2023 was filled with evolution coming up, from the enhancement of AI to its integrations with different technological advancements. In this digital arena, if you are not holding a web presence, you are not marketing your business wisely.
Building a website for a business is a productive investment that can further bring revenue-generating results. But even after the website development is completed, you are only on the half-battle. The upkeep of the website is another start to a new journey where your website’s functionality and progress are kept in check and maintained so that it keeps on evolving and succeeding over time.
Now the question arises: how much does website maintenance cost? Website maintenance includes a number of tasp a check on functionality. Have you ever noticed a website you visit that connects to new content updates? It is not about how well you know the website or visit it, fresh content and updates will pique your interest towards it.
Website Maintenance Cost in 2024
Why Do You Need to Maintain a Website?
Website maintenance is majorly the process of keeping a website updated to ensure that it performs optimally. Website maintenance includes tasks like regular content updates, seeing if the links are working properly or not, fixing broken links, and keeping the general housekeeping tasks like backing up the database, regular monitoring of site performance and much more. Majorly a business may pay about $40 to $50000 on a yearly basis for synchronized website maintenance services.
The cost of website maintenance can be daunting, but keeping your website running smoothly, here are some different types of tasks that are performed and you should be aware of:
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Website Security Check
Web development services keep security patches on release to address the newly generated vulnerabilities in their software. Security patches work as an essential component to keep the website safe from cyber attacks. Installing security patches can keep the website secure from vulnerabilities and keep it safe.
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Plugins and Themes
Plugins and themes are another important aspect that help in extending the functionality of the website. It is important for a website to be laced with technical advancements so that they are updated and competitive in the eyes of users and browsers.
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User Management
Websites can hold admin panels where different users can log in and commence different actions. Account database management plays a quintessential role in holding secure data entry. This includes creating accounts, resetting passwords, and managing access permissions and passwords. User management also ensures the cleaning of the user list by removing spam and bot accounts.
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Security Scanning
Security updates and scans are essential in web maintenance for the website to ensure there are no potential threats to security. Regular updates of the website fix the vulnerabilities before the damage is done. Scanning up also helps in improving the user experience by identifying and fixing potential risks, users can be assured that their personal information is safe on the website.
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Performance Optimization
Website maintenance mainly includes monitoring your website’s performance and can help in finding the issues or errors that can lead to further problems. One can further take corrective steps to keep the site running at a smooth pace.
Optimizing the website’s performance can help with the site’s speed and responsiveness. It covers the task of improving web page loading time, optimizing images, and fixing cause errors.
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Monitoring SEO Practices
Keeping a check on website SEO is essential to ensure that it is visible in SERPs.This also includes tracking your site’s ranking, backlinks, and web traffic. Monitoring SEO can help you identify the major problems and fix them.
How Much Does a Website Maintenance Cost?
Maintenance of the website is necessary to keep the site consistent and effective at work. Many different elements need to be kept in account while allocating average website maintenance costs. Here are some of the essential website maintenance elements that can be considered to draft an extensive view of the maintenance.
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Domain Name
Domain name is what the users type into the web browser to access the website. The typical cost of acquiring a new domain name can range between $10 to $30 on a yearly basis. Register the domain name when you have decided which one you would like to have.
Typically, when you have decided on a domain name, you can use it for a year, and then you need to renew it. As a yearly expense, registration of a domain name is an essential part of how much it costs to build a website.
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Web Hosting
On average, web hosting can cost you around $2-$85 per month, depending upon the hosting provider and subscription length. Choosing the right hosting provider is important to the cost of maintaining a website. Before choosing a hosting plan for the website, consider the long-term high costs. The total cost for website maintenance with hosting majorly depends on the selected subscription period. Annual costs are better for management as they are comparatively lower than that on a monthly basis.
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SSL Certificate
SSL certificate is necessary for businesses to work on data processes. Secure Socket Layer is a data protocol that enables encrypted communication between a server and a browser. SSL certificate includes higher security, data privacy, and better performance on the search engines. All the websites that process sensitive user information like passwords or card details should hold an SSL certificate.
The cost of the certificate may depend on the different number id domains or subdomains that they are covering. Majorly a single domain SSL may cost you around $7-$850 on a yearly basis. Whereas a wildcard SSL certificate for multiple domains may cost $50-$1500 per year.
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Email Services
Email services are essential as they let your website create custom email addresses in addition to a custom email template that can help businesses promote their brand professionally. Google Workspace offers popular plans starting at $6 on a monthly basis. Email helps businesses to gain customer trust and reach them with offers and services without any delay.
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Technical Support
A website while working, may face various issues ranging from broken links to server errors. Average website maintenance cost includes technical support from the prover itself. Your team can look forward to the site issues and fix them effectively. Businesses website tech support may cost you around $ 1500- $3000 on a monthly basis.
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Website Analytics Support
Website maintenance costs include monthly analytics reports with the services. Monthly web analytics offers an insight into the performance of your website, as well as the marketing strategies working over with search engine optimization. In most of the cases, website analytics can cost about $5 to $30 on a monthly basis.
How Often Should You Do Website Maintenance?
Website maintenance majorly depends on your website’s size and the complexity of the work. It is a better idea to do website maintenance at least once a month, but frequent maintenance is important.
Majorly some tasks such as uptime monitoring and security scanning can be done on an automatic basis, so that they can be done regularly. Website updates and monitoring are some of the tasks that can be done on a manual basis
Security patches and theme updates can be in auto-update mode on the CMS used. If not done, websites can schedule updates with the webmaster to keep the site security in check. When creating and maintaining user accounts, which can be a time-consuming process, professional web development services can bring in system management and updates in a synchronized way.
Should I Hire a Professional or Manage on My Own?
Maintenance of the website by professional website maintenance services or by own depends on various factors, inclusive of technical skills, the complexity of the website, available time and resources, and budget constraints. If you have technical skills and experience with website development, you may be able to manage the website on your own, but with professional services, you can hire a 24*7 maintenance expert, keeping your website covered under budget for security advancements.
With an average website, maintenance costs can range from $50 to$150 per month. The actual maintenance cost depends on the complexity and structure of your website, including the total number of pages, updation status, etc.
While you could hire the website technically, it is often best to hire website maintenance services because the process of maintenance can be time-consuming, and errors, if caused, can end up costing you negative costs.
It is a smart move for business owners to allot a budget for website maintenance costs to avoid any unexpected errors down the lane. While the costs can add up over time, they are generally a smaller price to pay for the peace of mind that comes with knowing your website is always updated and running smoothly on the web.
Estimate Your Exact Website Maintenance Cost with HTMLPanda
Website maintenance turns out to be a potential service that can bring your business amazing benefits. With the right set of tools and expertise, developers can work on your website cost and maintenance. This can provide users a seamless web experience at par.
HTMLPanda’s website maintenance services bring you a myriad of benefits where you can rest assured that your website is running smoothly with regular updates and additions of third-party plugins and integrations.
Concluding Thought
When it comes to maintenance costs, the level of personalized output has a higher impact on how much the website maintenance costs. If your website relies on features and functions, it is worth budgeting to ensure a productive cost settlement.
If your business needs a customized infrastructure, additional security, and integration, a website maintenance company can help in handling the right setup. However, a custom approach can cost you more but can give impressive value for money. Website maintenance does take work and can feel like one of the hectic tasks out of the wheel. However, settling up the efforts and getting up to speed on how to perform on the website results in a better way to potential customers is necessary.
Prioritizing website maintenance guarantees you a website that not only performs well but also offers a fully optimized experience.
