What website maintenance really costs a small UK business

A website isn’t finished the day it goes live. Software needs updating, backups need checking, forms need testing and prices need changing. Most small business owners either pay someone to do it or quietly don’t do it at all, and the second option tends to cost more in the end.

This guide explains what maintenance actually involves, what it costs, and how to decide what’s worth paying for. I’ll use my own care plans as the worked example, because they’re the prices I can stand behind.

What website maintenance actually includes

For a typical small business website on WordPress, “maintenance” covers four jobs:

• Updates. WordPress itself, the theme and every plugin release updates regularly, many of them security fixes. Out-of-date plugins are one of the most common ways small sites get hacked.
• Backups. Not just having them, but checking they run and that a copy is stored somewhere other than the same server.
• Security and health checks. Is the site up, is the SSL certificate valid, is anything odd happening in the admin area, do the forms still arrive?
• Small changes. New prices, a holiday opening notice, a new photo, a staff member leaving. The jobs that pile up if nobody owns them.

Hosting is separate from maintenance, though some plans bundle it in.

What it costs

Prices vary a lot between providers, so the useful question isn’t “what’s the going rate?” but “what exactly am I getting each month?” Here’s what I charge, and what’s included:

• Website Care, £25 a month, for sites on your own hosting: WordPress core, theme and plugin updates, backup checks, basic security checks, routine troubleshooting, and up to 30 minutes of small content changes each calendar month.
• Managed Website Care, £50 a month, with hosting provided by SR7: everything above, plus the hosting itself, backups, SSL management where applicable and general website support.
• No plan at all: ad-hoc support is £50 an hour, billed in 30-minute increments, and bigger jobs are quoted before any work starts.

Both plans are optional and can be cancelled with 30 days’ written notice. Included time covers small changes, and unused time doesn’t roll over. Full details are on my website care page.

Why prices vary so much between providers

When two care plans look similar but one costs three times the other, the difference is usually in the detail:

• whether updates are actually tested on your site or just applied blindly;
• whether backups are checked, and whether restoring one is included or charged extra;
• how much change time is included each month, and what counts as a “small change”;
• whether hosting is included, and how good that hosting is;
• how quickly someone responds when something breaks.

Ask any provider for their plan in writing and compare those five points, not the headline price.

Does the size of your site change what you pay?

Sometimes. A five-page brochure site with a handful of plugins is quick to look after. A shop with hundreds of products, payment plugins and stock syncing needs more care and more testing after every update, so it’s usually quoted individually. A static site with no WordPress at all, like the one you’re reading, needs far less maintenance because there’s no plugin layer to update.

Is it cheaper to do it yourself?

It can be, if you’re comfortable with it and actually do it. The cost isn’t money; it’s the hour you spend each month, and the risk of an update breaking something on a Friday afternoon. If you’d rather do it yourself, at minimum:

• take a backup before every update, and keep one copy off the server;
• update plugins one at a time and check the site after each;
• send yourself a test enquiry through every form once a month;
• renew your domain name automatically so it can’t lapse.

What else to budget for

Maintenance isn’t the whole running cost of a website. Budget for your domain name renewal each year, hosting if it isn’t included, any paid plugins or licences your site relies on, and occasional bigger jobs such as new pages or a refresh. Those bigger jobs aren’t part of a care plan and should always be quoted before work starts.

How to decide what’s worth paying for

If your website brings in enquiries or sales, the question is simple: what would a week of it being broken or hacked cost you? For most businesses that’s far more than a year of care. If your site is a simple online business card that rarely changes, a lighter arrangement, or doing it yourself, may be enough.

Common questions

Do I have to take a care plan if you build my site?

No. Care plans are optional. You can look after the site yourself, or come back for ad-hoc help when you need it.

Can you look after a site you didn’t build?

Usually, yes. I’ll check it over first so we both know what state it’s in. If you’d like that check, it’s part of my free website review.

What counts as a small change?

Text, images, prices and small amendments to existing pages. New pages, redesigns and new features are quoted separately.

If you’d like your site looked after, or just want to know what state it’s in, get in touch or call 0191 722 1678.