What happens after launch: maintenance explained
After launch, a website needs three ongoing things: security updates, working backups, and someone to call when something breaks or needs a small change. With me that is an optional maintenance plan at USD 30 to 60 per month. This article explains what maintenance actually is, what happens if you skip it, and where the line sits between a covered fix and a new project.
What launch day actually hands you
When I deliver a project, it is live on your domain, in accounts registered to your name, with all credentials handed over. It does not secretly depend on me: hosting is paid by you, the domain renews to your card, and any developer could pick up the code. That baseline is what makes maintenance genuinely optional instead of a disguised subscription. If your current site does not meet that baseline, start with why domain and hosting must be in your name.
What maintenance covers
Four things. Updates: the software under every site (frameworks, libraries, integrations) publishes security patches, and applying them promptly is what keeps known holes closed. Backups: not just having them, but restoring one occasionally to prove they work; an untested backup is a hope, not a backup. Monitoring: knowing the site is down before your clients tell you, and knowing the contact form still delivers (forms fail silently more often than anything else on a website). Small changes: swapping photos, updating prices, adjusting a text, adding a section to an existing page. The changes that should take minutes and cost nothing extra.
What happens if you skip it
Nothing, for a while, which is exactly why sites rot. Static presence sites age slowly: the real risk is a silent form failure or an expired integration. Sites with logins, payments or databases age fast: unpatched software is the number one way small business sites get hacked, usually by bots scanning for known holes, not by anyone targeting you. The pattern I see: the site that saved USD 40 a month for three years arrives broken, hacked or hopelessly outdated, and the repair costs more than the decade of maintenance would have. It is the quiet sibling of cheap web development getting expensive.
If you skip the plan, at minimum keep backups running and check your forms monthly by sending yourself a test message.
Where maintenance ends and a new quote begins
The honest line: maintenance keeps what exists healthy and current; new capability is a project. New page with new design, a booking system, an integration, a redesign: those get their own fixed quote, in writing within 48 hours, like the original project did. What you will never get from me is scope creep in reverse, where routine fixes get billed as projects. The monthly fee covers the small stuff generously; the current prices are here.
Frequently asked questions
Is maintenance mandatory?
No. The site is yours and runs without me. The plan exists because most owners prefer paying USD 30 to 60 a month over learning to patch, back up and monitor a website themselves.
What decides USD 30 versus 60?
Complexity. A static presence site sits at the low end; sites with logins, payments, bookings or frequent content changes sit at the high end. The number is fixed in writing, like everything else.
Can I start maintenance later, or cancel?
Both. You can launch without a plan and add it when you tire of handling things yourself, and cancel whenever: everything is in your name, so nothing breaks when you stop.
My site was built by someone else. Can you maintain it?
Usually yes, after a quick review of how it is built and where it runs. If it is unmaintainable (it happens), I will say so and quote what fixing the foundation would cost instead.
Want your site watched by the person who built it? Message me on WhatsApp and you will have a fixed price and a delivery date in writing within 48 hours.