Website maintenance in Singapore: what a care plan covers and costs
A website is not finished when it launches. Software ages, plugins break, certificates expire and content goes out of date. A maintenance or "care" plan is a monthly arrangement where someone looks after those things so you do not have to. This guide explains what is normally included, what is not, and what to ask before you pay for one.
What website maintenance actually involves
- Updates. The platform (WordPress, Shopify themes and apps, or a custom stack), plugins and libraries receive security and compatibility updates. Skipping them is how most small-business sites get hacked.
- Backups. Regular copies of the site and its database, stored somewhere other than the server itself, and tested occasionally so you know a restore works.
- Security checks. Malware scanning, login protection, removing unused accounts and plugins, and watching for suspicious activity.
- Uptime and certificate monitoring. Knowing when the site is down or the SSL certificate is about to expire, before a customer tells you.
- Speed checks. Large images, slow plugins and tracking scripts can quietly make a site slower over time.
- Small content changes. Swapping a banner, updating opening hours, adding a team member, publishing a post.
- Forms and email. Checking that the contact form still delivers and that enquiries are not landing in spam.
What is usually not included
Most plans exclude larger work: a redesign, new features, a new set of pages, migrating hosting, or rebuilding something that broke because of a third party. A good provider tells you where the line is in writing and quotes anything outside it separately.
What it costs in Singapore
Published prices vary widely, and what is included matters more than the headline number. As a rough guide, plans that cover only updates and backups can start around S$100 a month, while plans that include a regular allowance of content changes, monitoring and fixes cost several hundred dollars a month or more. Our own care plans start from S$500 a month and are quoted per site, because a five-page brochure site and a busy online store need different amounts of attention.
Domain renewals, hosting, paid plugins and Shopify plans are normally billed separately by those providers.
Questions to ask before you sign
- What exactly is included each month? Ask for a list, and for how many content changes are covered.
- How quickly do you respond? A response time for urgent problems, in working hours, should be stated.
- Where are backups kept, and how often? Daily for a store, weekly may be fine for a brochure site.
- What happens if the site is hacked or goes down? Is recovery covered or quoted separately?
- Who owns the site, hosting and accounts? You should hold the logins. If the provider leaves, you should be able to take everything with you.
- Is there a minimum term, and how do I cancel? Monthly, with reasonable notice, is a good sign.
Do you need one?
If the site brings in enquiries or sales and nobody on your team looks after it, yes. If you update it yourself regularly and are comfortable with the platform, you may only need occasional help rather than a plan.
Next step
If you already have a site and want it looked after, send us a brief and choose "Care and fixes for my existing site". We will check the site and reply with what we would include and what it would cost.