Website maintenance and support
You get a website that keeps working and stays up to date, with someone to ask when something breaks or needs changing. We make the content and page changes you ask for, keep WordPress core, your theme and your plugins updated, fix problems and, where wanted, look after hosting and domain renewals. Ask for one-off work when you need it, or put us on a monthly retainer.
Tell us about your site and we will quote from your requirements.
Situations we can help with
A site we built
We keep it updated, change content and pages when you ask, and fix anything we built that should have worked and does not.
A site someone else built
If someone else built or looked after your site, we can take it over carefully. See how we take over a site.
A site that has broken or gone out of date
Tell us what has gone wrong or what is out of date. We fix the problem, and we keep WordPress core, your theme and your plugins updated.
A shop that needs care
We fix product, variation, cart and checkout problems in a WooCommerce shop. See how we look after shops.
Site email that does not arrive
We set up and troubleshoot site email delivery (SMTP, SPF and DKIM). See domains, DNS, SSL and email.
Changes and fixes when you ask
Requests come by email, and small changes are simply done. The usual work is content and page updates, theme and plugin updates, and fixes. Anything new, such as extra functionality, is estimated by task first and starts once you agree.
Monthly work is recorded as a dated list of tasks with hours. On larger retainers we also send a report with a Google Analytics and Search Console summary, which covers:
- traffic sources
- top pages and downloads
- entry pages
- searches on your site that returned nothing
- forms submitted
The report comes with a list of content gaps.
Updates and routine care
We keep WordPress core, your theme and your plugins updated, and we take a fresh copy before major changes. Backups are kept on the hosting account. If something we built should have worked and does not, we fix it.
Domains, DNS, SSL and email
Some clients host with us and others use their own providers, and we work with both.
- SSL. Where we host, we handle SSL renewals.
- DNS. We make DNS changes where we have access. Where someone else holds the DNS, we work out the exact record and coordinate with them.
- Email. We set up and troubleshoot site email delivery (SMTP, SPF and DKIM).
- Moving provider. If you want to move to another provider, we handle the move.
Online shops
A shop has to keep working while customers are using it. Looking after a WooCommerce shop means fixing product, variation, cart and checkout problems, keeping plugins and WooCommerce updated, and keeping supplier or courier connections working. New shop features are quoted separately. For how we build shops, see ecommerce website development.
Taking over a site, and handover
If someone else built or looked after your site, we take it over in this order:
- We first look at it from the outside.
- We ask for hosting access (cPanel preferred).
- We check versions, licences and signs of compromise on a private copy.
- We take a fresh recovery point before changing anything.
We ask you to share access details securely, not in plain email. There is more on taking over sites on our WordPress development page.
Handing over a new site includes testing, a round of revisions and written editing instructions, with administrator training where it is part of the quote. After go-live we can do a walkthrough call or send a short video or guide.
One-off work or a monthly retainer
One-off work
Ask when you need something changed or fixed. One-off work is billed by the hour.
Monthly retainer
A monthly block of hours, or the hours actually used, invoiced monthly. Hosting is billed separately where we host.
You can use either, or both. Both are quoted from your requirements.
What to expect
Maintenance with us is hands-on work that you ask for, so it helps to know where it stops. We do not promise uptime, certificate-expiry alerts or backup cover, and we do not publish response times.
We would rather be plain with you. If a site has become more trouble than it is worth to maintain, we say so, and our website redesign page explains the alternative.
Useful answers
Can you look after a site you did not build?
Yes. If someone else built or looked after your site, we first look at it from the outside. Then we ask for hosting access (cPanel preferred) and check it on a private copy, and we take a fresh recovery point before changing anything.
What do you need to know first?
Your site address, the platform it runs on, where it is hosted, the access you can give us and how often the content changes. Put those in your first message. We ask you to share access details securely, not in plain email.
Is it ad hoc work or a monthly retainer?
Either, or both. One-off work is billed by the hour. A monthly retainer is a monthly block of hours, or the hours actually used, invoiced monthly. Both are quoted from your requirements.
How do requests for changes reach you?
By email. Small changes are simply done. Anything new, such as extra functionality, is estimated by task first and starts once you agree.
Can you fix website email that does not arrive?
Yes. We set up and troubleshoot site email delivery (SMTP, SPF and DKIM).
What to tell us first
To quote, we need your site address, the platform it runs on, where it is hosted, the access you can give us and how often the content changes. Put those in your first message.
Read how a project works, from your first message to handover.
Read how we quote: every project is quoted from your brief and itemised by task.
Related services
Website redesign
When a site has become more trouble than it is worth to maintain, see our website redesign page for the alternative.
Online shops
We build shops as well as look after them. See ecommerce website development.
WordPress development
More on taking over sites is on our WordPress development page.
Website design
Starting a new site? See website design for how a project works.
Have a project in mind?
A new website, a shop, a design refresh or a feature your site is missing: tell us a little about what you need and we will talk through the options.