Is your developer charging INR 3,000-INR 10,000/month for "website maintenance" and you have no idea what you're actually getting? You're probably being overcharged.
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No proof, testimonials, or credibility to build confidence.
Is your developer charging INR 3,000-INR 10,000/month for "website maintenance" and you have no idea what you're actually getting? You're probably being overcharged.
Most Indian businesses are paying for maintenance that either happens automatically, is already included in their hosting, or simply doesn't need to be done monthly. Understanding the real costs of website development and maintenance helps you budget accurately from the start.
Legitimate website maintenance falls into five categories:
Security Updates: CMS updates (WordPress, plugins, themes) that patch security vulnerabilities. Critical for WordPress sites - skip these and you risk being hacked. Frequency: monthly.
Backups: Automatic weekly or daily backups of your website files and database. If something breaks, you can restore to a recent version. Most good hosting providers do this automatically.
Uptime Monitoring: An automated service that alerts you if your website goes offline. Free tools like UptimeRobot monitor every 5 minutes at no cost.
Performance Monitoring: Checking that your website still loads fast and passes Core Web Vitals. Should be checked monthly.
Content Updates: Changing text, images, prices, or adding new content. This is the most time-variable component and should be charged based on actual time spent.
Contextual Next Step
If this topic matters for your business, the next useful page is usually the main landing page for that intent. That gives you the service structure, proof path, and pricing context directly instead of leaving everything inside blog content alone.
| Maintenance Package | What's Included | Fair Monthly Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Basic (self-service) | Hosting + domain renewal only | INR 250-INR 600/month |
| Standard | Security updates, backups, uptime monitoring | INR 800-INR 2,000/month |
| Active | Standard + 2 content updates/month | INR 1,500-INR 3,500/month |
| Premium | Standard + unlimited content updates + priority support | INR 3,000-INR 6,000/month |
For a static custom website (non-WordPress): Security updates are minimal because there are no plugins to update. Maintenance costs are significantly lower - INR 300-INR 800/month for hosting and monitoring only.
Before
These are maintenance charges that are either unnecessary or should be included in standard service:
SSL certificate renewal: Free Let's Encrypt SSL auto-renews every 90 days. Never pay separately for SSL.
"Keeping your website online" fees: Your hosting fee covers this. A developer charging separately to "keep your website online" is double-billing you.
Automatic backup fees: Most decent hosting plans include daily automated backups. If your developer charges extra for backups on top of a standard hosting fee, question it.
"Monitoring" fees without specifics: Any monitoring charge should come with a specific tool name and what's being monitored. Vague monitoring fees are often unjustified.
Support charges for bugs they introduced: If your developer introduced a bug during an update, fixing it should be free. Bug fixes caused by their own work should never be billed.
Yes, significantly. Here's why:
A WordPress website has: a core CMS that needs regular updates, 10-40 plugins each with their own update cycles, themes that need updates, and a database that can bloat over time. Monthly plugin updates alone take 30-60 minutes for a complex WordPress site.
A custom Next.js website (what I build) has: no CMS, no plugins, no WordPress vulnerabilities. The main maintenance is hosting renewal, occasional performance checks, and content updates on request. My custom sites typically cost INR 300-INR 600/month to run - mostly just the hosting fee.
This lower ongoing cost is one of the reasons I recommend custom development for businesses planning to use their website for 3+ years.
Every website I deliver includes:
- 3 months free support after delivery (bug fixes, minor changes, questions)
- Hosting included for year one in every package
- Full code ownership - you're never locked in
After the first year, maintenance is entirely optional:
- Self-managed: You handle domain and hosting renewal (~INR 3,000-INR 5,000/year total). I hand you all credentials.
- Managed by me: INR 500/month or INR 4,500/year. Includes: hosting renewal, uptime monitoring, performance checks, and up to 2 content update sessions per month.
No surprise bills. No manufactured dependency. The website is yours.
For a static custom website: very little. It will keep running as-is indefinitely as long as hosting and domain are renewed. For WordPress sites: security vulnerabilities accumulate, plugins eventually become incompatible, and you risk being hacked within 12-18 months of no updates.
Yes, for most tasks. WordPress updates can be done from the dashboard with one click. Domain and hosting renewals are done through your registrar account. Content updates on a CMS-based site are designed to be done without technical knowledge.
For a basic business website: domain (INR 700-INR 1,200) + hosting (INR 2,000-INR 6,000) = INR 2,700-INR 7,200/year. That's the true minimum annual cost to keep a website running. Everything else is optional.
It depends on what's included. If that covers hosting, domain, security monitoring, and 1-2 content updates, it's reasonable. If it's purely for 'keeping the site running' with no specific services, you're likely overpaying. Ask for an itemized breakdown.
If your website breaks due to server/hosting issues: your hosting provider is responsible (most have uptime guarantees with compensation). If it breaks due to a developer's code update: the developer is responsible and should fix it free. If it breaks due to your own changes: your maintenance plan or a paid update session covers the fix.
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