There are many ways to grow your web design business. You can increase your rates, add new services, or cut underperforming ones and double down on what generates the most revenue. But arguably the simplest and most sustainable way to grow is by offering WordPress maintenance plans.
What is a WordPress maintenance plan?
A WordPress maintenance plan is a bundled monthly service that allows web designers and developers to generate reliable, recurring income. These plans typically cover plugin and core updates, backups, security monitoring, uptime tracking, and ongoing technical support — all delivered on a retainer basis rather than billed per task.
WordPress now powers over 43% of all websites globally, which means an ever-growing share of your potential clients are running WordPress — and most of them have no idea how to maintain it properly. That’s your opportunity.
3 key benefits of offering maintenance plans
There are three core reasons why maintenance plans are worth building into your business model.
- You’ll generate stable, predictable recurring revenue.
- You’ll save time by standardising your service delivery.
- You’ll build stronger, longer-lasting client relationships.
1. Stable, predictable recurring revenue
Research suggests that nearly half of web designers feel they don’t charge enough for their work. If that sounds familiar, maintenance plans are one of the most effective fixes — because rather than relying solely on new project income, you’re building a monthly baseline that covers the quiet periods.
Think of it as a financial safety net. Every client on a retainer is revenue you can count on at the start of each month, regardless of how many new enquiries come in.
When that monthly base is solid, you can afford to be more selective about the projects you take on. You’re no longer forced to say yes to every client — you have the freedom to focus on work that’s genuinely rewarding and well-paid.
2. Standardised service delivery saves time
The upfront effort of designing a set of maintenance packages pays dividends over time. Once your tiers are defined and your processes are in place — automated backups, update workflows, reporting templates — you stop reinventing the wheel for every client.
Sara from 11Web puts it well:
“I discovered early on in building websites that not offering ongoing services to website clients creates a toxic relationship. They inevitably had questions or needed help a few months after launch. When they called, I felt awkward about sending an invoice for a 20-minute phone call, so I did a lot of unpaid support. And, often, they wouldn’t call at all because they didn’t know if I’d send them a big unexpected invoice for it.”
Maintenance plans solve this entirely. Scope is defined, expectations are clear, and you get paid for the support you provide.
3. Stronger client relationships
Clients on a maintenance plan feel looked after. They know that if something goes wrong with their site, you’re already on hand — and they’re not going to receive a surprise invoice just for picking up the phone.
Sara Dunn from 11Web explains it well: clients with ongoing plans feel more connected to your business and develop a deeper level of trust, because they know you have their back.
That trust compounds over time. Clients who feel well looked after are more likely to bring you additional work — and 93% of web designers say referrals are their primary source of new clients. Maintenance plans directly contribute to that.
How to create a WordPress maintenance plan
Building your first maintenance offer is straightforward. There are three steps:
- Define the services you’ll include
- Package those services into tiers
- Set your pricing
1. Define your services
Start by thinking about what your clients actually need — and what you’re already delivering informally for free. Common questions to ask yourself:
- What do clients contact me about after a project goes live?
- What tasks do I currently do without invoicing?
- What recurring requests have come up in the past six months?
- What services would genuinely reduce stress for my clients?
Here are the most common services included in WordPress maintenance plans in 2026:
- WordPress core updates
- Plugin and theme updates
- Daily or weekly offsite backups
- Backup restoration
- Security monitoring and malware scanning
- Uptime monitoring
- SSL certificate management
- Site migrations
- Monthly performance reporting
- Support hours (content edits, bug fixes, minor design tweaks)
- Core Web Vitals monitoring (LCP, INP, CLS)
- SEO health checks
- Content updates and blog publishing
- Email hosting management
- Strategy consultancy
2. Package your services into tiers
Rather than selling services individually, most designers bundle them into two or three tiers. This simplifies the buying decision for clients and lets you upsell naturally as their needs grow.
Lori Berkowitz from BeeDragon Web Services describes a common tiering approach: a base plan covers daily offsite backups, malware scanning, uptime monitoring, software updates, spam cleanup, and database optimisation. Higher-tier plans add performance monitoring, page speed optimisation, caching configuration, and retainer hours for development or content work.
3. Set your pricing
Pricing should reflect both the time involved and the value delivered. A few things to consider:
- What is your standard hourly rate?
- How many hours per month does each plan realistically require?
- Which services are in highest demand from your clients?
- Are you using tools that can automate parts of the delivery (e.g. ManageWP, MainWP, WP Umbrella)?
Charge more for services that require your direct time and expertise. Routine automated tasks (backups, update checks) can be priced lower — but they still have value, and clients are paying for the peace of mind as much as the labour.
Real-world maintenance plan examples
Example 1 — Three-tier structure
- Basic: WordPress and plugin updates, daily backups, uptime monitoring, SSL management, security scanning
- Standard: Everything in Basic, plus monthly performance report, Core Web Vitals check, and 1 hour of support
- Premium: Everything in Standard, plus SEO health check, content updates, priority support, and 3+ hours of retainer time
Example 2 — Sara Dunn’s client-favourite package (from 11Web)
- Managed WordPress hosting
- Daily offsite backups
- Security monitoring and free malware removal
- Managed WordPress and plugin updates
- Premium forms plugin (Gravity Forms)
- Proactive maintenance
- 45 minutes of monthly support — content edits, blog posts, copywriting, minor design changes, answering questions
This kind of all-in plan gives clients a genuinely comprehensive service and removes the friction of tracking individual tasks.
Tools that make delivery easier
Running maintenance plans manually across multiple clients quickly becomes unmanageable. In 2026, the go-to tools for efficient delivery include:
- ManageWP — manage updates, backups, and security scanning across all client sites from one dashboard
- MainWP — self-hosted alternative to ManageWP, strong privacy controls
- WP Umbrella — newer tool with excellent reporting features, good for client-facing monthly reports
- UpdraftPlus — reliable backup plugin with remote storage support (Google Drive, Dropbox, S3)
- Stripe or GoCardless — recurring billing and direct debit for UK clients
Automating the routine parts of maintenance means your time is freed up for higher-value tasks — and your margins improve as your client list grows.
Ready to start?
Now that you have a clear picture of how maintenance plans work, what to include, and how to price them, you have everything you need to get started. Define your tiers, build a simple proposal template, and begin offering plans to both new and existing clients.
Your current clients are the easiest starting point. They already trust you. Reach out, explain the value, and let the recurring revenue speak for itself.
If you’d like to explore how website maintenance fits into your client offering, or find out how Falling Brick can support your WordPress development projects, get in touch.
With over two decades of web design and development expertise, I craft bespoke WordPress solutions at FallingBrick, delivering visually striking, high-performing websites optimised for user experience and SEO.
