WordPress maintenance plans can look alike: a price, a list of ticks, and words like “secure” and “optimized”. The differences are in the details. Here’s what to look for, and the questions that show you what you’re actually buying.
1. Updates, and what happens after them
Every plan updates WordPress, plugins and themes. Ask two things:
- How often? Weekly is a sensible minimum. Monthly leaves known security holes open for weeks.
- Does anyone check the site afterwards? Clicking “update all” is easy. Checking that the contact form, booking page and checkout still work is the part that matters.
2. Backups you can actually use
- How often? Daily for most sites. More often for shops that take orders all day.
- Where are they kept? They should be stored away from your hosting server. A backup on the same server is no help when that server fails.
- Who restores them? A backup only matters if someone can bring it back quickly when you need it.
3. Monitoring
- Uptime monitoring checks the site regularly around the clock, so the plan provider hears it’s down before your customers do.
- Security monitoring watches for signs of malware or a hack.
Ask what happens when an alert goes off. Monitoring with nobody acting on it is just a notification.
4. What happens when something breaks
This is where plans differ most. Find out:
- If an update breaks the site, is fixing it included, or billed by the hour?
- If the site is hacked, is the cleanup included?
- Is there time for small changes, like editing text or swapping a photo, or is every change quoted?
5. Reports
You should get a regular report in plain English: what was updated, which backups ran, how often the site was up and how fast it loads. If you can’t see the work, you can’t judge it.
6. Who does the work
Some services are a ticket queue with a different person each time. Others give you the same developer who knows your site. Neither is wrong, but it changes how quickly problems get solved and how much you have to explain each time.
7. Hosting
Some plans include hosting; others work with your current host. If hosting is included, check whether you’re tied to it to keep the plan. If it isn’t, ask what they do when the host is the problem.
8. The contract
- Is there a minimum term?
- How much notice do you need to give to cancel?
- If you leave, do you get your latest backup?
9. What isn’t included
A good plan says plainly what’s extra. Redesigns, new pages and custom features are usually quoted separately. Knowing that up front avoids surprise bills.
How our plans compare
Our plans start at $59 a month. Every one includes weekly updates with a check afterwards, daily off-site backups, uptime and security monitoring, fixes if an update breaks something, and a monthly report. Business and Store add priority support and time for small changes. We don’t sell hosting: we work with your current host and take hosting problems up with them. You deal with the same developer every time, and there’s no contract: cancel with 5 days’ notice before your next payment and we hand over your latest backup.