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Website Maintenance & Support

Website maintenance and support for the site you already have

We look after websites built on WordPress, Shopify, other CMS platforms and custom code, including ones we did not build. Updates, security, backups, speed and fixes are handled on a plan that fits the size of your site.

Website Development

What is website maintenance and support?

Website maintenance and support is the regular care of a live website: applying software updates, monitoring uptime and security, keeping backups, fixing bugs, tuning performance and making small content or design changes. It keeps a site safe, fast and working as the platform, plugins and browsers around it keep changing.

A website is never finished once it launches. Core software, plugins, hosting and browsers all change, and a site that is ignored for a year becomes slower, less secure and more fragile with every missed update. Most hacked or broken sites share one story: nobody was responsible for looking after them.

We take that responsibility, whatever the site runs on. We start with a health check covering software versions, security, backups, speed, uptime and search errors, then agree a plan: a small monthly retainer for routine care, a pool of hours for changes, or a one-off clean-up to bring the site back to a healthy state.

You get a single contact, a clear list of what is covered and plain monthly reports showing what was updated, what was found and what we recommend. If you ever want to move to another team, you receive full documentation and access.

Challenges

The problems we are usually brought in to solve

  • Updates nobody applies

    Outdated core software and plugins are the most common route for attackers, but updating blindly can break the site.

  • No working backup

    Many sites have backups that were never tested or sit on the same server, so a failure or hack becomes a crisis.

  • Slow creep in performance

    New plugins, larger images and extra scripts slowly erode speed until visitors and search engines notice.

  • Bugs after browser or PHP changes

    A site that worked last year can break when hosting upgrades PHP or a browser changes behaviour.

  • Nobody to call

    When something breaks on a Friday, the original agency is unreachable and the freelancer has moved on.

  • Uptime problems found by customers

    Without monitoring, outages, expired SSL certificates and failed forms are reported by customers instead of by alerts.

Capabilities

What the service covers

  • Health check and clean-up

    A review of versions, plugins, security, backups, speed and search errors, followed by a prioritised fix list.

  • Updates on staging first

    Core, theme and plugin updates tested on a copy, then applied to the live site with a rollback ready.

  • Security monitoring and hardening

    Malware scans, firewall rules, login protection, role reviews and rapid clean-up if a site is compromised.

  • Backups and restore tests

    Scheduled off-site backups with periodic restores, so recovery is proven rather than assumed.

  • Uptime and error monitoring

    Alerts for downtime, SSL expiry, form failures and server errors, with a named person responding.

  • Speed and Core Web Vitals care

    Image, caching and script maintenance that keeps pages quick as content grows.

  • Content and design changes

    Small edits, new landing pages, banners and layout tweaks handled from a pool of agreed hours.

  • Hosting management

    Server configuration, PHP upgrades, SSL, DNS and email checks, on your hosting or ours.

Our process

How an engagement runs

Every engagement has a named lead, a written scope and working software to review every one to two weeks.

  1. 01

    Health check

    We review code, hosting, security, backups, speed, uptime and search data and report what we find in plain language.

  2. 02

    Stabilise the site

    We fix the highest risks first, such as outdated software, missing backups and security gaps, on a staging copy.

  3. 03

    Agree a care plan

    You choose a retainer, a block of hours or a one-off project, with a written list of what is covered and response times.

  4. 04

    Maintain and monitor

    Updates, backups and monitoring run on a schedule, and we respond to alerts and requests through one channel.

  5. 05

    Report and improve

    Each month you receive a short report of work done and a list of recommended improvements to approve or skip.

Technology

Technology we use

Chosen per project for fit, maintainability and your team's ability to own it.

CMS and commerce

  • WordPress
  • WooCommerce
  • Shopify
  • Drupal
  • Joomla
  • Magento
  • Webflow

Backend and data

  • PHP
  • Laravel
  • Node.js
  • MySQL

Hosting and delivery

  • Linux
  • Nginx
  • AWS
  • Docker
  • GitHub Actions

Growth and analytics

  • Google Search Console
  • Google Analytics
  • Schema markup

Use cases

Where it makes the biggest difference

  • A site left unmaintained for years

    A health check, safe updates on staging and a hardened setup that brings an ageing site back under control.

  • Monthly care for a business website

    Updates, backups, monitoring and a small pool of hours for content changes, with a monthly report.

  • Recovering from a hack

    Malware removal, credential reset, closing the entry point and a clean, monitored setup afterwards.

  • Taking over from a former agency

    Access, documentation and a stabilisation pass, so your site has a reliable owner again.

  • Keeping a busy shop stable

    Monitoring of checkout and payment flows, with quick fixes for issues that cost orders.

  • Preparing for a PHP or platform upgrade

    Compatibility checks and staged upgrades that keep the live site working throughout.

Why Softweb Planet

Why teams choose us for this work

  • We support sites we did not build

    Taking over unfamiliar WordPress, Shopify and custom sites is routine, and we document before we change.

  • Staging before live

    Every update and fix is tested on a copy first, and a rollback is ready before anything touches your live site.

  • Named people, plain reports

    You deal with a named contact and receive readable monthly reports instead of a ticket black hole.

  • Engineers, not just administrators

    Our DevOps and QA specialists handle hosting, monitoring and testing, so problems are fixed at the cause.

What you can expect

  • Software kept up to date without breaking the site
  • Backups that have been restored in a test, not just stored
  • Alerts that reach a real person when something fails
  • A monthly report that shows what was done and what is next

Website Maintenance & Support FAQ

Frequently asked questions

A typical plan covers software and plugin updates, backups, security scanning, uptime monitoring, small bug fixes and a monthly report. Many plans also include a few hours for content or design changes. We list what is covered in writing, so you know what you are paying for and what counts as extra.

Start your project

Tell us what you're building.

Share the problem, the systems involved and where you want to be. A senior engineer replies with honest advice on scope, architecture and the fastest safe path to production.