What a good plan includes
- Security updates for the website software, plugins and themes, and for the server itself, including the PHP version where there is one
- Backups kept off the server, with restores tested
- Uptime monitoring, so someone knows when the site goes down before your customers do
- Security certificate (HTTPS) renewed automatically
- Small content changes, with a clear allowance (for example, minutes per month)
- A named person to contact and a promised response time
- Simple reporting: what was updated, any problems found, how the site is performing
Five questions to ask your web person
- Who updates the server software, and when was it last done? (A good test: ask whether you were patched for PHP2Shell.)
- Where are the backups kept, and when did you last restore one?
- Who owns our domain name, and is it registered in our company's name?
- If we leave, what do we get to take with us?
- How quickly will you respond if the site goes down?
Warning signs you're paying for nothing
- The site's software or PHP version is years out of date
- Nobody can say when the last backup was tested
- The domain is registered in the designer's name, not yours
- Small changes take weeks or trigger surprise invoices
What should it cost?
It depends on the site. A simple brochure site needs far less looking after than an online shop. Pay for what's included, not the badge.
Our own starter websites for new businesses are £50 to set up, then £30 a month, including hosting, security, monitoring and up to 30 minutes of updates a month. Your domain stays in your name. For bigger sites we give a fixed quote. And if you'd just like to know whether your current plan is doing its job, our £100 website audit will tell you.
