We would all like to think we can just build a website and walk away from it, but the truth is someone has to take care of it. Once a website is built and launched, it must be maintained to ensure they remain secure and up-to-date. A lot of things can happen or go wrong if it gets neglected. A website that’s not maintained can ruin your reputation and your business. What if you or your clients don’t have the time or desire to maintain the site? The solution is easy.

In this article, we’ll discuss website maintenance plans, and also offer you an exclusive discount on an amazing course that will take your maintenance plan to the next level.

What Are Website Maintenance Plans?

A website maintenance plan is an ongoing premium service to keep the website up-to-date. This usually includes the website’s WordPress core, plugins, and themes. Plans can also include other services. For example, the website will also need to be tested and improved. Many maintenance plans include backups and site monitoring.

A maintenance plan can offer any or all of these services. Since there are so many options, many providers have a range of plans so clients can choose exactly what they want. Often these are tasks that website owners are not skilled with or don’t have time to complete themselves.

How Much Should You Charge For A Website Maintenance Plan?

The cost of the maintenance plan would reflect the services provided. The website will be kept up to date based on the terms of the maintenance plan. The plans are usually paid monthly, quarterly, or yearly.

Prices for basic plans range widely, from around $40 per month to many hundreds of dollars per month. There are a lot of factors to consider: the amount of time that’s required, the level of expertise, the size of the website, etc. I recommend pricing as an hourly rate according to the amount of time the plan will require on a monthly basis.

What’s Include In Website Maintenance

Website maintenance packages can be tailored to the client’s specific needs. This means you can let them choose what services they want. This at least includes the WordPress core, plugins, and themes. Services typically include a combination of the following:

Updates

Update the WordPress core, plugins, and themes and ensure that everything works together as planned and solve any issues that arise.

Backups

Perform both automatic and manual backups on a regular schedule. Backups will be used to restore the website if needed.

Popular tools include:

Security

Monitor threats and attacks, and set up security to prevent them. Perform security fixes and restore backups as needed. You could even include SSL certificates.

Popular tools include:

Site Monitoring

Monitor speed issues, 404 errors, broken links, etc. and solve issues or make suggestions about how to solve issues.

Popular tools include:

Analytics

Use high-quality tools to analyze traffic and offer suggestions for content, design, etc. This can also include a/b testing.

Popular tools include:

Consulting

You can help clients grow their business and online presence. You can offer Skype calls, email, meeting in person, talking over the phone, etc., for training and business development.

Marketing

Offer to manage social media, advertising, email and newsletter campaigns, etc., to help grow their online presence.

Content

You could perform updates to their content, such as images, text, and layout changes. Websites need to have their content updated to remain current. You could even provide blog content, handle comments, users, email, etc. You could provide blog articles monthly, weekly, or daily.

Website Maintenance Plan Resources

Another option, rather than providing the maintenance plan yourself, is to point your clients to a maintenance plan that you can recommend. There are lots of website maintenance services online to help you see what others are offering or to point your clients to if you choose not to offer the service plan.

Building a Recurring Income Website Maintenance Plan by Josh Hall

If you’re interested in a course on how to create and add a maintenance plan to your business services, Josh Hall has created a course that teaches everything you need to know. It covers planning, preparation, setting up your platform, and selling, growing, and maintaining your maintenance plan. It also includes several extras such as a Divi page layout, a setup checklist, case studies, and email templates.

Divi Cake Exclusive Discount ─ 15% OFF with code: DC-Discount

See the Course

WordPress Monthly Recurring Revenue Course by Joe Howard

Another course we recommend is WPMRR. This robust video course teaches WordPress professionals how to implement, sell, and execute ongoing care plans for their clients, and increase their revenue every single month.

WPMRR was put together by Joe Howard, the Head Buff at WP Buffs. They manage hundreds of websites, and have completely open-sourced their entire business. In doing this, WP Buffs helps freelancers and agencies focus more on MRR and making predictable revenue.

Also, make sure to tune in to The WPMRR WordPress podcast. It’s focused entirely on growing successful WordPress businesses and monthly recurring revenue, without taking itself too seriously.

Divi Cake Exclusive Discount ─ 20% OFF with code: DIVICAKE

See the Course

Ending Thoughts

Website maintenance is crucial for every website. Websites that are not kept up to date pose security risks. Hackers and other nasty web-based threats find those little holes in the code. Plugins can become incompatible with each other, with your theme, or with the WordPress core if they’re not updated.

Everyone who builds websites for clients would benefit from offering website maintenance. Offering a maintenance plan is a great way to increase and steady your income. The work isn’t that difficult and it’s a great way to maintain a good relationship and build trust with your clients. For those that do not want to offer website maintenance plans, there are lots of excellent plans to point your clients to.

Do you provide a website maintenance plan? Let us know about it in the comments.