2024 Website Maintenance Pricing: How Much Should You Pay? (original) (raw)

An Inside Look at WebFX Web Maintenance Pricing

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If you’re looking for accurate estimates on the cost of website maintenance, keep reading for a breakdown of website management costs. Plus, learn what website maintenance pricing includes and get answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about keeping your website up-to-date.

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Learn the basics of website maintenance

So, how much does web maintenance cost? WebFX’s own Lead Web Project Manager, Maggie, breaks down how much businesses typically spend on web maintenance below!

How much does website maintenance cost?

On average, website maintenance costs $3600 – $50,000. The cost of website maintenance varies depending on factors like the size, complexity, and functionality of your website, like whether you need to maintain a CMS or ecommerce functionality. Whether you choose to partner with an agency or freelancer for your web maintenance can also affect your costs.

How much does web maintenance cost by business size?

Like we mentioned above, the cost of web maintenance can vary depending on the size of your business and website. Here’s a break-down of what you can expect to pay based on your business size:

Small businesses (basic website maintenance)

Small businesses typically pay 3600–3600 – 3600–12,000 for website maintenance on average. This lower average costs accounts for your company’s smaller website and scope of the website maintenance you’d need.

Medium-sized businesses (intermediate website maintenance)

Medium-sized businesses typically pay 12,000–12,000 – 12,000–30,000 for website maintenance on average. Due to typically larger sites and the need for more features and functionality, medium-sized businesses will usually pay more to keep their site running and up-to-date than smaller companies.

Larger or enterprise businesses (Advanced website maintenance)

Larger or enterprise businesses typically pay 30,000–30,000 – 30,000–50,000+ on website maintenance on average. Large and enterprise companies typically need a higher level of site maintenance to help them manage larger websites, increased complexity, and additional functionality.

2024 website management costs by website type

When it comes to website management costs, your company’s rates depend heavily on your website. That’s why it’s helpful to break down website maintenance pricing by website type, like ecommerce, small business, or enterprise.

Get an estimate for your website maintenance costs by using the table below!

Data roundup: How do businesses pay for website maintenance?

45%

In-house

Source: WebFX

23%

Freelancer

Source: WebFX

What do website maintenance fees include?

As you browse website maintenance packages pricing, it’s essential to look at what the provider includes with their services. If you purchase a package without looking at the deliverables, you can end up wasting money and getting locked into the wrong service contract.

For the best experience, you want a service provider that includes the following as a part of their website maintenance pricing:

Website Maintenance Service Cost
Domain Name 10to10 to 10to130 per year
SSL Certificate 8to8 to 8to60 per year
Website Hosting 2to2 to 2to500 per month
General Website Upkeep 15to15 to 15to105 per month
Content Management System (CMS) 0to0 to 0to3500 per month
Tech support 0to0 to 0to3000 per month
Ecommerce System Maintenance 5to5 to 5to15 per month
Plugins 0to0 to 0to50 per month

Whether you need all of this will depend upon your business, website, and resources.

For example, if your company operates offline, then you don’t need to worry about maintenance to your ecommerce system. Your business may also have an internal team member to handle technical issues, which can remove tech support expenses from your website maintenance costs.

Keep reading to learn more about each feature of website maintenance pricing.

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8 core website maintenance costs

When researching the average cost for website maintenance, you’ll want to consider these eight factors (mentioned in the table above), which will influence how much website maintenance costs your business.

1. Domain name

Cost: 0.99–0.99 – 0.99–60 per year

A domain name is unique to your business, appearing in your website’s URL. Without a domain name, it’s impossible for users to visit your site, which is why you must pay to renew your domain name each year. If you don’t, someone else could purchase the name and force your company to find a new one.

A domain name URL highlighted in the search bar

On average, businesses pay 0.99–0.99 – 0.99–60 per year to renew their domain name. The cost varies depending upon your domain name and its worth.

2. SSL certificate

Cost: 0–0 – 0–1500 per year

An SSL certificate, also known as a Secure Sockets Layer, protects your company and your site visitors. This certificate works by allowing your site to receive, transfer, and secure sensitive data provided by users or your business.

If you have an active SSL certificate, your website URL will have “https” at the start. Additionally, when in Chrome, users can click the sliding bars icon and see whether your website’s connection is secure

Clicking on the sliding bar in the search bar to show the website security of Penguin Random House

Companies can purchase an SSL certificate for free, but most invest in a paid license. A paid SSL certificate often includes additional features, like customer support and higher encryption rates, which are beneficial for businesses of any size.

Prices for paid SSL certificates range from 0–0 – 0–1500 per year. Some SSL certificates can be more expensive if you have an enterprise-level website, as you need more security than a basic SSL.

3. Website hosting

Cost: 10–10 – 10–200 per month

Like your domain name, website hosting is essential. If you don’t have a hosting provider, it’s impossible for people to access your website. That’s why your business needs to include website hosting costs in your website maintenance budget.

Your business can choose from a few options for website hosting:

  1. Shared host: A shared host costs $2 to $15 per month. It’s the lowest cost option because it hosts your website on a server with several other sites. If you have minimal website traffic, a shared host service can work well.
  2. Website builder: A website builder hosting service, like from Wix or WordPress, costs $3 to $70 per month. This service option provides an excellent solution for small businesses and professional bloggers.
  3. Virtual private server (VPS): A VPS costs $20 to $100 per month. While you share your server, like with shared hosting, you have complete access to your server’s resources because the provider divides the server into multiple virtual servers. You can look at a VPS like an apartment building, with the server representing the building and the virtual servers the apartments.
  4. Cloud hosting: This website hosting option costs anywhere from $10 to $200 per month. Cloud hosting, as the name suggests, is when your website is hosted on virtual servers in the cloud. It’s a good solution for companies that get a lot of traffic but don’t want to pay for a dedicated server.
  5. Dedicated server: A dedicated server costs $80 to $500 or more per month. It’s the most expensive website hosting option, which is why most websites that use a dedicated server have more than 100,000 site visitors per month. With a dedicated server, you have complete access to your own server.

While your business may want to save money by choosing a less expensive website hosting option, it’s essential for your team to select the best one for your site. If you opt for a hosting option that doesn’t meet your current website traffic levels, this can result in a sluggish site and you may lose quality leads.

Today, most people expect a website to load in two seconds or less. If it doesn’t, they go somewhere else to research a product, find a service provider, or spend their money. That’s why your business needs to make the speed of your pages and site a priority.

So, expect to pay anywhere from 3to3 to 3to500 per month to host your website.

4. General website upkeep

Cost: 15−15-15−105 per month

From a user perspective, general website updates keep your site looking fresh and modern, as well as secure. Even if your company, like a home improvement store, processes payments offline, it’s essential to have an online presence that conveys trust and quality.

If you don’t, you exclude yourself from a massive online audience. Like the homeowners, for example, researching local stores for their next home improvement project online. Or, the property managers that need a consistent and reliable supplier for their nearby apartment complex.

Provide your site with routine maintenance, and you can improve the chances of people not only finding your company but also investing in it, whether by visiting your store, calling your team, or purchasing your products or services.

In most instances, general website upkeep from a professional provider includes updates to your:

  1. Webpages
  2. Content
  3. Media
  4. Navigation
  5. Files
  6. Links
  7. Forms
  8. Background images
  9. Colors

When it comes to website upkeep, most companies spend 15to15 to 15to105 per month.

Keep in mind that what your provider includes in your package as website maintenance will vary. Most companies will only do small updates and changes that maintain the quality and functionality of your website.

For example, if you’re launching a seasonal sale and need to update your product or service pricing, most website maintenance plans would include that kind of update. If you’re looking for your provider to redesign your product and service pages, however, you can expect a separate fee.

Depending on the requested updates, your business may also need to supply materials like content or images. For instance, if you want to change the copy on a product or service page, you must send that revised copy to your service provider.

If you’re confused about what your website maintenance pricing plan includes, talk to your service provider. With our dedicated account managers (which means you always have one consistent point of contact), it’s stress-free to talk about your account and package.

5. CMS updates

Cost: 3000–3000 – 3000–25,000 per month

With content marketing capable of doubling website conversion rates, it’s not surprising that many businesses have a content marketing strategy. A core part of a content marketing strategy, however, is a content management system (CMS).

A CMS allows you to upload, publish, and manage your website’s content.

A few examples of some go-to CMS applications include:

  1. WordPress
  2. Joomla!
  3. Magento
  4. WooCommerce

homepage for Joomla

In some cases, businesses will build a custom CMS.

Whether you choose a standard or custom CMS, it’s critical for your company to maintain it with security patches and routine updates. With consistent maintenance, your CMS remains secure and functional. Plus, your team can access new features and tools with most updates.

Depending on your CMS, your website maintenance costs may also include a subscription or service fee for using your CMS. WordPress, for example, features several paid service plans. You get billed yearly but pay monthly.

In addition to your service fee, your business also needs to consider the cost of the team updating and maintaining your CMS. If you don’t have the means to support your CMS in-house, you need to partner with an agency that can provide those services.

That’s why businesses can spend between 3000–3000 – 3000–25,000 per month on their CMS.

6. Tech support

Cost: 0−0-0−3500 per month

A website can experience a variety of issues, from broken contact forms to server errors. That’s why website maintenance pricing includes technical support from your provider. With this service, your team can forward site issues for your provider to fix.

In most cases, service agreements specify turnaround times for issues.

As an example, a basic website maintenance pricing package may include a turnaround time of five business days while a premium plan offers a turnaround time of two business days. Expect to pay more if you want a faster turnaround time.

Before your partner with a provider, review their turnaround times and make sure they meet your company’s needs. You may have to find another provider or opt for a higher-priced plan to match your standards if they don’t.

It’s essential to remember, as well as to explain to company decision makers, that tech support is critical. With professional assistance, you ensure the functionality of your website. Without tech support, it’s up to your in-house team to fix difficult situations, like broken shopping carts, quickly.

If you have an in-house person to provide technical support, you won’t have to worry about added costs. So, as a result, technical support can cost anywhere from 0to0 to 0to3500 per month.

7. Ecommerce system support

Cost: 5000–5000 – 5000–30,000

If you’re an ecommerce business, then you understand the essential role of your payment system. Without your payment system, it becomes impossible to accept, process, and fulfill orders, which decreases your revenue severely.

Online shopping cart with a book in it for purchase

That’s why ecommerce system support is essential for your company.

With ecommerce system support, your service provider keeps your system secure, up-to-date, and live. Like tech support, your team can also submit tickets when system errors appear. For example, maybe shoppers aren’t receiving an order confirmation email.

Depending on your provider, they may look at tech support and ecommerce system support separately. That means your business needs to pay for tech support, plus ecommerce system support to keep your website operational.

As with tech support, ecommerce system support will include an estimated turnaround time. Again, expect higher website maintenance costs if you want a faster turnaround time. For many ecommerce businesses, expedited turnaround time is worth the investment.

In most cases, ecommerce companies spend 5000–5000 – 5000–30,000 for ecommerce system support.

8. Plugins

Cost: 0−0-0−50 per month

Many website builders only come with the basic features you need to build a website. If you want something extra, like a form creator or search engine optimization (SEO) help, you need to install a plugin (or the platform’s equivalent — e.g. apps on Shopify).

Homepage for Shopify apps

Plugins help you add the features you need to create a more functional website, but the cost for them varies greatly. Some plugins are free no matter what, while others have a free version and a paid version with advanced features. Other plugins come at a cost right out the gate, which can vary greatly.

On average, businesses will pay 0−0-0−50 per month on plugins for their website. The cost will vary dpeending upon how many plugins you use on your webiste, and how many of them are free.

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Get custom website maintenance pricing for your website

Now that you know the average cost for website maintenance, it’s time to find a provider in your budget.

If you’re looking for website maintenance services from a trusted provider, WebFX is a leading choice. With more than 28 years of experience, plus an award-winning team of designers and web developers, we can ensure your website performs for your business.

Plus, as a full-service digital marketing agency, we can help optimize your website to deliver even better results. With SEO, conversion rate optimization (CRO), and website redesign services, we can help you earn more from the web — even if you operate offline.

Learn why 91% of our clients stick with us by contacting us online today.

If you need immediate assistance, call us at 888-601-5359 to chat with a strategist now!

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FAQs about website maintenance costs

If you have questions about website maintenance, check out this helpful FAQ from our developers!

What is website maintenance?

Website maintenance is a routine process of inspecting and updating your website to industry standards, as well as company changes. With website maintenance, for example, you ensure your site features the latest prices for your services or images of your product.

You also make sure your website adheres to industry standards for security and data protection. This process is critical since more businesses, even those that operate offline, support online transactions. For instance, a heating and oil company may allow shoppers to pay their bill online.

Like maintaining your vehicle, website maintenance is essential to keep your business running smoothly.

Why should I invest in website maintenance?

When it comes to website maintenance, the biggest question people ask is why — Why do I need to invest in website maintenance anyway?

Think of your website like a car. It’s good to do routine maintenance on your car to ensure everything’s running properly and that your car is safe to drive. If you ignore the routine maintenance of your car, it may break down and lead to costly repairs.

Your website is no different. Doing regular maintenance ensures your website runs smoothly and, if there are any problems, you fix any issues fast. It ensures you avoid bigger problems in the future, too.

Here’s a great example: Imagine you have a WordPress website and you’re using a security plugin to protect shoppers’ information. You decide not to do regular website maintenance, which means you don’t update your plugin, and you don’t check to make sure it’s in working order.

Three months later, you find out that a hacker was able to take advantage of your lack of maintenance and now all your customers’ information has been stolen. Your reputation is damaged, and now you have to spend all your time trying to recover.

Regular website maintenance is an investment, but it’s a worthwhile investment to prevent larger problems and costs in the future.

Why pay for website maintenance?

Companies may invest in third-party website maintenance services for a variety of reasons, including:

  1. Small in-house development team
  2. High costs for internal management
  3. Limited resources for in-house management

In most cases, it makes sense for businesses to partner with a service provider that features a dedicated team of developers, like WebFX. That way, you get skilled experts maintaining your website, rather than having to spend the time learning how to do it yourself.

Should I maintain my website myself or hire a website maintenance professional?

Many businesses will try to handle their website maintenance in-house in an effort to cut costs. While it’s certainly an option, it may not be the best course of action. Your website’s maintenance is crucial to maintaining your security and keeping your website functional.

If you don’t have experience with website maintenance, you run the risk of making problems worse or feeling frustrated that you don’t know how to fix a problem. Relying on professionals can make website maintenance headache-free, so you can focus on more pressing business tasks.

So, consider your answers to these questions to determine if you should handle website maintenance in-house or partner with an agency:

If you answered “no” to one or more of these, hiring a website maintenance company may be the best option.

How often should a website have maintenance?

A website should receive maintenance at least once a year, which generally includes:

  1. Domain name, SSL certificate, and website hosting renewal
  2. CMS updates and security patches
  3. Ecommerce system updates

Now that website maintenance includes more than domain name renewals and website hosting updates, it’s becoming critical for companies to maintain their website on a more frequent basis. That’s why many service providers offer monthly plans.

With a monthly plan, your company’s website receives regular updates, as well as fixes to bugs, content, and images. It’s a proactive approach that helps your site remain accurate and provide users with the latest information on your products, services, and accomplishments.

Why do website maintenance packages pricing vary so much?

Prices for website maintenance have a wide range due to several factors, including:

  1. Your website’s size
  2. Your website’s complexity
  3. Your service provider’s experience
  4. Your service provider’s resources
  5. Your website maintenance service selection

Many providers will give you a one-size-fits-all plan, which can lead to you paying for things you don’t need. Some agencies will offer a lot in their website maintenance packages, which will cost more, while others only offer basic maintenance tasks, which costs less.

The cost will always vary depending upon what’s in the service, who’s providing it, and how often you’re opting for maintenance.

How much does monthly website maintenance cost?

The average price for monthly website maintenance is $20 to $5000 per month. Depending on your business and website, you may spend a different amount. That’s why it’s helpful to use this monthly average as a reference rather than a standard.

To put the variance of monthly website maintenance pricing in perspective, think about the maintenance for a massive and complex ecommerce site like Target. Due to the size and complexity of Target, it makes sense that Target would exceed this monthly average.

In comparison, a local coffee shop may have website maintenance fees of less than $35 per month. They have a small, simple site without ecommerce functionality. Plus, they get their SSL certificate for free. Those features simplify their upkeep tasks and reduce their costs.

If you’re searching for an accurate estimate for monthly website maintenance costs, get started by looking at your current expenses. You can find what you pay for your domain name and website hosting, for example, as well as if you have any additional CMS fees.

How much does website maintenance cost per year?

The average cost for website maintenance each year is 300to300 to 300to60,000. While you may pay for some services on a monthly basis like tech support and website updates, other website maintenance fees require an annual payment.

A few examples of services that usually require upfront payment for the year include:

  1. Domain name
  2. SSL certificate
  3. Website hosting

When you build your website maintenance budget, your team should research which services mandate upfront payment for the year. This approach allows your department to secure these funds immediately versus over time.

If you’re looking to partner with a service provider for website maintenance, many operate on a per-month pricing plan. WebFX, for example, offers monthly service plans to give your company and your team the flexibility and convenience of modifying your package.

Should I outsource or DIY my website maintenance?

While you can lower your website maintenance costs by managing and maintaining your site in-house, there are some downsides. You’ll need to have the time, for example, as well as the development background to maintain your site successfully.

In comparison, outsourcing increases your web maintenance costs. It does save you time, though, as well as connects you with an experienced developer or development team. You can outsource your website maintenance to freelancers, contractors, or even agencies like WebFX.

Unless you (or your company) has the experience and time to maintain your website in-house, it’s often better to outsource the task. That way, you ensure your site remains secure, accessible, and functional year-round.

How do I decide which website maintenance provider is best?

When looking for the right website maintenance provider, it’s important to know what to look for in an agency or freelancer.

Even though pricing is a critical factor, you shouldn’t use it as the only deciding factor.

Fixating on website maintenance pricing can result in your company partnering with an inexperienced, unresponsive provider. It may feel like you’re saving money now, but it’ll end up costing you more down the line. That’s why businesses need to look at price as a component rather than as a decision maker when comparing service providers.

Here are some others factors to consider:

Take all of these factors into consideration when trying to choose a website maintenance provider to ensure you get the best one for your business.