How much does website maintenance cost in 2026?

The short answer

Maintaining a small business website costs about $40 to $100 a month on a care plan in 2026, plus hosting if the plan does not include it. A published example: GoWP’s WordPress plans cost $39 a site a month for updates, daily backups and security scans, and $99 a site a month with more edits included.

Clutch’s website budget guide, updated in May 2026, gives wider ranges for each part: hosting at $2 to $80 a month, technical support at $2 to $300 a month and plug-ins at $0 to $600 a month. Our own website development care plan is in the last section.

What maintenance covers

• Updates. The site’s software, theme and plug-ins need regular updates. Skipping them is how most small sites get hacked.
• Backups. A recent copy of the site, kept somewhere else, so it can be restored after a bad update or an attack.
• Security. Scans for malware and a plan for cleaning it up if something is found.
• Hosting. The server the site runs on, unless you pay for it separately.
• Edits. New photos, prices, opening hours and team changes. This is the part most owners actually need help with.

What each part costs

Ranges from Clutch’s budget guide and published plan prices, read on 23 October 2026.

Doing it yourself, or paying by the hour

You can update a site yourself, and on a builder such as Wix or Shopify the platform does most of the technical upkeep for you. The cost is your time, and the risk of an update breaking something on a busy day. Paying someone by the hour works for occasional edits: the US Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the 2025 median pay for web developers and digital designers at $47.85 an hour. Freelance rates are usually higher, because they cover the freelancer’s own costs.

What to ask before you sign up

• Is hosting included? If not, add the host’s renewal price to the plan price.
• How many edits a month? And are they made by a person or by an AI tool?
• How often are backups taken, and how long are they kept? GoWP’s $39 plan, for example, keeps 90 days of daily backups.
• What happens if the site is hacked? Check whether clean-up is included or billed by the hour.
• Who updates the tracking? GA4 and ad tags break quietly when a site changes. Ask who checks them.
• Can you leave? You should own the domain, the site and its content, and get a copy when you go.

A cheaper plan that leaves edits and clean-up to you can cost more in a bad month than a dearer plan that includes them. Compare plans by what you would actually pay in a year, including the hours you or someone else would spend on the jobs the plan leaves out.

How the options compare

Care service figures are GoWP’s published plans. Others differ, so compare what each includes.

Where Blue Leopard Media fits

For sites we build, the care plan is $99 a month and covers hosting, updates and security, and small edits. Websites start at $1,499 for up to six pages, and every project starts with a written quote that sets the pages, features and timeline. See the prices.