A website is not finished when it launches. Software ages, certificates expire, plugins conflict, links break and someone has to notice when the site goes down. “Maintenance” is the name for that ongoing work. The trouble is that two different things get sold under the same word: the technical upkeep that keeps a site alive, and the content changes a business wants made.
Separate those two and the pricing makes sense. Upkeep is continuous and predictable. Changes are occasional and driven by your business. A good care plan covers the first, includes a sensible amount of the second, and is honest about what happens when you need more.
Maintenance is a schedule, not a single job
When a provider says they “maintain” your site, ask what runs daily, weekly, monthly and yearly. A real plan has a rhythm behind it:
- Daily: off-site backups, uptime monitoring and security scanning.
- Weekly: core, theme and plugin updates, plus a quick check that the site still loads properly.
- Monthly: a security and user-account review, a look at speed and errors, and a plain-language report of what changed.
- Quarterly: a deeper performance and SEO health check, and a review of anything that is no longer earning its place.
- Yearly: a full audit, domain and certificate renewal checks, and an honest conversation about whether the site still fits the business.
That schedule is the product. If a provider cannot describe theirs, you are buying reassurance rather than work.
What a care plan should include
- Hosting and SSL. The site runs somewhere reliable, with a current certificate so browsers do not warn customers away.
- Backups, stored off the server. A backup that lives only on the same machine as the site is not a backup. Ask how restores are tested.
- Security monitoring and updates. Out-of-date software is the most common way a small-business site is compromised.
- Uptime and speed monitoring. Someone should know the site is down before a customer rings to say so.
- A defined amount of small changes. Text, photos, hours, prices and minor layout tweaks, with a clear limit and a clear rate beyond it.
- Reporting in plain English. One page you can actually read, not a dashboard nobody opens.
- A response commitment. How fast a genuine emergency is answered, in business hours, in writing.
What a care plan should not quietly mean
Care plans earn their bad reputation honestly. Watch for these:
- It is compulsory to keep your site online. If the only way to have a working website is to keep paying, that is captivity, not care.
- There is no exit. You should be able to leave, take the domain and files, and host elsewhere.
- The scope is vague. “Unlimited support” usually means “we decide what is reasonable”. Ask for the written limit.
- Backups are not mentioned. A plan without backups is a subscription to hope.
- The hourly rate is hidden. If the plan covers “small changes” but never states the rate beyond them, the surprise is priced by them, not you.
- Prices rise without notice. Annual reviews are fair. Silent increases are not.
What maintenance costs in Australia
Advertised Australian care plans commonly sit in three bands. Blu Mint Digital’s 2026 cost guide puts managed plans at roughly $100–$400 a month, split into basic plans around $50–$150, standard plans around $150–$300, and premium plans at $300–$400 or more. The differences are usually the size of the change allowance, the speed of support, and how much proactive performance or SEO work is included.
| Approach | Typical advertised cost | What you are really buying |
|---|---|---|
| DIY maintenance | Your time, plus $0–$50 a month in tools | Lowest cash cost; the risk and the remembering are yours |
| Pay per change | Commonly $100–$250 an hour in Australia | Nothing ongoing; you pay when something needs doing |
| Basic care plan | About $50–$150 a month | Hosting, updates, security and backups; little or no content work |
| Standard care plan | About $150–$300 a month | The basics plus a change allowance and closer monitoring |
| Premium care plan | About $300–$400+ a month | Proactive performance work, priority support and larger allowances |
Ranges combine Blu Mint Digital’s published 2026 Australian cost guide with the categories buyers commonly encounter. They are advertised examples, not an official price list. Get a written scope and rate for your own site.
Our own plans, priced in the open
Pithy sells care plans, so it is fair to hold us to the same test. Here are our real numbers, all plus GST and published on our pricing page:
| Item | Pithy price | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| The build | $2,200 + GST once | A website for most local businesses, live on your domain within ten business days of your content being ready. Includes $900 of care on the first ten builds: six months of Protect, or about two months of Grow. |
| Protect | $150/mo + GST | Managed hosting on Australian infrastructure and SSL, daily off-site backups, security monitoring and safe updates, uptime and speed monitoring, small changes, a monthly health report, and emergency response within 4 business hours. From month 7 on a new build. |
| Grow | $497/mo + GST | Everything in Protect, plus active local visibility work: Business Profile management, review requests and replies, local rank tracking, a quarterly service page and a monthly scorecard. |
| Work beyond the plan | $150/hr + GST | Quoted and approved before any work starts. |
Two things matter more than the price. First, the plan is optional: you do not have to take Protect or Grow to get a Pithy build, and after your included care it is month-to-month with 30 days’ notice. Second, the rate for work beyond the plan is public, so you can decide before it starts rather than after the invoice arrives. We publish both because the alternative — a compulsory plan with a hidden rate — is exactly what this guide warns about.
Questions to ask before you sign
- What is included each month, and what is explicitly not?
- Where are backups stored, and have you tested a restore?
- What is the emergency response time, and during which hours?
- How many small changes are included, and what is the rate beyond them?
- Can I leave? What do I take, and is there a transfer fee?
- Do you own the hosting account, or do I?
- What will you tell me each month, in plain language?
Sources and method
This guide uses published Australian cost estimates for market ranges, official guidance for consumer rights, and Pithy’s own published pricing. Provider figures are examples, not endorsements.
- Blu Mint Digital: Website maintenance cost in Australia (2026) (updated 14 August 2026)
- business.gov.au: Set up a business website (updated 9 September 2025)
- ACCC: Consumer rights and guarantees (updated 28 August 2026)
- Pithy: Pricing — the build, Protect and Grow
Reviewed 9 September 2026. Prices and platform terms change; check current quotes before deciding.
Commercial disclosure: Pithy sells websites and the Protect ($150/mo + GST) and Grow ($497/mo + GST) care plans described above. We benefit if a reader hires us. The checklist and the warnings are designed to remain useful if you choose another provider or do the work yourself.