Website Maintenance
By George Athanasopoulos
By George Athanasopoulos
Everything you need to know about your website maintenance plan - what's included, how updates are handled, how to report an issue, and how we keep your website stable and secure.
What Is Included in My Maintenance Plan?
Your website maintenance plan is not just a set of scheduled tasks - it's ongoing, active care that keeps your website updated, secure, monitored, and functioning properly at all times. Here's a breakdown of what each plan includes. All Plans Include Regardless of which plan you are on, every website we maintain receives the following as standard: - WordPress, theme, and plugin updates - applied regularly and tested for compatibility before and after - PHP version checks and compatibility - we ensure your website runs on a stable, supported PHP version - 24/7 uptime monitoring - your website is checked every 5 minutes around the clock; if it goes down, we are alerted instantly and act immediately - Form submission monitoring - we run a custom monitoring system that detects failed form submissions and alerts us immediately so we can investigate and fix the issue - Backup verification - we don't just rely on backups existing; we verify they are valid and recoverable - Monthly status report - a clear summary of everything done on your website that month, including updates applied, checks performed, and anything worth noting - Full support access - you can reach us by email, phone, WhatsApp, or Viber regardless of your plan Care - For Standard Business Websites Designed for company websites, landing pages, and simple service-based websites that need reliable maintenance without unnecessary complexity. What's included beyond the standard: - Basic security checks and protection review - Contact form and key page functionality checks - Monthly maintenance cycle Active - For Dynamic WordPress Websites Designed for websites with more moving parts — booking systems, multilingual setups, directories, rental platforms, and advanced WordPress configurations that require deeper oversight. What's included beyond Care: - Twice-monthly maintenance and update cycles - Advanced compatibility and conflict checks after every update - Dynamic page and functionality testing - Booking, forms, and lead flow verification - Basic performance and database cleanup - Priority support with faster response handling - Active firewall and malware scanning - Monthly small fixes and adjustments included Commerce - For WooCommerce Websites Designed for ecommerce stores where stability and correct functionality directly affect revenue. Every part of the customer journey is actively monitored and tested. What's included beyond Active: - WooCommerce-specific updates and compatibility checks - Cart, checkout, and account flow testing after every update - Payment and shipping functionality review - Order process and email flow verification - Priority issue handling for critical problems - Enhanced monitoring focused on revenue-critical pages - Ongoing store stability and health checks Response Times We take response time seriously. For any critical issue - website down, payment problems, checkout not working, or anything that directly impacts your business - we respond and act immediately. For non-urgent requests, questions, or minor adjustments, we respond within 48 hours. Not Sure Which Plan You're On? Contact us and we'll confirm your current plan and what it covers. You can reach us via: - Email - Phone - WhatsApp / Viber - Contact form at ath.dev/contact → View All Maintenance Plans
How Do We Handle WordPress, Theme and Plugin Updates?
Keeping your website updated is one of the most important parts of your maintenance plan. Updates are not just about new features - they fix security vulnerabilities, improve compatibility, and keep your website running stably over time. Here's exactly how we handle them. We Don't Just Click Update Applying updates blindly is one of the most common causes of website breakage. We follow a careful process every time: - We review what each update changes before applying it - We check for known conflicts with your specific theme and plugin setup - We apply updates and immediately verify that your website looks and functions correctly - If anything breaks, we roll back and investigate before proceeding You never need to touch an update yourself - we handle everything. What Gets Updated Every website on a maintenance plan receives updates for: - WordPress core - the foundation your website runs on - All active plugins - including WooCommerce and any extensions if applicable - Your theme - including child theme compatibility checks - PHP version - we monitor your PHP version and flag or action upgrades when needed to keep your website on a supported, stable version How Often Updates Are Applied Update frequency depends on your plan: - Care - once per month - Active - twice per month - Commerce - twice per month, with additional checks focused on WooCommerce compatibility after every update cycle For critical security updates - where a vulnerability is actively being exploited - we apply the fix immediately regardless of the regular schedule, on all plans. What Happens After Every Update After each update cycle, we run a series of checks to confirm everything is working as expected: - Key pages load correctly - Contact forms submit successfully - On Commerce plans: cart, checkout, payment, and order flow are verified end to end If we spot anything wrong, we fix it - you'll hear from us only if there's something worth flagging on your end. Do I Get Notified When Updates Are Done? Yes. Every month (or twice a month on Active and Commerce) you receive a status report summarising all updates applied, checks performed, and the overall health of your website. You don't need to follow up or ask - it comes to you automatically. Can I Request an Update Outside the Schedule? Yes. If a specific update is urgent or you've been notified of a critical vulnerability, contact us and we'll prioritise it. You can reach us via: - Email - Phone - WhatsApp / Viber - Contact form at ath.dev/contact
How Does Website Monitoring Work?
Every website on a maintenance plan is monitored around the clock - not just once a day, but every 5 minutes, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This means if something goes wrong at any time, day or night, we know about it immediately and start working on it straight away. What We Monitor Uptime & Availability Your website is checked every 5 minutes to confirm it is online and responding correctly. The moment it becomes unavailable, we receive an instant alert and begin investigating - without waiting for you to report it. Form Submissions We run a custom monitoring system that actively tracks contact form submissions. If a form fails to deliver - whether due to an SMTP configuration issue, a plugin conflict, or any other reason - we are alerted immediately and investigate the cause. This matters because a broken contact form can silently cost you leads for days without anyone noticing. We catch it fast. Security & Malware (Active & Commerce Plans) On Active and Commerce plans, an active firewall and malware scanner runs continuously on your website. If a threat is detected, we are notified and act on it. Care plan websites receive regular manual security checks as part of the monthly maintenance cycle. Revenue-Critical Pages (Commerce Plan) For WooCommerce websites, we apply enhanced monitoring specifically on the pages that matter most to your business - product pages, cart, checkout, and order confirmation. Any anomaly on these pages triggers an immediate alert. What Happens When Something Is Detected When our monitoring catches an issue: 1. We receive an instant alert 2. We investigate the cause immediately 3. We fix the issue or escalate if needed 4. We inform you - especially if the issue requires action on your end (for example, an SMTP password change that caused form delivery to fail) For critical issues like your website being down or a checkout problem, we act immediately regardless of the time or day. Do I Need to Set Anything Up? No. Monitoring is configured by us when your maintenance plan starts. You don't need to install anything, create accounts, or do anything on your end. What If I Notice Something Before You Do? While our monitoring catches most issues quickly, you should always contact us immediately if you notice anything wrong - don't wait to see if it resolves itself. You can reach us via: - Email - Phone - WhatsApp / Viber - Contact form at ath.dev/contact
What Is the Monthly Status Report?
Every month, you receive a detailed status report covering everything we did on your website during that period. It's your proof of work - a clear, transparent summary of all maintenance activities, your website's health, and its performance over the past month. You don't need to ask for it; it's sent to you automatically. What's Inside the Report Overview A quick snapshot of your website's overall health for the month - uptime status, performance score, number of updates applied, security checks, and backup status. Everything at a glance. Traffic & Visitors A breakdown of your website's traffic for the period, including total sessions, unique visitors, and traffic sources (organic, direct, and other). This section requires that your website is connected to Google Analytics - if it isn't, we can help you set that up. Uptime Confirmation that your website was monitored and online throughout the month, including your uptime rate percentage. We aim for 100% - and we act immediately when anything threatens that. Performance Your Google PageSpeed score along with detailed performance metrics including First Contentful Paint, Time to Interactive, Largest Contentful Paint, and more. This gives you a clear picture of how fast your website loads for real visitors. Updates A full log of every plugin, theme, and WordPress core update applied during the period - including the version before and after, and the date it was applied. Full transparency, no guesswork. Security A summary of your security monitoring status, covering vulnerability scanning, SSL certificate monitoring, domain monitoring, PHP issues monitoring, and overall site health including your current WordPress and PHP versions. Backups Confirmation of your backup status - number of backups available, last backup date, and backup frequency. How Often Do You Receive It? - Care plan - once per month - Active & Commerce plans - twice per month Do You Need to Do Anything? No. The report is generated and sent to you automatically. If you have questions about anything in the report or want to discuss any findings, just reach out. You can reach us via: - Email - Phone - WhatsApp / Viber - Contact form at ath.dev/contact
How Does My Maintenance Plan Renewal Work?
Your maintenance plan renews automatically at the end of each billing cycle, either monthly or annually depending on your plan. Before each renewal, you will receive an email with payment instructions so you can complete the payment and ensure uninterrupted service. You don't need to do anything in advance - the email comes to you automatically when renewal is due. Important: Verifying the Renewal Email Is Legitimate We take your security seriously. Before acting on any payment request you receive, please verify it is genuinely from us. Our renewal emails will always: - Come from our official email address ending in @ath.dev or @athdevelopment.com - Address you by name, not generically (e.g. "Dear Customer") - Reference your website address and the specific plan you are on - Never ask for your credit card details, passwords, or any sensitive personal information via email If you receive a suspicious email claiming to be from us: - Do not click any links or make any payment - Contact us directly through our official contact page to verify - We will always confirm whether a renewal email was sent by us When in doubt, reach out to us first. It takes 2 minutes and could save you from a scam. What Happens If I Don't Pay on Time? If the renewal payment is not completed on time, your maintenance plan will be paused. During this period, active monitoring, updates, and all included services are suspended until the payment is settled. We'll follow up with you if we don't receive payment - we won't just cancel without notice. Questions About Your Renewal? If you're unsure about a payment request, want to change your billing cycle, or have any questions about your plan, contact us directly. You can reach us via: - Email: contact us through ath.dev/contact - Phone - WhatsApp / Viber