Website Maintenance
Website Maintenance Plans for Small Business WordPress Sites
An unmaintained site is a liability, not an asset
An unmaintained WordPress site is a security risk, a performance problem, and a credibility issue. Maintenance is built into our Essentials and Advanced hosting plans — so your site stays secure, current, and performing without you having to think about it.
What’s Included
Built-in maintenance on Essentials & Advanced.
Every Essentials and Advanced plan client gets the same core maintenance tasks handled every month — no extra cost, no extra conversation required.
WordPress core updates
WordPress itself is updated and tested monthly. Core updates are the most critical — they patch security vulnerabilities and keep your site compatible with plugins and hosting infrastructure.
Security monitoring & patching
We monitor your site for vulnerabilities and apply security patches proactively. Most WordPress sites that get compromised are running outdated or unpatched software — this is what prevents that.
Routine plugin updates
Plugins are updated on a regular schedule. Routine updates are included in all plans. Plugin conflict repairs caused by third-party issues are billed separately at $115/hr.
Automated monthly performance report
Each month you receive an automated report covering your site’s key performance metrics from GA4 and Google Search Console — traffic, top pages, search queries, and notable changes. No digging required.
Sitemap submitted to Google Search Console
Your sitemap.xml is submitted to Google Search Console every month — keeping Google’s index of your site current as content changes. A small detail that makes a real difference for search visibility.
Content updates Essentials: 2 hrs | Advanced: 4 hrs
Included hours each month for content edits, image swaps, new page additions, and other client-requested changes. Hours expire monthly and do not roll over. Overage is billed at $115/hr with prior notice.
The Basic plan ($39.95/mo) includes hosting, SSL, backups, uptime monitoring, and routine plugin updates — but not WordPress core updates, security monitoring, or content hours. Those require Essentials or Advanced. If your site needs a core update or security patch outside of a plan that includes it, that work is billed at $115/hr on request.
Not Covered Under Maintenance
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New page builds or site redesigns Significant new work is scoped and quoted separately — it’s not consumed from your monthly hours bank.
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Plugin conflict repairs from third-party issues If a plugin update from a third-party developer breaks something on your site, diagnosing and fixing the conflict is billed at $115/hr. We’ll always notify you before that work begins.
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Work beyond your monthly hours bank Any client-requested work beyond your included hours is billed at $115/hr — always with prior notice and your approval before work begins.
Advanced Only
llms.txt monthly review
On the Advanced plan, your llms.txt file is reviewed and updated monthly — keeping AI systems like ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity accurately informed about your business as it evolves. Counted toward your monthly hours bank.
See which plan includes the maintenance you need.
Every feature, every plan, side by side — so you know exactly what you’re getting.
Frequently Asked Questions
Questions we hear often.
Straight answers to the questions most clients ask before getting started.
Plugin updates keep the individual tools and extensions on your site current — things like contact form plugins, SEO tools, and more. WordPress core updates are updates to WordPress itself, the underlying platform your site runs on. Core updates are more significant and require more careful testing. All Five Towers plans include routine plugin updates. WordPress core updates are included in Essentials and Advanced plans only.
Content update requests are handled through email. Essentials plan clients receive 2 hours per month and Advanced plan clients receive 4 hours per month. Simply email us with what you need and we’ll take care of it, tracking time against your monthly hours bank. We let you know before any overage begins.
Security monitoring and patching is included in Essentials and Advanced plans, which significantly reduces the risk of a successful attack. If a security incident does occur, we address it proactively as part of the plan. For Basic plan clients, security monitoring is not included — incidents would be addressed on an hourly basis at $115/hr.
Maintenance is built into Essentials ($149/mo) and Advanced ($299/mo) hosting plans. The Basic plan ($39.95/mo) includes hosting, SSL, backups, uptime monitoring, and routine plugin updates only — WordPress core updates and security monitoring require an Essentials or Advanced plan.
Maintenance is bundled into our hosting plans — it is not available as a standalone service. If you’re currently on the Basic plan and want maintenance included, upgrading to Essentials or Advanced is the path forward. Contact us and we can help you figure out which plan makes the most sense.
The annual site audit is included in the Advanced plan. Once per year, we review your site’s overall health — performance, SEO foundation, security posture, content quality, and technical structure — and deliver a written report with findings and recommendations. It’s a way to make sure your site is still working as hard for your business as it was when it launched.
The automated monthly performance report, included in Essentials and Advanced plans, covers key metrics from Google Analytics 4 and Google Search Console — traffic, top pages, search queries, and any notable changes in performance. It’s delivered automatically each month so you always have a pulse on how your site is doing without having to dig into the data yourself.
New page builds, site redesigns, and plugin conflict repairs caused by third-party issues are not covered under the maintenance plan and are quoted separately. Any work beyond your monthly hours bank is billed at $115 per hour — you are always notified before any overage work begins.
See which plan includes the maintenance level you need.
Every feature, every tier, side by side — so you can pick the right plan with confidence.
Questions? Book a free call and we’ll talk through it.