, daily backups kept off the server for thirty days, and uptime alerts to the office.

It also set a reply within one business day and an hour a month for small changes. The fee went up a little, and everyone now knows what it buys.

Response times

A plan should say how quickly the provider responds, and separately how quickly they fix, for each kind of problem.

A site that is down or hacked deserves hours, not days. A broken form comes close behind. A typo on the about page can wait until next week.

Say what counts as business hours, and what happens on a Saturday when the online store stops taking orders. If evenings and weekends cost extra, the plan should say so.

Small changes

Most plans include some small changes, and most disagreements are about what small means.

Define it as time or as examples: thirty minutes a month, or a list such as changing opening hours, swapping a photo, adding a job posting or replacing a price list.

Say whether unused time rolls over, and how requests are made, ideally to one email address, so nothing gets lost in a text message.

What costs extra

The plan should name the work outside it, and the rate charged for that work.

Usually that means new pages and features, redesigns, writing content, repairs after someone else has edited the code, and work caused by a change of host.

The big one is a hacked site. Some plans include the clean-up, some include it only when their own updates were current, and some charge for it separately.

Any of these is fine, as long as it is written down beforehand.

Logins and the end of the plan

A good plan confirms that the business holds its own administrator login, hosting account and domain registration, and that the provider works from access the business has granted.

It also says what happens when the plan ends: the notice period, a final backup handed over, and the provider's access removed. Plans end for ordinary reasons, and a tidy ending protects both sides.

The counter-case

A small brochure site that changes twice a year, with no forms that matter and no payments, can sit on a lighter plan: updates, off-site backups and an uptime check.

A business with a staff member who already updates the site may only need monitoring, backups and an agreed rate for anything beyond that person's reach.

Either way, write down what is covered, how fast problems get attention and what costs extra, before the first problem tests it.

Reading your own plan

  1. Find the written plan, or ask for one.
  2. List what gets updated and how often.
  3. Ask where backups are stored and for how long.
  4. Ask when a restore was last tested.
  5. Confirm how fast a broken form gets fixed.
  6. Define small changes in minutes or examples.
  7. Get the rate for extra work in writing.

Step four tells you the most. A provider who can say when they last restored your site from a backup has a way back, not just a folder of files.

Who holds the accounts a plan depends on is also the first question in splitting a website when a partnership ends.

Frequently asked questions

What does website maintenance usually include?

It varies: updates only, updates and backups, a block of hours, hosting with updates, or a full service. That variety is why the plan needs writing down.

How often should a website be updated?

Monthly suits most sites, with security releases applied within a few days. After each round, someone should check the home page, the forms and any payments.

What should a plan say about backups?

How often they are taken, whether files and database are both included, where they are stored, how long they are kept, and whether a test restore is ever done.

Why test the contact form regularly?

Because a form can stop sending after an update while the site looks perfectly normal. Without a test, the first sign is weeks of missing enquiries.

What counts as a small change?

Whatever the plan says: a set number of minutes a month, or a list of examples such as changing hours, swapping a photo or posting a job.

Is cleaning up a hacked site included?

It depends on the plan. Some include it, some include it only if their updates were current, and some charge separately. It should be written down beforehand.

West Coast Media Solutions Inc. provides web design, web development, hosting, digital marketing, and business consulting to organisations across Canada, drawing on more than twenty-five years in the field.

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