Most people think of a website as a one-time purchase. You pay to have it built, and then it just sits there working. In real life, a website is more like a car. It runs fine for a while, but it needs oil changes, and if you skip them long enough, something eventually quits on you at a bad time.
So what does website maintenance cost? Here’s what the work actually is, what real companies charge for it today, and how to decide whether to do it yourself or pay someone.
What website maintenance actually includes
“Maintenance” gets used loosely, so here’s what I mean by it:
- Hosting and the security certificate. Keeping the site online and showing the padlock in the browser.
- Software updates. If your site runs on WordPress, the core software, the theme, and the plugins all get updates. Some fix security holes. Skipping them is how a lot of small sites get hacked.
- Backups. A saved copy of your site you can go back to if something breaks.
- Uptime watching. Something that notices when your site goes down and tells someone.
- Form checks. Making sure the contact form still delivers messages. A broken form is one of the quietest ways to lose customers, because nobody tells you.
- Content changes. New hours, a new service, a price change, a fresh photo.
- Domain renewal. Making sure your address doesn’t lapse.
If you want the step-by-step version, my monthly website maintenance checklist walks through each one.
What website maintenance costs: real price ranges
Prices are all over the place, so here are real numbers from real companies, as of the date at the bottom of this post.
The pieces you’ll pay for no matter what
- Domain: a .com is $11.08 a year at Porkbun, a domain registrar.
- Hosting: WebFX, a large marketing agency, puts website hosting at $2 to $500 a month in its maintenance pricing guide. That’s a big range because a tiny brochure site and a busy online store need very different setups.
- Security certificate: WebFX lists $8 to $60 a year, though many hosts now include one for free.
Do-it-yourself tools
If you run a WordPress site and want to handle it yourself, tools can cover part of the job. Jetpack Security, which adds backups and malware scanning, is $19.95 a month billed yearly, with half off the first year. Jetpack Complete is $49.95 a month billed yearly, also half off the first year.
If you’re on a builder like Wix or Squarespace, updates and hosting are part of your monthly plan. You’re still on the hook for keeping the content current and checking your forms.
Paying someone
Here are a few real published price lists:
- WP Buffs, a WordPress care company, lists plans at $89, $179, $239, and $359 a month per site.
- WebFX says general upkeep runs $15 to $105 a month, and puts small businesses at $3,600 to $12,000 a year all in for maintenance. That wider number includes things like hosting, support, and content work.
Those ranges are wide because “maintenance” can mean anything from “run the updates” to “have a whole team on call.”
DIY or pay someone?
Doing it yourself is cheaper in dollars. It costs time instead, and it depends on you remembering. Here’s an honest way to decide:
DIY makes sense if your site is on a builder that handles updates for you, you change things rarely, and you’re comfortable logging in and poking around.
Paying someone makes sense if your site runs on WordPress, you don’t want to think about updates and backups, or you’ve ever put off a website change for months because it felt like a hassle.
The biggest risk with DIY isn’t doing it wrong. It’s not doing it at all. Updates pile up, a plugin breaks, and nobody notices the contact form stopped working in March.
What a good monthly plan should include
Whoever you hire, make sure you know what you’re getting. A fair plan should spell out:
- Hosting and the security certificate
- Updates, done for you
- Backups you can actually restore
- Someone watching whether the site is up
- Spam protection on your forms
- A set number of content changes each month
- How to reach a real person, and how fast they’ll answer
- That you own your domain and your content
If a plan is vague about any of those, ask. You should be able to get a plain answer.
How my plans handle maintenance
When I set up my affordable small business websites, I kept it to two prices: the build, and one small monthly price that includes the upkeep, so you’re not buying maintenance as an extra.
- The build, $499 once: up to 5 pages, built for all devices, on your own web address. Pay it all at once, or start with $99 down and pay $50 a month with no interest.
- Keep It Running, from $50 a month: hosting, the security certificate, backups, alerts if the site goes down, and 1 small change a month. The longer you sign for, the lower the monthly price: $50 a month when you sign 3 years, $65 a month when you sign 2 years, $79 a month when you sign 1 year, $99 a month with no term.
- Only what you need on top: business email is $12 a month per person, an extra page is $75, a website with an online store is $999 in all. Every extra has its price listed up front.
You can call or text me directly. You sign only for the hosting term, and you own your website and domain. When the term is up, stay or go; if you go, I hand everything over free.
If you already have a site and just want someone to look after it, my web design and hosting page covers that too.
The short version
Website maintenance costs anywhere from a few dollars a month if you do it all yourself to a few hundred if you hire a full-service company. What matters most is that it actually gets done. Pick the option you’ll stick with.
Not sure what shape your site is in? Run it through my free website check, look over the affordable website prices, or send me a note and I’ll take a look.
Frequently asked questions
How much does website maintenance cost per month?
It depends on who does it. DIY tools like Jetpack run about $10 to $50 a month. Care companies like WP Buffs list plans from $89 to $359 a month. Mine includes hosting and starts at $50 a month when you sign for 3 years.
Is hosting part of website maintenance?
Usually, yes. Some companies bill hosting separately, so ask. With me, hosting is included.
What happens if I skip maintenance?
Often nothing, for a while. Then an outdated plugin opens a security hole, a form quietly stops sending, or the domain lapses. Small, regular checks are cheaper than fixing a hacked or broken site.
Can I do website maintenance myself?
Yes. If you’re comfortable logging in and running updates, my monthly checklist covers what to check.
Sources
Prices below were checked on 2026-09-30. Companies change their prices, so check the source before you buy.
- Porkbun, .com domain pricing: https://porkbun.com/tld/com
- WebFX, website maintenance pricing (updated December 19, 2025): https://www.webfx.com/web-development/pricing/website-maintenance/
- Jetpack pricing: https://jetpack.com/pricing/
- WP Buffs pricing: https://wpbuffs.com/pricing/