Monthly website maintenance should keep your site safe, working and up to date: software updates, daily backups, security monitoring, uptime checks, renewal reminders and a fixed amount of small content changes each month. A good plan also sends a short monthly report, so you can see what was done. Without maintenance, most sites slowly break, slow down or get hacked.
What a good plan includes
| Task | How often | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Software updates (core, theme, plugins) | Weekly or monthly | Most hacks use known holes in old software |
| Backups | Daily, kept for at least 30 days | So the site can be restored after any problem |
| Security scan | Daily or weekly | Finds malware early |
| Uptime monitoring | Every few minutes | You hear about downtime before customers do |
| Form testing | Monthly | A broken enquiry form loses business silently |
| Speed check | Monthly | Sites slow down as content is added |
| SSL and domain renewal reminders | Before expiry | An expired certificate or domain takes the site down |
| Small content changes | Within an agreed limit | New photos, prices, timings, staff |
| Monthly report | Monthly | Shows what was done |
What is usually not included
- New pages or new sections.
- Redesigns.
- New features, such as payments or booking.
- Writing content or taking photos.
- Paid plugin licences.
These are usually quoted separately. Ask where the line is before you sign.
Signs your site needs maintenance now
- The admin panel shows many pending updates.
- Nobody knows when the last backup was taken.
- The enquiry form hasn’t sent an email in weeks.
- The site has become slow.
- The browser shows a “not secure” warning.
- Strange links or pages have appeared.
Questions to ask before paying for a plan
- How often are updates done, and are they tested first?
- Where are backups stored, and how fast can you restore one?
- How many minutes or changes a month are included?
- How fast do you respond if the site goes down?
- What does the monthly report show?
- What happens if the site gets hacked: is the clean-up included?
- Can we cancel, and do we keep all our access?
Can you do it yourself?
Yes, if someone in your team is comfortable with the admin panel, and has the time to do updates, test the site afterwards and keep backups. The risk is that it gets skipped in busy months.
How Ameya Artha helps
Support, monitoring, updates and improvements can be included under agreed support terms for the websites we build. See our website services