What is NOT WordPress web maintenance? Avoid confusion and offer clear services
As an agency or freelancer offering web maintenance services, it’s crucial to have a clear definition of what is and what is not included in your packages. This will not only help you avoid misunderstandings with clients but also allow you to set boundaries and offer more professional and profitable services.
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What is NOT considered web maintenance?
a) Development or functionality improvements
Web maintenance does not involve adding new features or functionalities to the site. If a client requests implementing a shopping cart, an advanced form, or complex integrations, these requests should be treated as independent projects.
- Example: A client requests installing a custom online booking plugin.
- Solution: Clearly define in your contracts that maintenance focuses on the technical health of the existing site, not its evolution.
b) Website design or redesign
Changing colors, typography, images, or even migrating to a new premium theme is not part of web maintenance. These changes are the responsibility of the client or another professional specialized in design.
- Example: A client wants to change the template and have us change the typography.
- Solution: Offer these services as optional updates, but never as part of the basic maintenance package.
c) Content creation or editing
Updating pages, publishing new blog articles, or modifying existing text is not the responsibility of the maintenance provider. Keeping content updated is the task of the client or a professional writer.
- Example: A client requests weekly publishing on their corporate blog.
- Solution: Propose content management services as an additional add-on.
d) Solving third-party caused problems
If a client installs incompatible plugins, modifies critical files, or makes changes without consulting, any resulting failure is not the responsibility of the maintenance service; we can make a backup to solve the problem but not solve why the problem occurs.
- Example: A client installs a plugin that breaks site functionality; in this case, we shouldn’t solve why the problem occurs, we can simply offer a backup and that’s it.
- Solution: Include in your terms and conditions a clause that exempts your team from responsibility in these cases. With Modular DS, you can perform automatic backups to restore previous versions of the site.
e) Advanced SEO optimization
Although maintenance can address technical aspects related to SEO (such as load speed or visit tracking), it should not promise organic positioning results or perform advanced optimizations.
- Example: Researching keywords or setting up backlink campaigns goes beyond web maintenance.
- Solution: Offer SEO services as a complement if you wish to expand your offering.
f) Unlimited technical support
Providing 24/7 technical support may be unfeasible for small agencies or freelancers. Define clear limits on when and how you will provide assistance.
- Example: Resolving emergencies outside business hours should have an additional cost.
- Solution: Implement a ticket or chat system where clients can report problems in an organized manner.
What DO we do in web maintenance?
To complement the previous list, here’s a summary of the main tasks that are part of web maintenance:
- Password review: Ensure all site accounts use secure and updated passwords.
- Backups: Perform regular copies of the complete site, including files and databases.
- Downtime monitoring and control: Implement 24/7 monitoring systems to detect and alert about any website downtime, with automatic response protocols to minimize downtime.
- Form review and maintenance: Regularly verify the functionality of all site forms, including field validation, error messages, and proper data reception on the server.
- File cleanup and revisions: Remove temporary files, unnecessary revisions, and obsolete caches.
- Updates: Keep WordPress, plugins, and themes updated to ensure compatibility and security.
- 404 errors and broken links correction: Detect and repair links that no longer work.
- Load time testing: Monitor and optimize site loading speed.
- Malware protection: Implement preventive measures and correct intrusions or malicious attacks.
- Database optimization: Compact and optimize the database to improve its efficiency.
- File permissions review: Verify that all file and folder permissions are correct and secure.
- User role management: Control who has access to the site and what permissions each user has.
- Google Analytics analysis: Use tools like Google Analytics to detect possible performance or behavior issues.
Additional services we can include in maintenance
There are some services we can charge as extras or include in maintenance to make it more attractive, but note that they’re not really part of web maintenance as such.
- Hosting and domain management
- Email management
- Content changes
- Premium plugin licenses
- SEO
How to communicate these limits to your clients
In the initial proposal
- Clearly define what basic maintenance includes
- Specifically list which services require additional budget
- Establish response times for each type of incident
- Specify service hours
- Detail the process for requesting extra services
In the contract
- Include a detailed section of “Included Services”
- Define another section of “Services Not Included”
- Establish the process for additional services
- Define rates for extra work
- Specify guaranteed response times
How Modular DS simplifies web maintenance
Tools like Modular DS are specifically designed to facilitate web maintenance management, allowing you to focus on the essentials while automating tedious tasks. With Modular DS, you can:
- Monitor the health and security of multiple sites from a single panel.
- Generate automatic reports to demonstrate the value of your service to clients.
- Detect vulnerabilities, site downtime, and pending updates before they cause problems.
- Automate backups and other critical tasks.
- And much more.
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