A website is not a one-time project. It’s a living business tool that requires regular maintenance to stay secure, fast, and functional.

Ask any prospective designer what their post-launch support looks like. At a minimum, ongoing maintenance should include:

• WordPress core, theme, and plugin updates — outdated software is the most common cause of security breaches
• Regular backups — stored off-site, with a tested restoration process
• Security scanning — tools like Wordfence, combined with your hosting provider’s built-in scanner (SiteGround’s SiteScanner, for example), provide layered protection against malware and intrusion attempts
• Uptime monitoring — so you know immediately if your site goes down
• Content updates — who handles them, at what rate, and how quickly?

A site without a maintenance plan is a site that will eventually break, get hacked, or fall behind. Budget for it from the start.