The site is live. Everyone's happy. The developer sends the final invoice. And then? Silence.

Six months later the client calls: "The contact form stopped working." Or: "The site takes forever to load." Or worse: "We got hacked."

That's the moment most people realise: a website isn't a purchase you tick off. It's a system that needs care. Like a car. Or a house. Ignore it and you pay double later.

What maintenance actually means — and what it doesn't

When agencies sell "maintenance", they usually mean a package: apply updates, pull backups, security scan, monthly report. That's fine as far as it goes. But it's only half the story.

Real maintenance that keeps a website running has three layers:

Technical layer (what most people mean). CMS updates, plugin updates, PHP versions, SSL certificates, server patches. It's craft. It has to happen regularly, automated or manual. Skip it and the site becomes insecure or breaks on the next browser release.

Content layer (the one that gets forgotten). New references, updated hours, changed prices, new team members, blog posts that show: someone's active here. Google and visitors reward freshness. A site that hasn't changed in two years feels dead — even if it technically runs.

Strategic layer (nobody sells it, everyone needs it). Do the forms still work? Do enquiries land in the right inbox? Does the site load fast on the new iPhone? Do we still rank for the keywords that matter? That's not "maintenance" in the classic sense — but it decides whether the website does its job.

What you actually need — and what you can skip

Do you need a maintenance contract?

If you use a CMS (WordPress, Webflow, Kirby, Statamic…): Yes, someone has to run updates. You, a team member, or you pay someone. There's no "runs by itself".

If you have a static site (Astro, Next.js static export, Hugo…): Technical updates are rare. No CMS, no plugins, no database. You handle hosting, SSL, domains — but that's mostly it. That's one reason I build static for many clients: less ongoing hassle.

What a fair maintenance contract includes

  • Updates (CMS, plugins, theme) — promptly after release, tested on staging
  • Backups — daily, automated, stored off-site, test-restorable
  • Monitoring — uptime, load time, SSL — with alerts, not just a monthly PDF report
  • Security — malware scans, firewall rules, strong passwords, 2FA for admin access
  • Small tweaks — copy changes, image swaps, hours updates — within a defined allowance (e.g. 30 min/month) included

What you don't need

  • Monthly SEO reports that just show data you can see in Search Console yourself.
  • "Performance optimisation" that re-runs the same image compression every quarter.
  • Hour buckets that expire if you don't use them — that's burning money.
  • Lock-in that forces you to run every tiny change through the same provider.

How to price it fairly

My model: Flat fee for the predictable. Hourly for the unpredictable.

  • Technical updates, backups, monitoring → monthly flat (e.g. €50–150, depending on complexity).
  • Content changes, new pages, feature work → hourly, billed as incurred.

That way you're not paying for air, but you also don't get a surprise when a major WordPress update breaks a plugin.

What you can do yourself — and where you need pros

Do it yourself (if you can spare 15 min/month):

  • Content updates (copy, images, references)
  • Google Business Profile updates
  • Form testing (send yourself a test enquiry once a quarter)
  • Search Console check (errors, indexing, Core Web Vitals)

Call a pro:

  • CMS/plugin updates that can break layouts
  • Server config, PHP versions, caching
  • Security incidents (hack, malware, defacement)
  • Big migrations (hosting change, domain change, relaunch)

The honest answer

If you ask me: "Do I need a maintenance contract?" — my answer: It depends.

  • Static site, few changes, technically comfortable? Handle the basics yourself (backups, monitoring, SSL), pay hourly only when something comes up.
  • WordPress with lots of plugins, regular content, no time/interest in tech? A fair flat-fee plan saves you stress and emergency bills.
  • Somewhere in between? Talk to someone who isn't trying to sell you a €200/month package by default.

I offer both: hourly for those who can self-serve. Flat fee for those who want peace of mind. And I'll tell you upfront what makes sense for your site — not what maximises my revenue.

The site is live. The real job starts now.