What Does Website Maintenance Include?

If you're thinking about handing your website over to someone else to look after, the first thing you're probably asking is, what does website maintenance actually include?

Fair question, and one we get asked constantly. So here's the plain English version: what's in a typical website maintenance agreement, the more advanced extras you can bolt on, how often the work needs doing, and what happens if you ignore it all and hope for the best (spoiler: don't).

What website maintenance includes: the basics

Whoever you hire, the fundamentals of a website maintenance service will almost always cover the following.

Software updates

Keeping the software and tools your site runs on current and secure. If your site uses WordPress, that means regular updates to the core platform, your theme and every plugin you're running. If you're on the HubSpot CMS, you can mostly skip this one, because it's a Software as a Service (SaaS) system and HubSpot handles the updates for you.

Security

Putting security measures in place and watching them, so your site and your customer data stay out of the hands of bad actors. A good maintenance provider will run regular security scans, keep your SSL certificates current, and have a clear plan for what to do when something does go wrong. Because eventually, something will.

Fixing problems

Finding and fixing the bugs and issues that break your site's functionality or slow it down. Without in-house expertise, this stuff can swallow whole days, which is exactly why a maintenance contract earns its keep.

Performance and Core Web Vitals

Keeping an eye on how quickly your site loads and how smoothly it responds. Google measures your pages against a set of metrics called Core Web Vitals, which look at how fast the page loads, how quickly it reacts when someone clicks, and whether the layout jumps about while it's loading. Google has softened its stance a little on speed as a ranking factor, but slow, clunky websites lose visitors fast, so it matters either way.

Backups

Taking regular backups of your site's data and content so it can be restored quickly if something gets lost or breaks. If your website brings in business enquiries the way it should, losing it could cost you thousands. A backup gets you "back up" and running quickly (see what we did there).

Content changes

Updating text, images and videos when you need to. This doesn't have to sit inside a maintenance contract, because most platforms make it easy enough to do yourself. But if you haven't got the internal resource (also known as people) to handle it, it can be folded into the agreement.

Monitoring

Constantly checking that the site is up and behaving itself. Plenty of tools, like UpTimeRobot, will flag downtime automatically, but they're not much use if nobody knows what to do once the alert comes in.

Reports

Pulling together reports on traffic, performance and the other numbers that tell you whether your site is doing its job. Google Analytics will automate most of this, but a bit of help interpreting what the data actually means goes a long way early on.

Testing

Regularly checking that features and functionality work as they should. These days visitors are quick to tell you when something's broken, so it's far better to catch the problems before they do.

Accessibility

Making sure your site works for everyone, including people who rely on screen readers or other assistive tech. That means checking things like image alt text, colour contrast, keyboard navigation and form labels. Accessibility is the right thing to do, and it's increasingly a legal requirement too, with accessibility-related lawsuits climbing sharply in recent years.

That's the essential list: the work that keeps your site secure, stable and doing its job properly.

How often should your website be maintained?

This is a bit of a "how long is a piece of string" question, but there's a sensible framework. Different tasks need doing at different intervals.

Daily: Security monitoring and automated backups. If something goes wrong, you want to know straight away, not next month when you happen to check.

Weekly: Uptime checks, a quick look at any error logs, and confirming nothing has broken since the last round of updates.

Monthly: Software and plugin updates, broken link checks, performance reviews, and a look at your analytics to catch any odd trends in traffic or behaviour.

Quarterly: A deeper review of your SEO performance, content accuracy, accessibility and whether the site still matches your business goals. It's also the right time to test your backup restoration, because a backup you've never tested isn't really a backup.

The more your website contributes to your revenue, the more often it needs proper attention. If your site generates enquiries and sales, treating maintenance as an afterthought is a false economy. If you're not sure where to start, our plain English guide to SEO covers a lot of the groundwork that overlaps with good maintenance.

The optional extras worth paying for

Beyond keeping the lights on, maintenance can stretch into work that actively makes your website earn its keep. These more advanced services include the following.

Search engine optimisation (SEO)

Improving your site's structure and content so it ranks better in search results. It's a big topic with its own dedicated guides, but if you want the short version, our piece on how to find the right keywords is a good place to start. Getting SEO right can be game-changing, which is why the more advanced management services, ours included, build it in.

Conversion rate optimisation (CRO)

Tweaking the site so more of your visitors actually do something, like filling in a contact form or asking for a quote. Our post on how to build a lead generation website explains how this fits the bigger picture. CRO can deliver spectacular results, because it's about getting more business from the visitors you already have rather than endlessly chasing new ones.

A/B testing

Running two or more versions of a page or element to see which performs better. Strictly speaking it sits under the CRO banner, but it's worth calling out on its own.

Custom feature development

Building bespoke features when the off-the-shelf options don't cut it. We always reach for a tried-and-tested solution first, but sometimes one doesn't exist, and the right technically capable agency can build what you need. We do this for some of our clients.

Advanced security measures

Heavier-duty protection like Web Application Firewalls, DDoS protection and intrusion detection. Some businesses attract the attention of bad actors, and when that happens you need someone who can deal with it. Full-time security staff are expensive, so this can sit inside an agreement instead.

Marketing automation

Setting up and running the tools that automate email campaigns and CRM activity. We're HubSpot partners and use it for our own marketing, and a good website partner can get this working for you so you're making the most of every contact sitting in your CRM. Haven't got a CRM? They can help with that too.

These extras are about making your website more effective at hitting your business goals, not just keeping it running.

Maintenance or management: which do you need?

People use "maintenance" and "management" interchangeably, but they're not quite the same thing, and knowing the difference saves you paying for the wrong service.

Website maintenance is the technical upkeep: the updates, security, backups and bug fixes covered above. It keeps your site running. Website management is broader. It includes all the maintenance work, but adds the strategic side too, things like SEO, content, CRO and ongoing improvements designed to grow the site, not just keep it ticking over.

The simplest way to think about it: maintenance keeps your site alive, management makes it work harder. If you're trying to work out which level is right for you, our guide to website management and whether you need it walks through the decision, and if budget is the question on your mind, we've broken down how much website management costs in the UK separately. It's the same logic behind using a digital marketing agency for any specialist work: you're buying expertise you'd struggle to justify hiring full-time.

Get the scope in writing

A maintenance contract can cover a lot, so it's always worth nailing down what is and isn't included before any work starts. We've seen it go wrong too many times when the scope is left vague.

A clearly defined scope means you and your provider both understand what's expected, which heads off misunderstandings and disputes later. It helps with cost too, because when everyone knows what's covered, surprise invoices are far less likely. And it gives you something concrete to measure against, so you can tell whether the maintenance is actually delivering. This is exactly why we use a retainer model rather than off-the-shelf packages.

So invest the time upfront to discuss and document the scope properly. It's the foundation of a good working relationship, and it'll save you headaches down the line.

Hopefully that answers what website maintenance includes, and you're in a better place to find the right partner. If you're in the market, we'd love a chat, no hard sell.

Frequently asked questions

How much does website maintenance cost per month?

Website maintenance costs vary widely depending on what's included. Basic packages covering updates, backups and security monitoring typically start around £50 to £75 per month. More comprehensive services that add SEO, content changes and performance optimisation usually run from £150 to £500-plus per month. The cost depends on how complex your site is, how often it needs updating, and whether you want advanced services like conversion rate optimisation or custom development.

How often should a website be maintained?

Your website should be maintained on a regular schedule. Security monitoring and backups should run daily. Software updates, broken link checks and performance reviews should happen monthly. A fuller audit covering SEO, content accuracy, accessibility and overall strategy should happen at least quarterly. The more your website contributes to your revenue, the more often it needs attention.

Can I maintain my own website or do I need a professional?

You can handle the basics yourself if you're comfortable with your CMS, particularly straightforward jobs like content updates and publishing blog posts. But the technical work, like security monitoring, performance optimisation, server configuration and SEO, needs specialist knowledge. Most businesses find a professional maintenance service pays for itself by preventing costly problems and freeing up time to run the business.

What happens if you don't maintain your website?

An unmaintained website becomes vulnerable to security breaches that can compromise customer data and damage your reputation. Outdated software and plugins create easy entry points for hackers. Your search rankings slip as Google favours well-maintained, fast-loading sites. And broken links, slow pages and stale content all drive visitors away and cut the number of enquiries your site generates.

What is the difference between website maintenance and website management?

Website maintenance is the technical upkeep of your site: software updates, security patches, backups and bug fixes. Website management is broader and includes maintenance, but also covers strategic work like SEO, content creation, conversion rate optimisation and ongoing improvements that help your website hit your business goals. A maintenance contract keeps your site running, a management service keeps it growing.