23 October 2026Web Development

Website Maintenance Costs in the UK: What to Expect in 2026

Written by Simon Fielding, Founder, HollowMINT

Dark, sculptural sphere etched with fine glowing circuit lines — HollowMINT artwork for the website maintenance costs guide

A website isn't finished when it launches. Software needs updating, certificates renew, backups need checking and content goes stale. Skipping maintenance is how sites get hacked, slow down or quietly stop working. Here is what keeping a UK business website healthy typically costs in 2026, and what you should get for it.

What maintenance actually covers

Hosting and domain — Where the site lives and the address it lives at. Both renew every year or month, and the price varies with traffic and complexity.

Updates and security — Keeping software, plugins and dependencies patched so known vulnerabilities aren't left open.

Backups — Regular copies you have actually tested restoring, so a problem is an inconvenience rather than a disaster.

Monitoring — Alerts when the site goes down or slows, so you hear before customers do.

Content changes — New staff, prices, services and opening hours. Some plans include a set number of hours; others charge per change.

Support — A person to contact when something breaks, ideally with a clear response time.

Typical UK price ranges

Tier	Typical Range	Includes
Hosting and domain only	£50 – £300 / year	Hosting, domain renewal, SSL certificate — you handle everything else
Basic care plan	£25 – £75 / month	Updates, backups, uptime monitoring and security checks
Care plan with changes	£75 – £250 / month	Everything above plus an agreed allowance of content changes and priority support

These are indicative ranges for small business sites. Shops and bespoke applications need more attention, because they handle customer data and payments. See our e-commerce cost guide and our overview of custom software costs.

Questions to ask before you sign

What is included, in writing? — Updates, backups, monitoring and a number of change hours should be clearly listed.

Who owns the site, hosting and domain? — They should be in your name, so you can leave without negotiating.

How fast will you respond? — A realistic response time for urgent faults is worth more than a long feature list.

Can I see a restore test? — A backup you've never restored is a hope, not a backup.

Is a care plan worth it?

For most businesses, yes. A few pounds a month is far cheaper than recovering from a compromised site, and it keeps the site fast and findable. We also cover how to choose who builds and supports your site in how to choose a web developer.

We offer ongoing support as part of our web development services, so the people who built your site look after it. Ask about it through our contact page.

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