Free guide
What website maintenance includes, and what to ask for.
A website is not finished at launch. Software ages, passwords leak, forms break and search results shift. This guide explains what maintenance actually covers, what happens without it, and how to compare providers.
No sign-up, nothing to download. Written by a team that has been building and looking after websites for 17 years.
What Maintenance Should Cover
Seven jobs that keep a website safe, fast and useful. A good provider can tell you how each one is handled.
Updates
The software behind your site, and anything added to it, needs regular updates. Most successful attacks use known problems that an update would have fixed.
Backups you can restore
A backup nobody has tried to restore is a hope, not a plan. Ask how often backups run, where they are kept and how fast a restore is.
Security
Malware scanning, protection against automated attacks and sensible access rules, so one stolen password does not become a disaster.
Uptime monitoring
Something should check that the site is online and working, and alert a person when it is not. Do not rely on customers to tell you.
Speed
Sites slow down as pages and photos pile up. Periodic checks keep pages quick, which helps visitors and search rankings.
Content changes
New hours, a new service, a staff change, a promotion. You should know how to ask for a change and how long it takes.
Reporting
A short, plain-English summary of visits, searches and anything that needed fixing, so you can see what you are getting.
What Happens Without It
None of these are rare. They are the usual ways a neglected website costs a business money.
The site gets hacked
Outdated software is the most common way in. Visitors may be redirected, Google may warn people away, and cleanup takes far longer than prevention.
The contact form quietly breaks
A form can stop sending messages for months without any error you can see. Every missed enquiry is a missed customer.
Pages get slow
Large images, old code and crowded servers add up. Slow pages lose visitors and can lose rankings.
Search results drift
Broken links, outdated information and missing pages gradually hurt how you show up on Google.
Something expires
Domain names, security certificates and hosting plans all renew. A missed renewal can take a whole business website offline.
Nobody knows who to call
When the person who built it is gone, a small problem becomes a long search for logins and answers.
Questions to Ask Any Maintenance Provider
Good answers are specific and in writing. Vague answers are your answer.
Who owns the website, the domain and the hosting account?
You should. Ask to see that the domain is registered in your name and that you can log in to every account. Walk away from anyone who holds these for themselves.
How are backups done, and have you restored one?
Look for automatic backups and a clear restore process. Ask how long a restore takes and who does it.
What happens if the site goes down at 2 a.m.?
Ask whether the site is monitored, who is alerted and how quickly someone looks at it.
How do I ask for a change, and how fast does it happen?
A named way to ask (phone, email or a request form) and a realistic turnaround. Small changes should not take weeks.
What is not included?
Every plan has limits. Ask what counts as extra work, such as a redesign, new features or large content projects, and how you are told before it is billed.
Is there a long-term contract?
You should be able to leave. Ask what happens to your website, domain and content if you do, and how they are handed over.
Do It Yourself or Hire It Out?
Both are reasonable. The honest question is whether the work will actually get done.
DIY can work when
You are comfortable with updates and backups, the site is simple, and you will set a reminder and follow it every month.
Hiring it out makes sense when
The site brings in customers, you would rather spend your time on the business, or you want someone accountable when something breaks.
Either way
Keep control of your domain and hosting accounts, keep a recent backup somewhere you can reach, and write down who to call.
How We Handle It
We host, secure, update and back up the websites we manage, monitor them to keep them online and working, and make the changes clients ask for. You never log in to anything, and you own your website, domain and content. There are no long-term contracts. See how website management works, or look at our maintenance and hosting pages.
Not sure how your site is doing?
Send us the address and we will look at it by hand and tell you what needs attention first, in plain English. It is free, with nothing to sign.
Prefer a checklist? Get the free Website Health Checklist.
