Website maintenance costs $0–$199/month depending on who does it. Here's what each option really covers — and the true cost of skipping it.
A website is software, and software needs maintenance. Skip it and the question isn't if something breaks — it's when. Here's what maintenance actually costs in 2026, and what you get at each level.
Option 1: Do it yourself — $0 (plus your time)
Feasible if you're technical and disciplined. Budget 2–3 hours monthly for updates, backups, security checks, and uptime monitoring. The hidden cost: your time, and the risk you forget for three months and get hacked.
Option 2: Basic professional care — around $20/month (first 30 days free)
The essentials handled for you: hosting, security, backups, monitoring, and minor updates. Your site stays fast, online, and safe while you think about anything else. This is my Basic Care plan.
Option 3: Business care — around $40/month
Everything above, plus monthly content updates (new photos, changed prices, fresh news), performance and SEO monitoring, analytics review, and priority support. Right for businesses whose website actively drives leads. That's Business Care.
Option 4: Growth care — around $80/month
Adds ongoing SEO work, conversion optimization, content assistance, and a monthly performance review with priority development time. For businesses treating their website as a primary growth channel. See the Growth plan.
What happens without maintenance
- **Hacks and malware.** Outdated software is the #1 way small business sites get compromised — and recovery costs far more than prevention.
- **Slow decay.** Forms silently stop working. SSL certificates expire. Pages slow down as the web moves on.
- **Ranking losses.** Google notices neglected sites and quietly demotes them.
- **The emergency tax.** When a neglected site finally breaks, fixing it urgently costs 3–5x what steady maintenance would have.
The honest math
At $20/month, maintenance costs $240 a year — less than one lost customer for most businesses. And unlike your website build, it's optional and cancel-anytime. If you'd rather own everything yourself, I'll happily hand over a fully documented site and show you how to maintain it.
*Want your site looked after? Choose a care plan — or if your site already has issues, start with a free audit.*
