# Website Maintenance & Support ## Maintenance If your website runs on WordPress, maintenance isn’t optional. It’s part of owning the site. WordPress websites are made up of many moving parts: the WordPress core software itself, a theme, and often dozens of plugins maintained by third-party developers. Those parts are updated frequently to fix bugs, patch security vulnerabilities, and keep everything compatible with modern browsers and hosting environments. Sometimes our clients handle their own maintenance, but it is not for the faint of heart, so most clients opt to work with us to keep their sites up-to-date. Our maintenance program exists to take the ongoing responsibility of website maintenance off of your plate - and to reduce the risk of problems that tend to show up only when something has already gone wrong. Most website issues don’t happen because someone “did something wrong.” They happen because: - A plugin introduces a security vulnerability - An update conflicts with another plugin or the theme - Hosting environments change - A site hasn’t been backed up recently - An issue goes unnoticed until the site is down or compromised Without routine monitoring and updates, small issues can quietly pile up and turn into emergencies, and as Murphy's law would have it, usually at the worst possible time. Enter our maintenance program. ### What our maintenance program includes While the exact scope may vary slightly depending on your site, our maintenance program typically includes: #### WordPress core, theme, and plugin updates We regularly update WordPress core, your theme, and installed plugins to help keep your site secure, stable, and compatible with your hosting environment. Updates are reviewed and applied thoughtfully, not blindly, so we can catch obvious issues before they affect your live site. #### Security and vulnerability monitoring We monitor for known plugin and WordPress vulnerabilities and prioritize updates when issues are flagged as high-risk. This proactive monitoring allows us to address problems before they become exploits, rather than reacting after damage has already occurred. #### Regular backups We ensure your site is backed up on a consistent schedule so that, if something goes wrong, there is a recent restore point available. Backups are one of the most overlooked aspects of website ownership, and one of the most important for peace of mind. #### Basic site health oversight As part of routine maintenance, we keep an eye out for obvious red flags such as failed updates, broken admin access, or hosting-related issues that surface during maintenance work. #### Uptime Monitoring We also monitor your site and are notified within minutes if your site goes down and are able to quickly intervene if needed. In addition, we monitor your primary domain name (the one where your website resolves) so that we are notified if your domain name expires. #### Google Search Console Monitoring As part of our maintenance work, we keep an eye on Google Search Console for issues that can affect how your site appears in search. This typically includes monitoring for things like indexing problems, sudden crawl errors, or alerts from Google that indicate a technical issue with the site. These signals can help surface problems early, before they quietly impact visibility or turn into harder-to-diagnose issues. This focuses on technical health and awareness, so that if Google flags something important, it doesn’t go unnoticed. #### A clear line of responsibility Perhaps most importantly, maintenance creates clarity. When your site is on a maintenance plan, we are explicitly responsible for keeping it updated, backed up, and reasonably secure within the scope of that plan. That clarity helps prevent confusion, missed issues, and last-minute emergencies. ### What maintenance does not include Our maintenance program is intentionally focused. It does not automatically include: - New features or functionality - Design changes or content updates - SEO strategy or content optimization - Accessibility remediation (if this is a concern, please inquire) - Performance tuning or advanced monitoring (though things we notice in maintenance may spur further discussions on performance) - Privacy compliance - though this is a concern and if we maintain your site we will open conversations about this as needed. Maintenance keeps the foundation stable so that additional work can happen safely. ### Frequency For most sites, maintenance is performed on a regular cadence (monthly or bi-monthly), depending on the plan selected. Even bi-monthly plans still involve ongoing monitoring; they simply bundle hands-on work differently. We’re happy to help determine what makes sense for your site. ### Foregoing maintenance We understand that maintenance isn’t the right fit for every site or budget. If you’re not enrolled in our maintenance program, we strongly recommend that you have a clear plan for: - [Monitoring whether your site is up](https://www.mightyminnow.com/2025/12/is-your-website-up-a-guide-to-uptime-monitoring/) - [Ensuring reliable, recent backups exist](https://www.mightyminnow.com/2025/12/is-your-website-backed-up/) - [Keeping WordPress, themes, and plugins updated and responding quickly to security vulnerabilities](https://www.mightyminnow.com/resources/wp-plugin-updates-step-step-guide/) Our step-by-step [maintenance workflow](https://www.mightyminnow.com/resources/wp-plugin-updates-step-step-guide/) may help if you are going it alone. Without maintenance, we won’t be proactively monitoring or notifying you about issues, but we’re always happy to help on a time-and-materials basis when you reach out. **The goal:** fewer emergencies, more peace of mind ## Maintenance vs. Going it alone | Area | With MIGHTYminnow Maintenance | Without Maintenance | |---|---|---| | **WordPress core, theme & plugin updates** | Updated on a regular schedule, reviewed and applied thoughtfully | Updates are your responsibility and may be delayed or missed | | **Security & vulnerability monitoring** | Proactive monitoring and prioritized response to known risks | No proactive monitoring or alerts from us | | **Backups** | Regular, reliable backups maintained | Backups may be inconsistent, outdated, or not happening | | **Awareness of emerging issues** | Issues often identified during routine maintenance | Problems are usually discovered only after something breaks | | **Emergency risk** | Lower risk; issues are more likely caught early | Higher risk of sudden downtime, hacks, or data loss | | **Responsibility & accountability** | Clear: we are responsible within the scope of the plan | Responsibility rests with the site owner | | **Support when issues arise** | Faster context-aware response since we know the site | Time-and-materials support, often starting from triage | | **Peace of mind** | You know someone is watching the basics | You need your own systems and monitoring in place | Our maintenance program isn’t about upselling or over-engineering. It’s about reducing risk, clarifying responsibility, and keeping websites healthy over time. If you’d like to talk about whether maintenance makes sense for your site or want help choosing the right level of support, we’re always happy to have that conversation. ## Triage Not everyone works like we do, and sometimes we are approached by folks whose websites were built by someone else and that are broken or sub-optimal or even seem to be held together with Scotch tape and baling wire. Though we’d rather make those folks fancy, shiny new easy-to-maintain websites, sometimes that isn’t practical and something just needs to be fixed. We call this type of work “Triage”, and we do this type of work on an hourly basis. If you need triage, [let us know](https://www.mightyminnow.com/contact/). ## Some of the Websites We Maintain [![ADI](https://www.mightyminnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/LogoADI-color-alt.png)](https://www.mightyminnow.com/case-study/appellate-defenders-inc-adi/) [![Oakland Public Education Fund](https://www.mightyminnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/OPEF-logo.png)](https://www.mightyminnow.com/case-study/oakland-public-education-fund/) [![Coro](https://www.mightyminnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/coro-logo.png)](https://www.mightyminnow.com/case-study/coro/) [![Dogs 4 Diabetics](https://www.mightyminnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/LogoHorizontal_BlackandBlue.png)](https://www.mightyminnow.com/case-study/dogs-4-diabetics/) [![Other Minds](https://www.mightyminnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/other-minds-logo.png)](https://www.mightyminnow.com/case-study/other-minds/) [![FruitGuys Community Fund](https://www.mightyminnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/cf_banner_logo-01.png)](https://www.mightyminnow.com/case-study/fruitguys-community-fund/) [![Andrew Fisher](https://www.mightyminnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/A-F-dark-logo-transparent.png)](https://www.mightyminnow.com/case-study/andrew-fisher/) [![St. Vincent de Paul Society of Marin County](https://www.mightyminnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/svdp-logo-blue.png)](https://www.mightyminnow.com/case-study/st-vincent-de-paul-society-marin-county/) [![Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano](https://www.mightyminnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/logo9.png)](https://www.mightyminnow.com/case-study/food-bank-of-contra-costa-and-solano/) [![Fruit Guys National Fruit at Work Day](https://www.mightyminnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/nfaw-logo.png)](https://www.mightyminnow.com/case-study/fruit-guys-national-fruit-at-work-day/) [![Piedmont Education Foundation](https://www.mightyminnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/PEF-logo.png)](https://www.mightyminnow.com/case-study/piedmont-education-foundation/) [![Rocket Dog Rescue](https://www.mightyminnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/rdr.png)](https://www.mightyminnow.com/case-study/rocket-dog-rescue/) [![Prairie Underground](https://www.mightyminnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/logo27.png)](https://www.mightyminnow.com/case-study/prairie-underground/)