Website maintenance is the line on the cost sheet that runs for as long as the site does, and it is the one most businesses either do not budget or pay a retainer for without knowing what it buys. The work is specific: keeping the platform and its plugins updated so known security holes are closed, taking and testing backups, watching that the site is up and fast, renewing the domain and the certificate, and making the content changes a business needs through the year. This page sets out each part, what it costs on a hosted builder versus a self-hosted site, and how to decide whether to do it yourself or pay for it.
The parts of maintenance, and which platform does them for you
Software updates: on a hosted builder the platform does them; on a self-hosted site somebody applies them, and the ones that close security holes cannot wait. Backups: hosted builders keep their own; a self-hosted site needs a backup that is taken automatically, stored elsewhere and tested by restoring it, because an untested backup is a hope. Security: a certificate that renews, a firewall, and attention to the vulnerabilities that the well-known lists of web application risks describe. Uptime and speed: something watching the site and telling someone when it is down or slow. Renewals: the domain and the certificate, which lapse quietly and take the site down loudly.
Content changes are maintenance too
Prices change, staff join and leave, hours change for holidays, a service is added, a page is out of date. Those changes are the part of maintenance a business notices, and they are usually why a retainer is bought. On a builder the owner can make them; on a bespoke site they may need the developer. Decide who makes content changes and how fast before choosing the platform, because a site whose price list can only be changed by an agency on a monthly ticket is a site with old prices on it.
What it costs, and whether to do it yourself
On a hosted builder, maintenance is the plan's monthly fee plus the owner's time on content, and the platform carries the updates, the backups and the security. On a self-hosted site it is the hosting plus either a retainer or somebody's hours each month for updates and backups. On the website cost calculator, that is the monthly line, and multiplied by twelve it is often larger than the difference between two build quotes. A business that has nobody to apply updates should be on a hosted platform or paying a retainer; leaving a self-hosted site unmaintained is how sites get taken over.
Questions people ask about website maintenance
Do we need a maintenance retainer on a hosted builder?
Usually not. The platform handles updates, backups and security. What you may want is someone to make content changes if nobody in the business will.
How often should a self-hosted site be updated?
Security updates as soon as they are released; everything else monthly. Plugins are the usual way a site is compromised, so the fewer the better.
What should a maintenance retainer include?
Updates applied within a stated time, a tested backup, uptime monitoring, the renewals watched, and a stated number of hours of content changes. A retainer that does not say what it includes is a subscription to a phone number.