How much does website maintenance cost?
Website maintenance for a small UK business usually costs about £25 to £200 a month on a care plan, depending on how much is included, though some agencies charge up to £400. On top of that you pay running costs of roughly £70 to £250 a year (before VAT) for a domain and hosting, unless your website builder includes them. The cheapest plans cover updates and backups. The dearer ones add changes to your content and someone to talk to.
We checked every price below on 18 October 2026.
Checked 18 Oct 2026
What UK care plans cost
UK guides put a care plan for a small business site at:
- £25 to £50 a month for security and backups, up to £100 to £200 a month for a fully managed plan with content changes (EdTheDev, a UK web designer, March 2026).
- £75 to £200 a month for a small brochure site, with agencies typically at £100 to £400 a month and freelancers at £40 to £120 an hour (Devstree, February 2026).
Here's what three UK providers publish on their own price pages:
| Provider | Monthly price | What the page lists |
|---|---|---|
| Website Helper | £30 (or £37 with hosting) | WordPress, theme and plugin updates, daily backups, security monitoring. VAT not stated. |
| Matthew Temple | £35, £59 or £149 + VAT | Hosting, weekly updates, daily backups, uptime monitoring. £59 adds up to three content edits a month. |
| Erjjio Studios | £49 + VAT | Weekly updates, security scanning, uptime monitoring, small fixes. No minimum term (for sites they built). |
These are examples, not recommendations. Most of these plans are for WordPress sites.
What you pay anyway: the running costs
Whoever looks after your site, these bills come round every year:
| Cost | Typical price | Source |
|---|---|---|
| .co.uk domain | £10 a year after the first year | IONOS |
| WordPress hosting | £5 to £20 a month at IONOS after the intro offer (ex VAT). SiteGround's cheapest plan is £1.99 a month in year one, then £13.99 (ex VAT). | IONOS, SiteGround |
| Security certificate (the padlock) | Free from Let's Encrypt, and often included with hosting | Let's Encrypt |
| Paid plugins | Varies. Yoast SEO Premium, for example, is £118.80 a year (ex VAT) | Yoast |
| Website builder (instead of hosting) | Squarespace from £12 a month billed annually | Squarespace |
Watch the renewal prices. Hosting and domains often start cheap and go up when the introductory offer ends, sometimes after only six months. If a domain lapses, IONOS lists a £90 fee to restore it.
Some prices above don't include VAT. If your business isn't VAT registered, add 20% (GOV.UK).
What a care plan usually covers
Most plans we looked at include some or all of these:
- Updates to the website software, theme and plugins.
- Backups, ideally stored away from the website itself, so it can be put back if something breaks.
- Uptime monitoring, so someone knows when the site goes down.
- Security checks for malware or suspicious logins.
- Small changes like new prices, opening hours or photos, often with a monthly limit.
- A monthly report on what was done.
The bigger the plan, the more content changes and the faster the response.
Why updates matter
WordPress tells site owners: "You should always update WordPress to the latest version" (WordPress.org). On most sites, minor and security updates install on their own, but bigger updates, themes and plugins often need someone to press the button and check nothing broke.
The NCSC, the UK's cyber security centre, says updates fix "bugs in software that criminals could use to hack your device" (NCSC). It also says 1 in 2 small businesses suffer a cyber incident every year (NCSC). The government's 2025/2026 survey found 42% of micro businesses and 46% of small businesses had a breach or attack in the past 12 months (GOV.UK).
If your site stores customer details, like a booking or contact form, a break-in can become a data breach. The ICO says you must report a notifiable breach within 72 hours of finding out (ICO).
Do it yourself, or pay someone?
| Do it yourself | Care plan | |
|---|---|---|
| Money | Running costs only | Running costs plus £25 to £200 a month |
| Your time | Checking updates, backups and fixing anything that breaks | Approving changes and sending new photos |
| Best for | A simple builder site you're happy to update | A WordPress site, or if you'd rather not think about it |
Whichever route you choose, someone still needs to keep your prices, hours and photos current.
Questions to ask before you sign up
- What's included each month, and what costs extra? Ask for the hourly rate for work outside the plan.
- How long is the contract? Several UK plans are rolling monthly.
- Is VAT included?
- Where are backups kept, and how quickly can you restore the site?
- Who owns the domain and hosting? They should be in your business's name, with your own logins.
- Will you look after a site you didn't build? Ask before you assume they will.
Common questions
Do I have to pay to keep a website up?
Yes, at least for the domain and hosting (or the website builder). A care plan is optional.
How much does website maintenance cost per hour in the UK?
Devstree puts freelancers at £40 to £120 an hour. Website Helper lists ad hoc help at £30 an hour.
Is a website care plan the same as website maintenance?
Usually, yes. They're two names for the same kind of monthly service, but check what each plan includes.
Where we help
We look after small business websites every month, including websites we didn't build. James works out with you on the free call what yours needs.
Get Your Free Business Roadmap
Book a free 20-minute Google Meet, then receive a simple one-page plan: The tool that will work FOR you day & night.
Less admin. Every month.
Monthly work from £375. Setup is quoted after the free call, once James knows what your business needs.