A good website care plan should include reliable, fast hosting, a free SSL certificate, automatic daily backups you can restore from, regular security and software updates, and a set amount of time each month for small changes. It should also be clear about who owns the website, domain and content, and what happens if you leave. If a plan can’t answer those questions plainly, keep looking.
Once your website is live, someone needs to look after it. You can do that yourself, or pay a small monthly fee for a care plan (sometimes called a maintenance or hosting plan). Here’s what that fee should actually get you.
Why a website needs looking after at all
A website isn’t like a printed leaflet. It sits on a server that’s connected to the internet day and night, and the software behind it needs updating. Left alone, things gradually go wrong: a security certificate expires, a contact form stops sending, a plugin goes out of date, or an old price sits there for a year because nobody had time to change it.
A care plan is simply a way of making sure someone is responsible for all of that.
The essentials every plan should include
Fast, reliable hosting
Hosting is where your website lives. Good hosting keeps your site online and quick to load, which matters for both visitors and Google. Slow hosting costs you customers, so a care plan built on the cheapest server going is a false economy. If you’re not sure what hosting actually is, my guide to domains, hosting and email explains it in plain English.
SSL (the padlock)
SSL is what makes your address start with https and shows the padlock in the browser. Without it, browsers warn visitors that your site is “not secure”. It should be included free and renewed automatically. Be wary of anyone charging extra for it.
Daily backups
Things go wrong occasionally: a bad update, a mistake, a hacked password. Backups mean your site can be put back as it was. Ask:
- How often are backups taken? Daily is a sensible standard.
- How long are they kept?
- Are they stored somewhere separate from the website itself?
- How quickly can a backup be restored, and is that included in the price?
Security and software updates
Every website relies on software of some kind, and that software gets updated to fix bugs and close security holes. Sites built on WordPress and plugins need this especially often. A care plan should cover these updates and check that nothing breaks afterwards.
Time for small changes
This is the part people use most. New opening hours, a price change, a fresh photo, a new team member. A good plan includes a clear amount of time each month for small edits like these, so you’re not waiting on a quote for every little job.
Things worth asking before you sign up
The essentials are only half the story. The small print matters just as much:
- Who owns the website? You should own your code, domain and content, whatever happens to the plan.
- Can you leave? Look for a monthly rolling plan, not a long contract with exit fees.
- What happens if you cancel? You should be able to take a full copy of your site and move it elsewhere.
- Whose name is the domain in? It should be yours, not the designer’s.
- How do you ask for help? Email, phone or WhatsApp, and roughly how quickly you’ll hear back.
- What isn’t included? Business email, new pages or redesign work are often extra, and that’s fine as long as you know.
What it should cost
Care plans for small business websites typically range from roughly £25 to £100 a month, depending on what’s included and how the site is built. A lightweight, hand-coded site is cheaper and simpler to look after than a heavy WordPress site full of plugins. If you’re comparing options, my post on what a website costs covers the other running costs to budget for too.
The cheapest plan isn’t always the best value. Paying a little more for someone who answers quickly and actually checks your site is usually worth it.
Do you need one at all?
Not always. If you’re comfortable with tech, have a very simple site and don’t mind handling hosting, renewals and backups yourself, you might be fine going it alone.
A care plan makes the most sense if:
- You’d rather spend your time running your business than learning about servers.
- Your website brings in enquiries or sales, so downtime costs you money.
- You make small updates fairly regularly.
- You’d like one person to call when something looks wrong.
What Solent Web’s care plan includes
Solent Web’s care & hosting plan starts from £35 a month and includes fast, secure hosting, SSL, daily backups, security updates and up to an hour of small changes each month. You own your code, domain and content, so you’re never locked in.
If you’d also like help being found locally, the Growth plan (from £79 a month) adds Google Business Profile updates, directory listings and a short monthly report. Got questions first? Have a look at the FAQ, or drop me a line and I’ll happily talk you through it.