At a glance: Website maintenance at Onur Freelance costs 500–2,000 TL per month and is optional. Pricing depends on site size, WooCommerce use, update and backup frequency, and expected response time. SEO and Google Ads management are separate services, each starting at 9,000 TL per month. Advertising spend paid to Google is excluded from the Ads management fee, and there is no bundle discount.
The WordPress maintenance fee is the monthly charge for core, theme, and plugin updates, backups, security checks, and form testing on a live site. People researching website maintenance often look for a single price, yet the same amount can cover very different workloads on a small company website and a WooCommerce store receiving daily orders. This page explains the price range, factors affecting the final fee, included and excluded tasks, and what happens without maintenance, drawing on official sources.
Onur Freelance provides web design, SEO, and Google Ads services from Onur Ertem’s office in Maltepe Gülsuyu, Istanbul. Maintenance is performed remotely and is available for newly delivered websites and WordPress sites built by other providers.
Video transcript
What determines WordPress maintenance pricing? Site size, WooCommerce use, update and backup frequency, and expected response time. Maintenance is optional. Scope depends on size, whether the site takes orders, update and backup frequency, content corrections, and response time. Each factor is assessed during review. Updates are checked weekly, files and the database are backed up, and uptime and security are monitored. Forms are tested; SSL, domain registration, and PHP versions are tracked, with monthly reports. Hack cleanup, extensive speed optimization, regular content entry, and redesign are excluded. SEO and Google Ads are separate services; hosting and licenses are the owner’s expenses. There are four steps: send the URL, have versions and backups reviewed, and receive the scope in writing the same day. A full backup is taken in the first month, followed by a monthly schedule. Current packages and prices are on the page. Send your URL through WhatsApp to receive the scope the same day. Onur Freelance dot com.
Let’s confirm your maintenance fee the same day
Send your website address and a rough plugin list through WhatsApp for a review. The maintenance scope and monthly amount within the 500–2,000 TL range are documented and sent the same day.
Page contents
WordPress maintenance at Onur Freelance: key details
- Price: 500–2,000 TL per month; maintenance is optional. The scope and monthly fee are sent in writing the same day.
- Included: Core, theme, and plugin update checks; file and database backups; uptime monitoring; security scans; form and email delivery tests; monitoring SSL, domain expiry, PHP versions, and disk space.
- Excluded: New features and resolving existing underlying faults are separate tasks.
- Team: Founder Onur Ertem, with over 8 years of experience in web design and digital marketing, and two digital marketing specialists. Discussions take place directly with the team doing the work, without an intermediary account representative.
- Location: Maltepe (Gülsuyu), Istanbul. Work is performed remotely; face-to-face meetings in Istanbul are available by appointment.
- Google reviews: A 5.0 rating on Google Business Profile from 217 reviews.
Website maintenance prices 2026: how much per month?
Monthly WordPress maintenance costs 500–2,000 TL depending on scope and is entirely optional; a delivered site can be used without purchasing maintenance. A written quote confirms the amount after review. The two services most often requested alongside maintenance have separate pricing:
| Service | Monthly fee | Note |
|---|---|---|
| WordPress maintenance | 500–2,000 TL | Optional; scope determines the amount within the range |
| SEO | From 9,000 TL | Separate service, excluded from maintenance |
| Google Ads management | From 9,000 TL | The advertising budget spent on clicks is paid separately to Google |
| Multiple services | No discount | Each service is charged at its own rate |
There is no bundle discount when maintenance, SEO, and advertising are purchased together; each has its own monthly fee. How these services work together on a live site is explained on the website management page. For a site that has not yet been built, use the website price calculator to estimate setup costs; maintenance is a separate charge starting after delivery.
What determines your WordPress maintenance fee within the range?
The difference between the lower and upper ends reflects monthly work and preventive measures. Fees are assessed individually rather than selected from preset tiers:
- Site size: Page count, plugin count, and components such as page builders requiring separate checks after each update.
- WooCommerce and checkout: Stores taking orders require cart, checkout, and order email checks after every update.
- Update frequency: Whether checks are weekly or more frequent, and how quickly critical security patches are applied.
- Backup retention: Daily or weekly backups, the number of historical copies retained, and their off-site storage location.
- Content corrections: Whether small text, image, or contact detail changes are included in the monthly scope.
- Response time: How quickly intervention is expected after an issue is reported, and the communication channel used.
A company website with few plugins and infrequent changes usually falls near the lower end. A store with daily orders, many plugins, and frequent backup needs is closer to the upper end. The final amount is provided with each factor stated separately in the written quote.
What is included and excluded from monthly maintenance?
Maintenance aims to keep the site running in its current form; adding features or resolving underlying faults are separate tasks. The table shows a starting plan for a typical company website; some tasks are more frequent for stores and membership sites.
| Task | Included in maintenance? | Frequency or note |
|---|---|---|
| Core, theme, and plugin update checks | Included | Weekly; critical security patches after release |
| File and database backups | Included | Weekly for rarely changing sites, daily for sites taking orders; an additional backup before every update |
| Uptime monitoring | Included | Continuous, with automated notifications |
| Security scans and administrator account checks | Included | Weekly |
| Form and email delivery tests | Included | Monthly and after every update |
| SSL, domain expiry, PHP version, and disk space monitoring | Included | Monthly |
| Maintenance report | Included | Every month |
| Hacked site cleanup | Excluded | Handled as a separate recovery service |
| Extensive speed optimization | Excluded | Planned as a separate service |
| Regular page, product, and blog content entry | Excluded | Handled through WordPress content management |
| Redesign and new sections | Excluded | Quoted separately |
| SEO and Google Ads management | Excluded | Each starts at 9,000 TL per month, charged separately |
| Hosting, domain, and premium license fees | Excluded | The owner’s own renewal expenses |
The included tasks are finalized after reviewing the site. Following an attack, cleanup falls under the hacked WordPress site recovery service. For persistent slowness, WordPress speed optimization is planned separately.
Monthly or annual WordPress maintenance?
Annual WordPress maintenance in the page name refers to continuing the monthly service on a consistent schedule throughout the year. There is no separate prepaid annual price; fees are set monthly according to scope. Repeating the same checklist for twelve months makes it easier to trace which update preceded a fault.
A website’s annual expenses also include domain, hosting, corporate email, and license renewals. These are collected in one table in the article on annual website costs.
Since pricing depends on scope, it is reviewed when the scope changes. Examples include adding a store, increasing backup frequency, or switching page builders.
Who handles these tasks without a maintenance service?
Maintenance is optional. Without it, updates, backups, form tests, and renewal tracking remain the owner’s or their team’s responsibility. The dashboard supports one-click updates, but updating everything without backups or testing leaves no recovery point if conflicts occur. Three habits provide a starting point: a full backup before updates, form testing afterward, and regular checks of Site Health.
What happens without maintenance? What does WordPress documentation say?
An unmaintained site rarely fails overnight; outdated versions, silently broken forms, and full disks accumulate. WordPress’s official hardening guide is clear: old versions do not receive security updates. Once a fix and new version are released, information needed to exploit the vulnerability is likely public, making outdated sites easier targets.
The same guide recommends keeping plugins current and deleting unused ones. WordPress.org’s updating WordPress documentation also recommends upgrading to the latest version and backing up beforehand. Common signs of neglected maintenance include:
- Months of accumulated update notifications in the dashboard
- An outdated PHP version or critical issue warning in Site Health
- No messages received through the contact form for a long time
- Plugins and themes whose developers no longer release updates
- Browser certificate warnings or intermittently unavailable pages
The WordPress guide describes security as reducing risk rather than eliminating it. Maintenance follows this approach: no site can be declared immune to attack, but current software, regular backups, and monitoring reduce risk. A clean recovery copy is available if a problem occurs.
PHP versions: the overlooked server maintenance task
WordPress is a PHP application, and the server’s PHP version ages like plugins do. WordPress.org’s requirements page recommends PHP 8.3 or later, MySQL 8.0 or MariaDB 10.11 or later, and HTTPS. It notes that WordPress also works with PHP 7.4, but these older versions have reached end of life and may expose sites to vulnerabilities.
PHP’s own supported versions page lists four supported branches at the end of September 2026: 8.2 through 8.5. Security support for 8.2 ends December 31, 2026, and for 8.3 on December 31, 2027. Older unlisted branches have reached end of life, and php.net warns that users may be exposed to unpatched vulnerabilities.
PHP versions are checked monthly. An upgrade is planned after theme and plugin compatibility is verified on a test copy, then applied through the hosting dashboard. If a plugin is incompatible, the report specifies the order of the required changes.
Let’s safely clear pending updates
For long-neglected sites, a full backup is taken first, accumulated updates are tested one by one on a copy, and a regular schedule follows. Send the URL through WhatsApp or call for a review.
In what order are WordPress updates applied?
Updating is a frequent maintenance task requiring care: a new plugin version may conflict with the theme or page builder. Changes are tested before the live site is updated, in this order:
- Backup: Files and the database are copied immediately before updating.
- Release notes: Changelogs and known incompatibilities are reviewed for major plugin and theme updates.
- Test copy: Page builders, WooCommerce, and payment plugins are updated on a copy first.
- Deployment: Approved updates are applied during low-traffic hours, then the cache is cleared.
- Checks: The homepage, menus, forms, cart, and checkout are opened and tested individually.
- Rollback: Unexpected errors trigger restoration from backup, with troubleshooting on the test copy.
Since WordPress 3.7, minor releases and security patches can install automatically without administrator approval. Plugin and theme auto-updates arrived in version 5.5; administrators enable them individually, and checks run twice daily by default. Maintenance uses a mixed approach: simple plugins may auto-update, while essential components are updated manually with testing.
Backups, retention, and restoration tests
Complete restoration requires both files and the database; copying only one is insufficient. Backups must also be stored off the server, since a provider’s own backups may be inaccessible after account suspension or server failure.
The common 3-2-1 data protection principle summarizes this: retain at least three copies on at least two storage types, with one off-site. Retention, or how many historical backups are kept, affects the maintenance fee. It determines whether a clean older copy remains available when a problem is discovered weeks later.
A backup cannot be considered reliable until it has been restored and tested. During maintenance, backups are periodically restored to a test environment to verify that the site runs from them.
Security monitoring, uptime, and form tests
Security monitoring tracks file changes, new administrator accounts, failed logins, and vulnerability announcements for installed plugins. Unfamiliar administrators or unexpected PHP files in theme folders require investigation. Administrator accounts use strong passwords and two-step verification.
Uptime monitoring checks the site externally at intervals and sends alerts when it is unavailable. Outages are discovered through monitoring instead of visitor complaints. SSL and domain expiry dates follow the same schedule, since an expired domain also interrupts corporate email.
The dashboard cannot prove that a contact form works; it must be submitted and notification delivery verified. Forms are tested monthly and after every update. WooCommerce stores also receive test order and order email checks.
What is in the monthly maintenance report?
The report briefly summarizes the month’s work and the site’s overall state without excessive technical detail:
- Updated core, themes, and plugins with their new version numbers
- Backup dates and restoration test results, where applicable
- Security findings and measures taken
- Downtime records and causes
- Form, email, and applicable order test results
- Recommendations for next month, such as removing a plugin or upgrading PHP
The report’s main benefit is recordkeeping: later faults can be traced to the timing of changes. Maintenance records also document where hosting, domains, SSL, and licenses are registered and when they renew.
How does monthly maintenance start?
The site is reviewed first, and the monthly fee is based on that review. The process has four steps:
- Contact: Send the URL and a rough plugin list through WhatsApp or share them by phone.
- Review and quote: WordPress, PHP, and plugin versions, backups, and hosting are reviewed; the scope and monthly fee are provided in writing the same day.
- First month: A full backup is taken, hosting, domain, and administrator access is recorded, and pending updates are applied sequentially on a test copy.
- Regular schedule: The site follows the monthly cycle in the scope table, with a report each month.
Sites built by another provider
Maintenance is available for WordPress sites built by other companies or freelance developers. Initial reviews may uncover accounts with unclear ownership, expired theme licenses, or abandoned plugins; any issues requiring resolution before ongoing maintenance are identified separately. Recurring errors and plugin conflicts fall under WordPress troubleshooting.
Contact us through WhatsApp or at 0532 690 9924 between 9:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. Meetings with Istanbul businesses can take place in person when needed; sites in other cities are maintained entirely remotely.
Let’s plan maintenance around your site’s needs
Send the website address with questions about scope, backup frequency, or pricing within the range. The scope and monthly amount are provided in writing, item by item, the same day.
Related guides
- If your WordPress site breaks after an update
- When a WordPress contact form does not send email
- How should WordPress backups be handled?
- WordPress security: protection layer by layer
- When your WordPress site loads slowly
- The “Your connection is not private” error and SSL
- Preventing contact form spam
- WordPress maintenance pricing research 2026
Frequently asked questions
How much does website maintenance cost?
Monthly WordPress maintenance at Onur Freelance is optional and costs 500–2,000 TL depending on scope. Factors include site size, WooCommerce use, update and backup frequency, content corrections, and expected response time.
Does WordPress maintenance include SEO?
No. SEO is separate, starting at 9,000 TL per month. Google Ads management also has a separate monthly fee starting at 9,000 TL. The advertising budget is paid directly to Google, and there is no bundle discount.
Is there a separate annual maintenance price?
No. Annual maintenance continues the monthly service on the same schedule throughout the year. There is no separate annual package price; monthly fees depend on scope.
What does monthly website maintenance cover?
It covers core, theme, and plugin updates, file and database backups, security and uptime monitoring, SSL and domain expiry tracking, form tests, and monthly reports. Hack cleanup, extensive speed optimization, regular content entry, and redesign are excluded.
Will a site be hacked without maintenance?
There is no certain answer, but WordPress’s security guide states that outdated versions do not receive security updates and details of fixed vulnerabilities are likely to become public. Maintenance reduces risk; no method eliminates it.
Which PHP version should WordPress use?
WordPress.org recommends PHP 8.3 or later. At the end of September 2026, php.net lists branches 8.2 through 8.5 as supported, with security support for 8.2 ending December 31, 2026. Upgrades are tested on a copy first.
Can WordPress updates break a site?
Updates usually run smoothly, but themes, page builders, or payment plugins may be incompatible. Backups before updating, testing critical components on a copy, and restoring backups when necessary manage this risk.
Do you maintain sites built by other providers?
Yes. The current site is reviewed first. A full backup is taken in the first month, access is recorded, and pending updates are tested before the regular schedule begins.
