Sound familiar?
- Your dashboard shows a long list of pending updates
- You do not know when the site was last backed up, or whether the backup works
- You only find out the site is down when a customer tells you
- Your host has warned that your PHP version is being retired
- Premium plugin or extension licences have quietly expired
- Small text and image changes sit on a to-do list for months
Key facts
- Essential £25 a month + VAT: updates applied and checked, daily backups, uptime and security monitoring
- Business £50 a month + VAT: adds 1 hour of fixes or changes a month and priority support
- Complete £99 a month + VAT: 3 hours a month plus IT and Microsoft 365 helpdesk
- A backup is taken before updates, and key pages and forms are checked after
- Works with WordPress, WooCommerce, Joomla, Drupal, Magento, PrestaShop and OpenCart
- No long setup: we start with a health check of your current site
What website maintenance actually involves
Maintenance is the routine work that stops a website from breaking or being hacked. It is less exciting than a redesign, but it is what keeps the site earning. On a dijitul plan, it covers:
- Updates applied and checked: CMS core, plugins or extensions, and themes. We do not just click update; we check the home page, key pages, forms and checkout afterwards.
- Daily backups: files and database, stored away from your web server, so a hacked or failed server does not take the backups with it. See website backups.
- Uptime monitoring: the site is checked around the clock and we are alerted if it stops responding. See website downtime monitoring.
- Security monitoring: watching for known vulnerabilities in installed software, suspicious file changes and blocklist warnings. See website security.
Why monthly maintenance matters
Software you never update becomes software with known holes. Patchstack's State of WordPress Security report recorded 11,334 new vulnerabilities in the WordPress ecosystem in 2025, a 42% increase on 2024. Joomla, Drupal, Magento and PrestaShop all publish their own security releases too. Automated attacks scan the web for those exact versions within days of disclosure.
At the same time, hosts retire old PHP versions, SSL and payment integrations change, and browsers drop support for old code. A site left alone for two years often needs a much bigger fix than one updated monthly. Regular, small updates are cheaper than one large emergency.
Our maintenance routine
- Backup: fresh backup before any change.
- Review: check changelogs for major releases, such as page builder jumps, WooCommerce database updates or a new Joomla or Drupal minor version.
- Update: apply core, plugin, extension and theme updates.
- Check: load key pages, submit a test form, test checkout on shops, and scan the browser console and server error log.
- Roll back if needed: if an update breaks something, we restore the previous version and look for a compatible fix.
- Report: a record of what was updated and anything that needs your decision, such as a plugin that has been abandoned by its developer.
For larger version jumps, such as PHP version upgrades or major CMS releases, we plan the work with you; complex upgrades are quoted.
Choosing the right plan
| Plan | Price | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Essential | £25 a month + VAT | Brochure sites that rarely change: updates applied and checked, daily backups, uptime and security monitoring |
| Business | £50 a month + VAT | Sites and shops that need regular tweaks: everything in Essential plus 1 hour of fixes or changes each month and priority support |
| Complete | £99 a month + VAT | Businesses wanting one supplier for web and office IT: 3 hours a month plus IT and Microsoft 365 helpdesk |
Fix time on Business and Complete can be used for content updates, small design changes or fixes. Work beyond your included time is £45 an hour + VAT. Full details on our pricing page.
What maintenance does not include
Being clear about scope avoids surprises. The Essential plan covers routine updates, backups and monitoring. It does not include new features, design changes, content updates or fixing problems unrelated to an update; those are £45 an hour + VAT, or come out of the included hours on Business and Complete.
Major version upgrades, such as Joomla 4 to 5, Drupal 10 to 11, Magento 2.4.6 to 2.4.8, or a WordPress site that has not been updated for years, are planned and quoted separately because they can take several hours. Hosting fees, domain renewals and premium plugin licences are paid to those suppliers directly. If an expired licence blocks an update, we tell you before it becomes a problem.
Hosted platforms
On Shopify, Wix and Squarespace the provider applies the software updates and runs the servers, so there is nothing to patch. Maintenance there means keeping apps, content, DNS and integrations in order. See Shopify support and Wix and Squarespace support. For self-hosted sites, see WordPress support or our main website support page.
What it costs
Support plans from £25 a month + VAT, or £45 an hour + VAT for one-off fixes. Pick a plan if you want it looked after every month, or pay by the hour for a one-off job.
Essential
Keep it updated, backed up and watched.
- Website software updates (core, plugins, themes) applied and checked
- Daily backups
- Uptime monitoring
- Security monitoring
Business
Updates plus an hour of fixes every month.
- Everything in Essential
- 1 hour of fixes or changes every month
- Priority support
Complete
Website and your team's IT, covered.
- Everything in Business
- 3 hours of fixes or changes every month
- IT and Microsoft 365 helpdesk for your team
No plan? The first 30 minutes are the minimum charge, then we bill in 15-minute blocks.
Frequently asked questions
How much does website maintenance cost in the UK?
dijitul's website maintenance plans are £25, £50 or £99 a month + VAT. All include updates applied and checked, daily backups, uptime monitoring and security monitoring. Higher plans add monthly fix time and priority support. Ad-hoc work is £45 an hour + VAT.
How often should a website be updated?
Security releases should be applied as soon as practical, and routine plugin and theme updates at least monthly. Leaving updates for months makes each one riskier. dijitul applies updates with a backup first and checks the site afterwards.
Does the Essential plan include fixes?
Essential at £25 a month + VAT covers updates applied and checked, daily backups and monitoring, including rolling back an update that causes a problem. Other fixes and changes are £45 an hour + VAT, or included in Business and Complete.
Are backups kept off my server?
Yes. dijitul stores daily backups away from your web server, so if the server fails, is hacked or is suspended by the host, a clean copy of your files and database is still available for us to restore.
Do I need maintenance on Shopify, Wix or Squarespace?
Those platforms update their own software, so there is nothing to patch. You may still want help with content, apps, DNS and integrations, which dijitul offers ad hoc at £45 an hour + VAT or within a plan.
What happens if an update breaks my site?
On every dijitul plan a backup is taken before updates and key pages are checked afterwards. If an update causes a problem, we roll back the plugin, extension or theme, or restore the backup, then look for a compatible fix.
Related
Hand it over and stop worrying
Updates, backups, monitoring and fixes from £25 a month + VAT. Real UK people on the phone.