"Website maintenance" is one of those phrases that sounds important but stays vague enough that most business owners don't know what they're paying for — or why they should be.
We hear this constantly: "I paid someone to build my site three years ago. It works fine. Why would I pay for maintenance?"
Here's why.
What Website Maintenance Actually Includes
At its core, maintenance covers everything that keeps your site functional, secure, and effective after the initial build.
Security Updates
This is the non-negotiable part. WordPress alone discloses dozens of plugin vulnerabilities every week. If you're running any CMS — WordPress, Shopify, Squarespace — the underlying software needs regular security patches. Skip them and you're leaving the front door unlocked.
We've seen London businesses get hit with malware injections because a single plugin went unpatched for six months. The cost to clean up: usually $500-$2,000. The cost to prevent it: a few minutes per month.
Performance Monitoring
Websites slow down over time. Databases grow, plugins accumulate, hosting resources get shared with more users. What loaded in 2 seconds at launch might take 6 seconds a year later.
Regular performance checks catch this drift before it affects your customers and search rankings.
Content Updates
Hours change. Staff come and go. You add new services or drop old ones. Prices shift. If your website still shows your 2023 holiday hours, that's a maintenance failure.
This seems trivial, but we found outdated information on 31% of the 184 London businesses we audited. Wrong phone numbers. Old addresses. Discontinued services still listed.
Backup and Recovery
If your hosting goes down, if someone accidentally deletes a page, if a plugin update breaks something — you need a recent backup. Automated daily backups with tested restoration procedures are basic maintenance.
SSL Certificate Renewal
SSL certificates expire, usually annually. If yours lapses, visitors see a full-page browser warning that your site is "Not Secure." Traffic drops to near zero until it's fixed.
Analytics Review
Maintenance isn't just about preventing problems — it's about understanding performance. Monthly analytics reviews reveal which pages get traffic, where visitors drop off, and what's actually driving inquiries.
What Happens When You Skip It
The consequences of neglected maintenance aren't immediate, which is exactly why businesses skip it. But they compound:
Month 1-3: Everything seems fine. The site works. You saved some money.
Month 4-6: A plugin becomes vulnerable. Page speed drops slightly. A staff member leaves and their photo is still on the team page.
Month 7-12: Google notices the speed drop and adjusts your ranking. A competitor updates their site and climbs past you. Your SSL certificate expires on a Friday and nobody notices until Monday.
Year 2+: The site is visibly outdated. Load times hit 5+ seconds. Security vulnerabilities have stacked up. A redesign now costs $3,000-5,000 because everything needs replacing rather than incremental maintenance.
What It Should Cost
For a typical small business website, expect $50-$150/month for maintenance covering security updates, backups, performance monitoring, content updates, and a monthly report.
If someone quotes you $500+/month for basic maintenance on a standard business site, they're overcharging. If the quote is $0/month, they're not doing maintenance.
At Meiller Digital, our maintenance plans start at $99/month and include everything listed above plus priority support. We believe in transparent pricing because this industry has a trust problem.
The Minimum If You Do It Yourself
If you're not ready to outsource maintenance, do this monthly:
- Update all plugins and software
- Check that your SSL certificate is valid
- Test your site on your phone
- Verify your business information is current
- Check your contact form — actually submit one and see if it arrives
- Review your Google Analytics for anything unusual
It takes about an hour. Set a calendar reminder.
Your website isn't a one-time project. It's a living asset that needs consistent care. The businesses that treat it that way consistently outperform those that don't.
See how your site scores today or talk to us about maintenance.