There is no single price for WordPress maintenance because, unfortunately, “maintenance” can mean almost anything. One provider might mean they update WordPress once a month and keep a backup. Another might include hosting, security monitoring, fixing problems after updates, content changes and access to a developer when something stops working. Both might describe the service as WordPress maintenance, but they are not really selling the same thing.
The useful question is therefore not simply how much WordPress maintenance costs. It is what do you actually need somebody to look after?
Basic WordPress maintenance
At the simpler end, you might only need somewhere reliable to host the website, regular backups and somebody making sure WordPress and its plugins stay reasonably up to date. For a straightforward brochure website that doesn’t change often, this can be enough.
Costs tend to increase once you expect somebody to actively take responsibility for the website. Monitoring whether it is online, checking updates have not caused issues, investigating problems, making small changes and being available when you need support. All of which require actual developer time rather than running an automated system in the background.
There is also a difference between paying for maintenance every month and buying development time as you need it. If your website rarely needs attention, occasional ad hoc support can be perfectly sensible. If you are contacting a developer every couple of weeks, a support plan normally becomes easier to budget and considerably less frustrating.
What should be included?
The biggest mistake is comparing maintenance plans purely on monthly price. A £30 plan that only runs automated updates cannot really be compared with a £200 plan that includes hosting, backups, monitoring and several hours of real development support.
Before signing up, establish who is responsible if an update breaks the website, whether backups are actually monitored, how quickly somebody will respond to a problem, whether development time is included and what happens when you need something outside the normal maintenance routine. It is also worth checking whether unused support time disappears every month and whether you are tied into a long contract.
What does Upkeep charge?
For some context, our own ad hoc WordPress development is £80 per hour. We also offer straightforward hosting and support from £21 per month, while our Premium Care plan is £220 per month and includes ongoing development time alongside the usual maintenance and hosting. That does not mean everybody needs the £220 option. If your website sits happily online and only needs somebody once or twice a year, we would rather tell you that than sell you a plan you are unlikely to use.
The right level of maintenance depends on how important the website is to your business, how complicated it is and how much help you realistically need.
If you are unsure on what level of support makes sense to your needs, send us the site and tell us how you currently use it. We can take a look and tell you whether you need ongoing maintenance or whether occasional help would probably do the job.
