Website maintenance: what to know

What the job involves, what changes the price, and what to ask a pro.

What website maintenance is

A provider keeps your site running by applying updates, making backups, running security checks, editing content, fixing broken links and monitoring performance on an ongoing basis. You need it when your site is live and you do not have the time or skill to keep it safe and working.

Signs you need it

  • The site has not been updated in months and shows warnings or errors
  • You have had a security alert, a hacked page or spam forms
  • Broken links, old content or outdated pages are hurting your visitors
  • The site is slow or goes down at busy times
  • No one on your team knows how to back up the site or restore it

What the pro does

  • Checks the site's software, plugins and the hosting for updates and warnings
  • Applies updates in a test copy first, then to the live site
  • Runs regular backups and tests that they can be restored
  • Scans for malware, broken links and form spam, and fixes what it finds
  • Reports on what was done each month and on the site's speed and uptime

What changes the price

Every job is different, so we do not publish prices. These are the things that move the quote up or down.

  • The size and complexity of the site and the number of plugins or features
  • How often updates and backups are run
  • The amount of content editing included
  • Whether security monitoring and malware cleanup are included
  • Whether performance tuning or speed work is part of the plan
  • Whether the site is on a platform that needs extra attention

What a written quote should spell out

  • The tasks included each month, such as updates, backups and checks
  • How often backups are taken and where they are stored
  • Any content edits included, and how requests are submitted
  • The monthly report and what it shows
  • What is extra, such as a new feature or a redesign

Questions to ask before you hire

  • How often do you back up the site, and can I restore a copy myself?
  • Do you test updates before they go live?
  • What do you do if the site is hacked?
  • How do I request content changes, and how fast do you respond?
  • Who holds the hosting and domain accounts?
  • What do you report to me each month?

Red flags

  • Makes changes to the live site without a test or a backup
  • Keeps the hosting, domain or admin logins to itself
  • Will not show a restore test or a report
  • Promises that the site is unhackable

What you can do yourself

Log in once a month and check the site on your phone and a computer, noting any broken pages, forms that do not work or strange messages. Make sure you own the hosting and domain accounts and that the renewals are set. Hire a provider for the updates, the backups, the malware cleanup and the security checks.

Licenses and permits

A license is usually not required for website maintenance. Check with your state or local licensing agency about any business registration that applies, and ask the provider for its contract terms and how it handles your data.

Website maintenance questions

How often should a site be updated?

Updates should be applied as they are released, after testing. Ask the provider how it tests updates before applying them to your site.

What should I do if my site is hacked?

Contact your provider right away, and do not try to fix it by changing settings without help. A provider should restore a clean backup and secure the site.

Do I need maintenance if the site is simple?

Usually. Even simple sites need updates and backups, since the software and the hosting change over time.

Pro reviewers

Pros who offer website maintenance remotely can improve this guide, like Wikipedia. We check every edit before it goes live. Every approved edit is credited in the edit history and on the pro's profile.

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  3. 3. They reach out

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