Website maintenance services keep your WordPress site secure, fast and up to date
Ongoing support for a WordPress site that already exists, built by us or by another team. You get updates, security, performance, and verified backups, with a single point of contact.
What the retainer includes
A WordPress maintenance retainer covers what a live site needs every month. These are the six pieces of every plan.
Managed updates
WordPress, theme, and plugins kept current, with every update tested before it reaches production so the site keeps working after every round.
Security and monitoring
Vulnerability scanning, a firewall, malware detection, and access protection, with a response from us when something appears.
Continuous performance
Cache, database, and images reviewed regularly, including CDN and Cloudflare configuration, for stable load times on any device.
Verified backups
Automated, tested backups with a defined recovery plan. If something fails, the site returns to its previous state in minutes.
Uptime monitoring
Real-time uptime monitoring plus spam and fraud protection, so we catch and handle an outage or an attack before it reaches your customers.
Support and small changes
Time reserved every month for adjustments, small features, and layout fixes, with response times agreed in advance.
Who the retainer is for
A retainer fits a site that already exists; a new project follows a different path.
It makes sense for you if
- Your site generates inquiries, bookings, or sales
- You run WooCommerce, a member area, or integrations
- You have no in-house technical team for WordPress
- You want planned improvements to replace emergency fixes
You need a different service if
- You don't have a site yet, so start with WordPress Development
- You want to rebuild the site from scratch, which is a project of its own
- You only need a server and email, so see Website Hosting
Why a retainer
Predictable cost
A fixed monthly fee set by the scope of the site, with no emergency repair bills or mid-month invoices.
Lower risk
Tested updates, verified backups, and constant monitoring protect the site before a problem happens.
Planned improvement
The time reserved each month moves the site forward in small steps, instead of piling up work until the next rebuild.
A site in continuous operation
Santo da Serra Golf is a WordPress site with a member area and bookings, in production for years. A retainer follows a site like this over time: each season brings updates, new features, and the same need to stay available.
We provide this support to companies worldwide, most of them in the US, Europe, and the UK.
Santo da Serra Golf
How it starts
Three steps, from the first contact to a site under maintenance.
Three steps, from the first contact to a site under maintenance. The same path whether we built the site or another team did.
Site diagnostic
We review the current site's versions, plugins, hosting, security, and performance, and tell you what we found.
Scope and proposal
We define what the retainer covers, how often updates run, and the response times, for a fixed monthly fee.
Onboarding
We set up backups and monitoring and run the first round of updates, and from then on the site is under our care.
Need a new site instead of maintenance?
A retainer follows a site that already exists. If you don't have a WordPress site yet, or the current one needs a rebuild, the path starts with development. Hosting is a separate service, which can be added to the retainer.
WordPress Development
Custom corporate sites and WooCommerce stores, from concept to launch.
See WordPress developmentWebsite Hosting
Shared and VPS plans, sized to your traffic and the project's requirements.
See hostingWebsite Speed Optimization
Dedicated Core Web Vitals and page speed work, for a site that needs to load faster than a general maintenance retainer covers.
See website speed optimizationFrequently asked questions
Do you maintain sites you didn't build?
Yes. We start with a diagnostic of the current site, whatever the theme or builder, and the retainer starts from what we found. If something needs fixing first, we say so in the proposal.
What happens if an update breaks the site?
We test every update before it reaches production, and a recent backup is always on hand. If something fails, the site returns to its previous state and we fix the problem before trying the update again.
How often do you run updates?
Update rounds are monthly, and security fixes go out as soon as they are published. The frequency is set in the proposal.
Does the retainer include changes to the site?
Yes, within the time reserved each month: content adjustments, small features, and layout fixes. A larger change is quoted separately, as a project.
How much does it cost?
A fixed monthly fee, set by the complexity of the site, its traffic, whether it has a store or integrations, and the response times you need. Tell us about the site and we'll send a proposal.
Do you also handle hosting?
We can. We have website and email hosting plans, and we also work with the hosting you already have. The retainer includes the connection with your provider, whoever that is.
Do you work with clients outside Portugal?
Yes. Our clients are all over the world, most often in the US, Europe, and the UK. We work remotely with the same process, from offices in London, Lisbon and Funchal. Past clients based outside Portugal include Cellar62 in the US, The LR Group in Saint Barthélemy and EM Board Bombs.
Keeping an existing site running starts with a conversation.
A 30-minute discovery call about the current state of the site, what needs attention, and the retainer that fits.
