In this guide: WordPress maintenance plans: why they work, what to include, pricing tiers, tools to automate the work, and how to sell care plans to clients.
Many web designers finish a project, get paid, and move on — then chase the next project. Maintenance plans change that. By offering ongoing care for the websites you build, you create recurring revenue and give clients peace of mind.
Why maintenance plans work
For clients:
- Their website stays secure, updated, and backed up.
- Problems are fixed quickly by someone who knows the site.
- They can focus on their business.
For you:
- Predictable monthly income.
- Stronger client relationships and more repeat projects.
- Higher business value — recurring revenue makes your business more stable.
Websites need ongoing care. Without it, outdated plugins create security risks, and a hacked or broken site costs clients far more than a maintenance plan.
What to include
Core services (most plans):
- WordPress core, theme, and plugin updates (with testing).
- Automated backups — daily, stored off-site — see How to Set Up Automatic Backups.
- Security monitoring and malware scanning — see WordPress Security Checklist.
- Uptime monitoring with alerts.
- Monthly report summarizing work done.
Common add-ons (higher tiers):
- Support/content edit time (e.g., 30–120 minutes per month).
- Performance optimization and speed monitoring.
- Hosting (managed by you).
- SEO monitoring and basic improvements.
- Staging for major updates.
- Malware cleanup included (instead of billed separately).
- Priority support and faster response times.
- Analytics reports with insights.
- Quarterly strategy calls.
Define clearly what’s NOT included:
- New features, redesigns, or new pages (quoted separately).
- Content creation.
- Third-party software license costs (unless included).
Pricing tiers
Example structure (set your prices based on your market, costs, and value):
| Basic | Business | Premium | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Updates | Monthly | Weekly | Weekly + staging tests |
| Backups | Daily | Daily | Real-time/multiple daily |
| Security scans | Weekly | Daily | Daily + firewall management |
| Uptime monitoring | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Support time | — | 30–60 min/month | 2 hours/month |
| Performance optimization | — | Quarterly | Monthly |
| Malware cleanup | Paid | Included | Included |
| Reports | Monthly | Monthly | Monthly + strategy call |
| Response time | 48 hours | 24 hours | Same business day |
Pricing tips:
- Calculate the real time each site takes per month, plus tool costs.
- Price based on value and risk, not just time — an online store is more critical than a brochure site.
- Offer annual billing with a discount.
- Charge more for stores, membership sites, and complex sites.
Tools to automate
- Management dashboards: MainWP, ManageWP, WP Umbrella, BlogVault, and similar tools for bulk updates, backups, uptime, and white-label reports — see Hosting for Agencies.
- Backups: host backups plus an independent service.
- Security: Wordfence, Patchstack, or host-level tools.
- Uptime monitoring: UptimeRobot, Better Stack — see Best Uptime Monitoring Tools.
- Visual regression testing: tools that compare screenshots before and after updates.
- Helpdesk/ticketing: for tracking support requests and time used.
- Billing automation: recurring invoices via Stripe, WHMCS, or your invoicing tool.
Selling the plan
- Include maintenance in every proposal — present it as part of protecting their investment — see How to Write a Website Proposal That Wins.
- Explain the risk: outdated plugins are a common cause of hacks; downtime and cleanups cost more than prevention.
- Offer it at launch when the value is clear.
- Offer a free “health check” to existing clients to show issues their site has.
- Send great reports — visible value reduces cancellations.
- Use a simple agreement covering scope, response times, and billing terms.
- Onboard new sites properly: audit, backup, security hardening, and documentation.
Further reading: official WordPress documentation
Key Takeaways: WordPress Maintenance Plans
- Maintenance plans provide recurring revenue and protect client websites.
- Include updates, backups, security scanning, monitoring, and reports.
- Offer tiered plans with clear inclusions and exclusions.
- Automate with management dashboards and monitoring tools.
- Sell plans in every proposal and prove value with monthly reports.