Every WordPress website needs care – the only question is who takes it on. This comparison shows what WordPress maintenance includes, how much time it takes and when it makes sense to do it yourself or hand it over to a service provider.
In short: Doing WordPress maintenance yourself is worthwhile if you are technically skilled, run a simple website with few plugins and set aside fixed time for it every week. External maintenance makes sense as soon as the website is business-critical, includes a shop, or internal working time costs more than a maintenance contract, which starts at €39/month with us.
What does WordPress maintenance include?
WordPress maintenance includes all tasks that keep a website secure, available and fast. The most important are updates, backups, security monitoring, uptime monitoring and load time optimisation. On top of that come tasks that only arise occasionally but require a lot of know-how, such as PHP migrations or help in an emergency.
- Updates of the WordPress core, plugins and themes
- Daily backups with external storage and restore tests
- Malware scans, firewall and login protection
- Monitoring of availability and SSL certificate
- Monitoring of load time and Core Web Vitals
- PHP updates and compatibility checks
- Troubleshooting and recovery in an emergency
- Documentation and a report on all work carried out
Maintaining it yourself or using a maintenance service: the direct comparison
The most important difference lies not in the individual tasks, but in reliability, response time and responsibility. The following table compares both approaches.
| Criterion | Maintain it yourself | External maintenance service |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | no direct costs, but working time | fixed monthly fee, €39 to €99 with us |
| Internal time required | about 2 to 6 hours per month | almost none |
| Update rhythm | depends on free time | fixed by agreement, up to several times a week |
| Backups | set up and check yourself | daily, external, with tested restoration |
| Tests after updates | often only spot checks | fixed testing routine, including checkout for shops |
| Help in an emergency | own research or spontaneous commission | contact person already knows the website |
| Holidays and illness | maintenance pauses | continues |
| Documentation | usually none | monthly maintenance report |
| Responsibility | rests entirely with you | regulated by contract |
How much time does WordPress maintenance take per month?
For a typical business website with 15 to 25 plugins, the pure routine of updates, checks and backup verification takes one to three hours per month. Add security checks, load time monitoring and documentation, and it comes to two to six hours. For online shops and websites with many extensions, it is more. Unexpected problems are not included: a faulty update or a hack can quickly cost an entire working day.
| Task | Frequency | Time per month (guideline) |
|---|---|---|
| Updates with backup and functional testing | weekly | 1 to 3 hours |
| Checking backups, testing restoration | monthly to quarterly | 0.5 to 1 hour |
| Security and malware check | weekly | 0.5 hours |
| Checking load time and error logs | monthly | 0.5 hours |
| Documentation | ongoing | 0.5 hours |
How does the cost of WordPress maintenance compare?
Whether a maintenance service pays off is shown by a simple worked example: if you assume an hourly rate of €50 for internal working time, three hours of maintenance a month cost €150 – without emergencies. A maintenance contract with us costs between €39 and €99 per month. You can find detailed price ranges on the market on our page WordPress Maintenance Costs.
| Plan | Price per month | Updates | Suitable for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business Basic | €39 | weekly | smaller business websites without a shop |
| Business Plus | €59 | 2× weekly | business websites, practices, law firms, smaller shops |
| Business Enterprise | €99 | 3× weekly, 24/7 monitoring | business-critical websites and shops |
When is it worth maintaining WordPress yourself?
Maintaining it yourself is worthwhile if the website is simply structured, an outage does not cost direct revenue, and someone in the company has the necessary experience and fixed time for it. Discipline is a prerequisite: updates and backup checks must take place even in stressful weeks.
- The website has few, well-maintained plugins.
- There is no shop and no booking system.
- One person on the team knows WordPress, FTP and databases.
- Fixed slots are scheduled for updates and backup checks.
- An outage of a few hours would be manageable.
When is an external maintenance service the better choice?
An external maintenance service is the better choice if the website brings in enquiries or revenue, nobody on the team has the time or expertise, or several websites need to be looked after. You gain predictable costs, fixed response times and a contact person who knows your website. What a good contract should contain is covered in the article on the WordPress Maintenance Contract.
- The website is an important sales channel or an online shop.
- There is no internal IT team with WordPress experience.
- Updates have frequently been postponed in the past.
- The website uses many plugins or a page builder with add-ons.
- You need to demonstrate data protection and security compliance, for example as a medical practice, law firm or insurance company.
What risks arise if maintenance is neglected?
The biggest risk of doing maintenance yourself is not a lack of knowledge, but a lack of regularity. Updates get postponed because something else is more urgent, backups fail for months without anyone noticing, and eventually so many updates pile up that a large update package takes the website down.
| Risk | Possible consequence |
|---|---|
| Outdated plugins | Hack, malware, Google warning |
| Failed backups | Data loss in the worst case |
| Untested updates | broken forms or checkout, lost enquiries and revenue |
| Expired SSL certificate | Browser warning, visitors leave |
| Outdated PHP version | Errors after a forced upgrade by the host |
Is there a middle way between doing it yourself and outsourcing?
Yes. Many companies continue to manage content such as texts, images and blog posts themselves and hand over only the technical maintenance. That way you stay flexible with content while updates, backups and security run reliably in the background. Agencies use the same principle: they look after their clients on the content side and have the technical upkeep handled by a specialised partner – more on this on the page WordPress Maintenance for Agencies.
What should you look for in a maintenance provider?
- Clearly described services and update intervals
- External backups with documented restoration
- Fixed response times in an emergency
- Regular reports on all work carried out
- Monthly cancellation or fair contract terms
- Data processing agreement under the GDPR
- Independence from the hosting provider
Frequently asked questions about WordPress maintenance
Is WordPress maintenance mandatory?
Not legally, but in practice it is indispensable. Without regular updates, a WordPress website becomes more vulnerable with every month. In addition, the GDPR requires appropriate technical measures to protect personal data, for example from contact forms.
Can my host take over the maintenance?
Hosts take care of the server, but usually not of your website’s plugins, themes and functional tests. Some managed hosting plans update automatically, but afterwards do not check whether forms or the checkout still work.
Can I take over the maintenance myself again at any time?
Yes. With us, all plans can be cancelled monthly. You retain full access to your website and your data at all times.
What happens in an emergency outside of maintenance?
With a maintenance contract, the contact person is already familiar with your website and has current backups. Without a contract, our WordPress Emergency Service helps at a fixed price.
Is maintenance worthwhile for small websites too?
Yes, small websites in particular often go without updates for years and are therefore a preferred target of automated attacks. The entry-level plan is designed for these websites.
Conclusion
Maintaining WordPress yourself is possible, but requires expertise, discipline and time. For simple websites with an experienced person in charge, it can work. As soon as the website brings in enquiries or revenue, external maintenance is usually cheaper than your own working time – and far more reliable. You can find an overview of all services and plans on the page WordPress Maintenance.
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