A staggering 87% of websites suffer a high or medium cyber security risk, 68% don't have a recovery plan, and only 27.2% of sites have installed the latest version of WordPress.
These stats are unnerving, but fortunately, there's a solution: website maintenance.
Maintaining a healthy WordPress site is crucial for any business in today's digital landscape. Diligent upkeep ensures your WordPress site stays up and running, remains secure, and is vital to your site's overall performance.
With that said, this article explores the best WordPress maintenance services in the US.
There's lots to discuss, so let's dive in!
Key Takeaways
If you don't have time to read my complete guide, here are my key takeaways:
- The importance of WordPress maintenance: Regular maintenance is vital for your website's security, ensuring you have recent backups (this failsafe is essential should anything disastrous happen to your website!), performance, and, ergo, SEO.
- Top features to look for in a WordPress website maintenance service: Security monitoring, regular backups, performance optimization, update management, uptime monitoring, and excellent customer support.
- My top picks for WordPress maintenance services in the US: Freshy, GoWP, Site Care, Codeble, WPMU Dev, and Fixrunner.
What are WordPress Maintenance Services?
Before we move into the nitty-gritty of this guide, let's ensure we're all on the same page about what a ‘WordPress maintenance service' actually is:
In short, WordPress maintenance involves keeping WordPress websites up-to-date and running smoothly. As such, a WordPress maintenance service ensures your WordPress site:
- Has the latest WordPress and plugin updates installed
- Its data is regularly backed up.
- Is optimized for performance
- The service should also provide security monitoring.
All of the above is imperative for preventing issues like hacking, data loss, slow performance, and decreased search engine rankings.
The Importance of Regular WordPress Maintenance
I've briefly touched upon the importance of regular WordPress maintenance above. However, it's worth laboring the point that effective WordPress maintenance helps to ensure the following:
- Security and updates: WordPress can be a target of hackers, so keeping your site secure is essential. One way to ensure this is to update your WordPress site's core software as well as any plugins and themes you're using. Regular updates ensure security vulnerabilities are patched promptly, which goes a long way toward protecting your site from potential threats.
- Performance and SEO: Maintenance services can identify and fix performance bottlenecks, such as slow-loading pages or outdated plugins hindering your site's speed. Not only are fast load times crucial for user satisfaction, but they're also imperative for search engine optimization (SEO). Search engines like Google and Bing favor sites boasting good performance, which should help improve your site's ranking and visibility.
- Backups: Frequent backups are essential for safeguarding your data. In the unfortunate event of a cyberattack, server failure, or accidental data loss, a recent backup allows you to restore your site quickly, minimizing downtime.
Key Features to Look for in WordPress Maintenance Services
Now that we've covered the basics let's turn our attention to some of the key features to look out for in a best-in-class WordPress maintenance service:
- Security monitoring: Continuous security monitoring is essential for detecting and responding to threats in real-time. This includes protection against malware, hackers, and other potential vulnerabilities. A robust maintenance service will use advanced security tools and protocols to secure your site.
- Regular backups: A good WordPress maintenance service should offer automated and reliable backups to protect your data.
- Performance optimization: Ideally, your WordPress maintenance services will help enhance your website's load times and overall site performance.
- Update management: WordPress's core software, plugins, and themes are constantly updated. Therefore, these elements of your website need regular updating to ensure security and functionality.
- Uptime monitoring: You don't want your website to go down, especially without realizing it. That's why 24/7 monitoring is imperative to ensure your site is always up and running.
- Excellent customer service and self-help resources: You want access to responsive and knowledgeable in-person support to ensure you can address any issues promptly. Also, self-help resources, such as FAQs, tutorials, and knowledge bases, can empower you to solve minor issues quickly. These materials might be helpful if you don't have time to wait for an agent's response.
- Customization options: Every website has unique needs, so a one-size-fits-all approach to WordPress maintenance often falls short. Look for maintenance services that offer customizable plans tailored to your specific requirements, such as personalized security measures, specific backup schedules, targeted performance optimization strategies, and more.
Top WordPress Maintenance Services in the US
Now, let's explore some of the top WordPress maintenance services in the US. Below, we'll explore what each service offers, its pricing, and its pros and cons.
Let's dive in:
1. Freshy
Freshy describes itself as a ‘full-service US-based WordPress agency' that offers design, development, hosting, maintenance, and SEO services.
Where WordPress maintenance is concerned, Freshy boasts the following features:
- WordPress plugin and theme updates
- Security and vulnerability protection (24/7 protection, regular vulnerability analyses to ensure the security of your data and a malware cleanup service).
- Freshy uses real WordPress experts to assess your site.
Pricing: Freshy provides its users with custom quotes, so you'll have to contact them directly for more pricing information.
Pros
- Freshy has achieved 300+ 5-star Google reviews
- The Freshy team comprises 40+ WordPress experts.
- Freshy offers 100% satisfaction guaranteed, so there isn't much risk
- Freshy has 14+ years of WordPress experience.
Cons
- Users seem to review Freshy well. The only complaint I found was one from a few years ago about some confusion about billing.
2. GoWP
GoWP specializes in offering agencies dedicated developers to handle their WordPress maintenance.
GoWP's key WordPress maintenance features include the following:
- Visual Validator: GoWP performs WordPress core and plugin updates as they’re made available and ensures updates don’t negatively impact your site.
- Security monitoring: GoWP conducts daily scans, malware cleanups, and takes other proactive measures to keep your site safe.
- Backups: GoWP backs your site up daily.
- Dashboard plugin: This gives you and your clients complete visibility over the day-to-day maintenance GoWP performs.
- Custom reporting: GoWP can send your clients a monthly maintenance report customized with your brand's colors and logo.
Pricing
Website maintenance starts at $39 a month, which includes access to:
- The Visual Validator
- The custom maintenance dashboard
- 90 days of off-site backups
- Security scans and malware cleanup
However, more premium packages are also available. For more details, I recommend referring to GoWP's pricing page directly.
It's also worth noting that GoWP provides discounts if you have multiple sites that need maintenance.
Pros
- GoWP's white-label functionality is great for agencies providing web development services to multiple clients.
- The Visual Validator is reportedly excellent.
- The website maintenance monitoring tool is said to be really useful.
Cons
- According to one review, you need to budget to pay extra if you need tasks completing that take more than half an hour.
- As GoWP is aimed more at agencies, individuals might face a bit of a learning curve.
3. SiteCare
SiteCare bills itself as ‘a comprehensive methodology for healthy and thriving WordPress websites.'
With that said, let's look at its key website maintenance services:
- Automatic scans for malware and vulnerability patches.
- A 100% uptime guarantee.
- Access to WordPress professionals who can manage theme updates, website restorations, plugin conflict resolution, and more.
- The Account Management Team is contactable via email and phone, and they claim that almost half of client emails are resolved in under an hour.
SiteCare also aims to improve your website's core web vitals by resolving technical SEO issues.
…and more.
Pricing: Costs start from $185 a month (based on annual billing). Find more details about SiteCare's pricing packages here.
Pros
- SiteCare's 100% uptime guarantee is impressive
- SiteCare gives to charity
- Users praise the service's flexibility and value
Cons
- At $185 a month, small businesses might be unable to afford SiteCare's cheapest package.
4. Codeble
Codeable connects you with expert WordPress developers who can handle the maintenance of your website. You just tell Codeable what you need, and it connects you with up to five vetted experts.
The beauty of being able to submit your own brief is that you're matched with a professional capable of managing your website's specific needs.
Pricing: Codable's pricing is calculated on a per-project basis, so you'll need to submit a brief to access specific pricing details. However, for a low complexity, low urgency, low scope website speed, and security optimization project, Codeable estimates that prices will start from $420, with hourly rates varying from $80 to $120.
Pros
- You get access to vetted WordPress developers with skillsets suitable for your unique website maintenance project.
- Codebale offers a highly tailored service
- Codeable boasts a 4.8 out of five-star rating on Trustpilot
- Users praise the platform's ease of use, access to professional developers, and excellent communication
Cons
- Some users complain about project costs
5. WPMU Dev
WPMU Dev promises to provide everything you need to ‘seamlessly manage, update, and optimize unlimited sites without having to enter the WordPress admin.'
With that in mind, let's see how its WordPress maintenance features stack up:
- Access to automated plugin, theme, and core WordPress software updates
- Automated off-site backups are kept in multiple facilities (with up to 720 restore points), enabling you to restore your website anytime.
- Receive instant alerts if your website goes down.
- Provide clients with white-labeled website maintenance reports.
- Access to speed optimization features
- Security scans, suggestions, and alerts.
- SEO audits and tools, including a broken link checker
- Collaboration features for managing your team
- One-click SSO for instant site logins.
- ‘Everything you need' to manage and bill your clients.
- The platform is available in 18 languages.
…and more.
Pricing: At the time of writing, WPMU Dev was running a promotion. Their cheapest plan (Basic) was just $3 a month!
Pros
- WPMU Dev is one of the more affordable options on this list
- WPMU Dev provides a holistic WordPress security service
- WPMU Dev boasts a 4.8 out of five Trustpilot score.
- Users praise its high-quality customer support and ability to ‘quickly and easily perform maintenance actions on multiple sites at once.'
Cons
- Some users complain about misunderstandings over pricing.
6. Fixrunner
Fixrunner positions itself as a service offering ‘affordable WordPress help and maintenance packages.'
With that said, let's take a peek at its key WordPress maintenance features:
- Daily backups, so if something awful happens, they can restore your website
- Uptime monitoring
- Around-the-clock security to prevent hacking attempts and security breaches.
- Bi-weekly reports – FixRunner logs every change they make on your site and sends a detailed report every two weeks.
- Speed optimization, including image compression and optimizing your website's code
Pricing: The plan starts at $59 a month (for a minimum of three months). You can view other pricing packages here.
Pros
- There's a 30-day money-back guarantee
- Users praise FixRunner's high-quality customer support
- There's a one-time fix option if you want to refrain from subscribing to ongoing maintenance support.
Cons
- There doesn't seem to be an option to request a bespoke plan
- Telephone support is only available with their most expensive subscription
How to Choose the Best WordPress Maintenance Service for Your Needs
With so many WordPress maintenance services available, how do you choose the right one for your website?
To help you answer that, I suggest asking yourself the following and allowing the answers to guide your purchasing decision:
First, what are your website's unique requirements? I.e., what does your website need in terms of security, performance, and updates? It stands to reason that a small blog might not require the same level of service as a high-traffic eCommerce store or web development agency.
Next, what's your budget? In an ideal world, cost would be no limitation, but unfortunately, for most businesses, that just isn't the case.
So, determine how much of your business's budget you can allocate to WordPress maintenance. Remember to do a cost-benefit analysis of the service's features and support quality before deciding.
Sometimes, the cheapest option might not offer the best value if it lacks the features your website needs or reliable support.
Additionally, what do their customers have to say? Look for customer reviews and testimonials not only on their website but also on third-party review sites like Trustpilot. This should give you a sense of their reliability and the quality of their service.
Finally, does the service offer a trial period, a money-back guarantee, or a demo? If so, great! This gives you the freedom to test their effectiveness before committing your hard-earned cash.
Benefits of Using Professional WordPress Maintenance Services
There are several benefits to hiring a professional WordPress maintenance service, most notably:
- Peace of mind: Sleep easy knowing your site is managed by professionals, giving you one less thing to worry about.
- Save time: Whenever you outsource tasks to professionals, you save invaluable time that can be dedicated to other revenue-generating activities, and website maintenance is no different. As we've discovered, managing a WordPress site involves all kinds of routine tasks—updates, creating backups, performance optimization, and more. By leaving these tasks to the experts, you're free to use your time more productively.
- Technical expertise: Delving into the nitty-gritty of WordPress maintenance can be pretty technical. The last thing you want is to install plugins and themes with conflicting code, which could break your site or cause significant issues. Professional maintenance services bring a wealth of technical knowledge and experience, ensuring that all site components work harmoniously.
- Enhanced performance and security: A high-quality WordPress maintenance service will proactively ensure your website is optimized for security, performance, and SEO. Regular updates and security patches help to protect your site from vulnerabilities and cyber threats. WordPress maintenance professionals should also ensure your site loads quickly. This goes a long way toward delivering a superior user experience and improving search engine rankings- win-win!
Mistakes to Avoid When Selecting a WordPress Maintenance Service
To help you avoid these pitfalls, we've listed some common mistakes people make when selecting a WordPress maintenance service:
- Choosing based solely on price: As mentioned above, cheaper isn't always the best value for money. Sometimes, more affordable options lack the features you need to properly maintain your website. Similarly, they might not provide reliable customer support. That's why it's imperative to list your requirements for a potential WordPress maintenance service and then marry up your requirements with the service's offering. This is the easiest way to compile a shortlist of companies that meet your needs. From there, you can determine who offers the best service at the best price.
- Not checking reviews: Customer reviews are telling. If someone has had a bad experience, they'll often shout about it on review sites like Trustpilot. That said, do your due diligence to see what users really think of the service you're considering.
- Overlooking customer support: Testing the service's customer support before signing up is wise. Try sending them an email to see how quickly they respond. You never know when you might have to rely on their customer support agents for something more important, and this should give you a rough first-hand experience of the kind of customer service you can expect to receive.
- Ignoring service specifics: Building on the first point I made in this section, double-check that the service you're considering offers all the necessary features for your site’s needs.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
ensuring they're all regularly updated and compatible. Such a service also usually offers:
Security monitoring
Website backups
Performance optimization
Malware removal
Uptime monitoring
All the above help to ensure your site runs smoothly, remains secure, and performs optimally, providing a seamless user experience and protecting the website's integrity.
WordPress maintenance services typically manage your WordPress core software, themes, and plugins,
Where website backups are concerned, this should be done daily or, at the very least, weekly.
However, other WordPress maintenance tasks can be done monthly, with security updates as needed.
Yes, you can maintain your own WordPress site. However, it requires time and technical knowledge. For example, installing an update that isn't compatible with the theme and plugins you're using can cause your website to crash, and if you don't have a website backup to deploy, you could be in serious trouble.
Therefore, if you lack this skill set, I highly recommend investing in working with a professional. Not only is this more convenient, but it's often the safer bet.
As mentioned above, professional services are beneficial if you have neither the time or expertise to manage your WordPress website updates, security, and performance.
Costs vary from a few to hundreds of dollars.
Typically, website maintenance costs depend on the number of websites you want to maintain and the features you wish to access.
That said, if you're running a large, profitable eCommerce store or a website development agency, I would view website maintenance as more of an investment that can save money by preventing costly downtime.
Are You Ready to Start Using the Best WordPress Maintenance Services in the US?
That brings us to the end of our guide!
As we've seen, choosing the best WordPress maintenance service is crucial for a healthy, secure, and high-performing website. Regular maintenance ensures your site remains functional and that downtime is minimal.
That's why investing in a reliable WordPress maintenance service is a wise choice. Plus, it also frees up your time to focus your efforts on expanding your business without worrying about technical details—a win-win!
Which of these WordPress maintenance services are you considering using? Let us know in the comments box below!
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