What a website care plan should include

A website is software, and software that is left alone becomes slower, less secure and eventually broken. A website care plan is the ongoing service that prevents this: updates, backups, monitoring and help when something fails. The term is used loosely, though, and two plans with the same name can cover very different things. This guide sets out what a good plan includes, what is normally outside it, and which questions to ask before you sign one, so that you know what you are paying for.

What is a website care plan, and who needs one?

It is a recurring agreement under which someone takes responsibility for the technical health of your site. That means keeping the software current, watching for problems and fixing them, and being available when you need a change or something stops working.

Any site built on a content management system such as WordPress needs this work done by somebody. The core software, the theme and each plugin receive regular updates, many of them fixing security weaknesses that become publicly known once patched. The need is greater if the site takes payments, collects personal data, generates leads the business relies on, or uses many plugins. If nobody is clearly responsible, the work tends not to happen until a failure forces it.

What should a website care plan include as standard?

These are the components a sound plan covers. If one is missing, ask why.

• Software updates. Core, theme and plugin updates applied on a regular schedule, with urgent security patches applied sooner.
• Backups. Automatic backups of files and database, stored away from the web server, kept for a defined period, and tested by actually restoring them from time to time.
• Security. Firewall, malware scanning, login protection, review of user accounts, and clean-up if the site is compromised.
• Uptime monitoring. Automatic checks that alert the provider, not just you, when the site goes down.
• Performance checks. Periodic review of loading speed and of the things that erode it over time, such as database bloat and oversized images.
• Functional checks. Confirmation that forms, checkout, search and other key journeys still work, particularly after updates.
• Housekeeping. Watching domain and SSL certificate renewals, PHP version, licence expiry and broken links.
• Support time. An allowance for small changes and fixes, with a clear way to request them.
• Reporting. A regular summary of what was done and what needs your attention.

How should updates be handled so that nothing breaks?

Updates are the commonest cause of sudden faults: a new plugin version conflicts with the theme, and a layout or a checkout stops working. The answer is not to avoid updating but to update with a process.

A careful provider takes a backup first, applies updates on a staging copy of the site where the risk justifies it, checks the key pages and functions, then updates the live site and checks again. Comparing screenshots before and after catches visual changes a quick glance would miss. If something does go wrong, the previous version is restored promptly and the conflict is investigated without your visitors seeing it.

Ask any prospective provider to describe this process. “We switch on automatic updates” is not a process.

What should happen when something goes wrong?

This is the part of a plan you hope never to use, and the part that most distinguishes one plan from another. Before you need it, the agreement should state:

• How you report a problem, and during which hours someone responds.
• The response time for different levels of severity. A site that is down is not the same as a typing error.
• Whether out-of-hours emergencies are covered.
• Whether restoring from backup and cleaning up after a hack are included or charged separately.
• Who talks to the hosting company if the fault lies there.

Response time is not resolution time. A provider can promise how quickly they will start work, but an honest one will not promise how long every fault takes to fix.

What is usually not included?

Misunderstandings arise when a client expects the plan to cover all future work on the site. Typically outside a care plan are:

• New features, new page templates and redesign work.
• Writing content, producing images and regular publishing.
• Search engine optimisation and advertising campaigns.
• Hosting, domain registration and premium plugin licences, unless stated.
• Repairs caused by changes made by other parties.

None of these exclusions is unreasonable. What matters is that they are written down, along with how extra work is quoted and whether unused support time carries over.

What drives the cost of a care plan?

The price reflects the amount of work and the level of risk the provider takes on. The main factors are:

• Complexity. A brochure site with a few plugins needs less attention than a shop, a membership site or a multilingual build.
• Number of plugins and integrations. Each is something to update, test and potentially repair.
• Response commitments. Faster guaranteed response and out-of-hours cover cost more to provide.
• Support allowance. How much time for changes is bundled in.
• Testing depth. Staging environments and checks after every update take time.
• Condition of the site. A neglected or poorly built site may need remedial work before it can be maintained on a routine basis.

When comparing quotes, compare these items line by line rather than the headline figure. A cheaper plan with no tested backups and no defined response time is a different product.

Frequently asked

If you are unsure whether your site is being looked after properly, our maintenance and support team can review its current state and explain what a suitable plan would cover.