What does website maintenance cost, and what do you get?
Updates, security and backups: what maintenance involves, what it costs and when you can do it yourself.
A website is not finished forever after delivery. The software it runs on receives updates, browsers change and new security holes are found. Maintenance makes sure your site keeps up. Below you read what it involves, what it costs and when you can do it yourself.
What does website maintenance involve?
- Updates: the software behind your site stays current, so known security holes are closed.
- Security: keeping an eye on whether the site stays secure.
- Backups: regular copies of your site, so there is always a version to go back to if something goes wrong.
- Help with outages and questions: someone who knows your site and knows where to look.
What exactly is included differs per provider. Always ask, and get it in writing.
What does it cost?
At MDJI website maintenance starts at 50 euros per month, excluding VAT, and is cancellable monthly. The price depends on how large and complex your site or application is, how many changes you expect per month and whether the site was built by another party.
After a new project is delivered you first get a period of free aftercare for small changes. After that you choose whether you want maintenance; it is not mandatory.
What happens without maintenance?
A site without maintenance often keeps working normally for a while. The risk grows unseen: outdated software is a known way in for misuse, and the longer updates are postponed, the bigger and riskier the catch-up becomes. Without a backup, an outage can mean your site has to be rebuilt.
If your site runs on WordPress, this applies even more: WordPress, the theme and every plugin each get their own updates. Also read WordPress or custom-built.
Can you do it yourself?
Yes, if you know what you are doing and really keep up with it. That means: keeping up with updates and testing that everything still works afterwards, making backups and checking that you can restore them, and knowing what to do when the site is down. For many business owners that time is better spent on their own work, but it is a choice.
What to look for in a maintenance plan
- What exactly is included: only updates, or also backups, security and small changes?
- Where are the backups stored, and has restoring them been tested?
- How quickly do you get help with an outage, and how do you reach someone?
- How long does the contract run, and how do you cancel?
- Do the code, domain and hosting stay in your name, also if you stop?
How we approach it
We start with a short technical check of your site, also if another party built it. After that you know what is needed and you receive a proposal with a fixed monthly price. If your site is so outdated that maintenance makes little sense, we tell you, and look together at whether a redesign is wiser.
Frequently asked questions
What does website maintenance cost per month?
At MDJI from 50 euros per month, excluding VAT and cancellable monthly.
Do I have to take maintenance?
No. After a new project you first get free aftercare; after that you choose whether you want maintenance.
Do you also maintain websites built by someone else?
Yes. We then start with a short technical check, so you know where you stand.
What is the difference between maintenance and hosting?
Hosting is where your site runs. Maintenance is looking after the site itself: updates, security, backups and help with outages.