What is website maintenance and why you need a plan
Before we dig into web maintenance, I want to share a secret.
When I was in college, I bought my first car. It was a used Ford Mustang and in good condition. I drove that Mustang back and forth from my apartment in Bellingham, WA, to the North Cascades National Park, where I was doing an internship. I loved having reliable transportation until one day when my car started smoking and died on the side of the road.
Can you guess what happened? Yep, I forgot to check the oil. In the months since I bought the car, doing any kind of maintenance besides adding gas had never occurred to me. It was a costly mistake.
Checking the oil is common sense. I should have known.
I share this embarrassing mistake from my college days because doing regular maintenance on your website is equally important as doing maintenance on your car. And, you know, if you have a car, then you have to check the oil and sometimes change it, or you pay someone else to change it for you.
Same – website maintenance is not a choice. Either YOU have to do it, OR you have to hire someone to do it for you.
What is website maintenance?
When people decide they want a website, they usually don’t think about ongoing maintenance. I’ll be honest, when I started my first website, I didn’t even know maintenance was a thing. (Remember, I’m the one who didn’t check the oil in her car.)
Web maintenance usually includes some combination of the following:
- Keeping all the software (theme and plugins) on your website up-to-date,
- Storing backup copies of your website in case there is a problem
- Making sure your site loads quickly,
- Protecting your website from hacks, and
- Cleaning up after a hack.
Why you need a plan for taking care of your website
Let’s make sure you really understand why YOU need a maintenance plan for your site.
- Are you confident you know how to make sure WordPress, your theme, and all the plugins installed on your site are up-to-date and playing nicely with each other?
- Are you confident you know how to make sure your site is secure and protected from malware and hackers?
- Do you have a plan for what to do if your site does get hacked?
- Or, do you know what to do if your assistant tries to update a page and accidentally deletes the whole site? (Yes, this happened to me once!)
If you answered yes to all of these, then you are in good shape and can stop reading now. But, if you answered no to even one of the above, you need a plan for maintaining your site.
Do I have to hire someone to do website maintenance?
Absolutely not. Just like with cars, you can learn to do your own maintenance. However, most hosting companies offer some kind of premium website maintenance plan. Like me, many web designers also provide website care plans for their clients and or partner with companies that specialize in website maintenance.
How much does website maintenance cost?
Assuming you want to hire someone to do the maintenance for you, the cost of website maintenance will depend on the size and complexity of your website. However, for a typical author website with 5-10 pages plus blog posts, you can expect to pay anywhere from $20 – $100 per month.
Why is there such a range in costs for maintenance?
To be honest, there is no standard rule for what is included in website maintenance. Therefore, some packages also include one or all of these:
- Hosting
- Annual subscription fees for premium plugins,
- A certain amount of time making changes to your website
What if I don’t want to pay someone to do website maintenance?
If you can’t afford it, don’t want to afford it, or simply prefer doing things yourself, you do not have to pay for any kind of website care plan. If you want to learn how to maintain your website yourself, I have a free guide to get you started.
However, let me be transparent. I don’t do maintenance on my own site.
I invest in the maintenance plan provided by my hosting company. I also partner with the hosting company to provide a plan for my clients so that you can get Hosting + Website Maintenance for only $59/month.
If you’re thinking there is no way you can justify paying someone to do it for you, I get it. I was the same way for years and I won’t argue with you. However, if you’re curious, you can read the three reasons why I decided not to do my own maintenance.
Whatever you decide, please remember…
Website maintenance is not a choice. Either YOU have to do it, OR you have to hire someone to do it for you.
Promise yourself that you will make a decision. Don’t wait until there is a problem. Here are three options to consider:
- You can decide to DIY everything. If you go the DIY route, I highly recommend you download a copy of my free guide – Five Essentials for Keeping your WordPress Website Safe.
- You can sign up for a maintenance plan offered by another company. The Fully Managed Hands-On Support Plan from Websavers is the one I recommend.
- You can sign up for my Hosting+Website Care Plan.
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About the Author:
Hi! I'm Marci. I have a dedicated spiritual practice, enjoy studying alternative-healing modalities, cooking a whole-foods flexitarian diet, and exploring Japan, where I've lived for 30 years. Learn more about my workbooks for kids, and journals for adults. Also, look for my upcoming memoir Otosan, which chronicles the five years I cared for my father-in-law, a WWII Japanese war veteran, as he navigates Alzheimer’s.
