What does website maintenance cost? For a small business website you usually pay a fixed monthly amount or a number of hours per year. How much exactly depends on the type of website, how many plugins or integrations it has, how fast you want help with problems and whether small changes are included. A simple website needs less than an online shop or a website with a customer login.
This article covers what sets the price, which pricing models exist and how to judge a maintenance quote. For what maintenance involves technically and how often to do each task, read our article on website maintenance.
What determines website maintenance cost?
Two websites that look the same can have very different maintenance costs. These are the biggest price factors:
- Technology: a website with lots of plugins and separate parts needs updates more often than a lean custom website.
- Integrations: connections to an online shop, payment system, CRM or accounting software must keep working when one of those systems changes.
- Response time: do you want help within a few hours when something breaks, or is the next working day fine?
- Included work: are small copy or design changes included in the price, or do you pay for them separately?
- Monitoring: is your website watched continuously, or does someone only look when you call?
- Reporting: do you get an overview of what was done, and of speed and security?
Website maintenance per month or per hour?
There are roughly three ways to arrange maintenance. Each model has pros and cons:
- Maintenance plan: a fixed amount per month. Predictable, and the provider is responsible for the basics. Downside: you also pay in months when little happens.
- Prepaid hours or on-demand support: you buy a block of hours upfront or pay per job. Flexible, but often without regular checks. Problems only get fixed once you notice them yourself.
- Doing it yourself: you keep up with updates and backups yourself. It costs no money, but it does cost time and knowledge. If something goes wrong, you still have to call in help.
For most businesses that rely on their website for enquiries or sales, a plan is the most relaxed choice. If you have a simple website you rarely change, a small plan or on-demand hours can work fine too.
What's in a website maintenance contract?
A price says little without knowing what's included. When you get a quote, ask whether these parts are covered:
- Updates to the CMS, theme, plugins or software used.
- Backups: how often, how long are they kept, and how quickly can they be restored?
- Security: checks for vulnerabilities and help if something does go wrong.
- Monitoring: an alert if your website can't be reached.
- Checks after updates: does your contact form still work, do the pages load properly?
- Small changes: how much time per month, and what happens to unused time?
- Response time and availability when something breaks.
- Contract term and notice period.
Compare quotes on these points, not just on the monthly amount. A cheap plan without backups or checks after updates is worth little when things go wrong.
What does skipping website maintenance cost?
Skipping maintenance looks like a saving, but you often pay more later. These are the costs that can come up:
- A hacked website that has to be cleaned and restored. That's often more expensive than a year of maintenance.
- A website that's down for days, so you miss enquiries or orders.
- A contact form that stops working without anyone noticing.
- Outdated software that can no longer be updated, so you need a new website sooner.
- A slow website that drops in Google and loses visitors. Among other things, Google looks at the Core Web Vitals, such as an LCP under 2.5 seconds and a CLS under 0.1.
Security is another reason to take maintenance seriously. Read more in securing your website.
Maintenance costs differ per type of website
Not every website needs the same maintenance. A few examples to help you assess your situation:
- A simple information website with a few pages and a contact form. Mainly updates, backups and the occasional copy change. A small plan is usually enough.
- A website with a blog, several languages or a booking button. More parts that need to keep working, and content that changes more often.
- An online shop or ordering platform. Payments, stock and delivery costs must always be right. An outage costs revenue immediately, so fast help matters.
- A website with a login, such as a client portal. Security and privacy play a bigger role here, and there are often integrations with other systems.
The more your website does for your revenue, the more it's worth having someone look after it properly.
How to keep website maintenance cost down
- Choose a lean website with few separate plugins when it's built. Fewer parts means less maintenance.
- Learn to update copy and photos yourself in your CMS. Then you only pay for technical work.
- Choose a plan that fits how often you want to change things, not the biggest one.
- Bundle small requests and have them done in one go.
- Remove plugins and features you no longer use.
- Ask what happens to unused hours, and whether you can switch plans along the way.
If your website runs on WordPress, maintenance costs are often higher because of updates and plugins. Read how that works in what a WordPress website costs.
Website maintenance at Violexa: the costs
At Violexa we offer three maintenance plans for websites we build, with fixed monthly prices:
- Silver: €179 excl. VAT (€217 incl. VAT) per month.
- Gold: €299 excl. VAT (€362 incl. VAT) per month.
- Platinum: €699 excl. VAT (€846 incl. VAT) per month.
The first 12 months are fixed. After that every plan can be cancelled monthly by email, with one month's notice. Which plan fits depends on your website and how much you want done. We discuss that upfront, so you don't pay more than you need to.
Having a new website built? A custom website starts from €1,799 excl. VAT (€2,177 incl. VAT), including design, development, basic SEO, Google Analytics, a CMS connection and training. More on that under websites and apps.
Want to know what maintenance your website needs? Book a free quickscan. In 30 minutes, online or on site, we look at your current website. Afterwards you get short written advice with a price indication, with no obligation.
Frequently asked questions
What does website maintenance cost per month on average?
There's no fixed average, because it depends on your website, the integrations and how much work is included. A simple website needs less than an online shop or a website with a login. Compare plans on what they include, not just the monthly amount.
Is website maintenance really necessary?
Yes, if your website matters to your business. Without updates, backups and checks you risk hacks, outages and a slower website. Fixing problems often costs more than preventing them.
Can I do website maintenance myself?
Partly, such as updating copy and checking that your form works. Updates, restoring backups and security need more knowledge. If something then goes wrong, fixing it often costs more than maintenance.
What should I look for in a maintenance contract?
Check exactly what's included: updates, backups, monitoring, checks after updates and how much time for changes. Also look at the response time when something breaks, the contract term and the notice period.
