Who Looks After Your Business Website After Launch?
At handover, record who looks after the website and who takes over when that person is unavailable. Give them a short checklist for renewals, backups, updates and the features customers rely on. Keep the support contact and access instructions where the business can find them.
Split the work by platform
On WordPress, agree who maintains the core software, themes and plugins, and who checks the site after changes. A managed host may handle infrastructure or some updates. Check the contract for responsibility for forms, integrations and recovery. This guide explains the difference between managed hosting and WordPress maintenance.
On a hosted website builder, the provider typically handles its platform software. The business still needs an owner for its domain, subscriptions, content, forms and third-party tools. For a static site, agree who can access the source, rebuild it, renew hosting and restore a previous deployment.
Agree how to update, test and recover
Set a backup schedule that fits how often the website changes. Know what the backups contain, where they live and who can restore them. For important changes, take a usable backup, test risky updates in staging where available and check key pages afterwards. Test that an enquiry reaches the intended inbox. For payments and bookings, use an agreed test mode or staging process and check confirmations. Assign someone to respond to uptime or security alerts and to handle domain, hosting and licence renewals.
Choose who does the work
| Approach | When it fits | Confirm before choosing |
|---|---|---|
| DIY | Someone on your team has the time and access to run routine checks | Who covers absences and has practised recovery? |
| Developer on call | You can handle routine tasks and want specialist help as issues arise | What are the response hours and charges? Who monitors between calls? |
| Care plan | You want a provider to own agreed recurring tasks | Which checks, fixes and response times are included? How are additional changes billed? |
Review contact details, opening hours and services as the business changes. Keep a short record of who made each significant change and how to undo it.
Compare WordPress maintenance plans
If you want help looking after an existing WordPress site, check what WordPress maintenance includes.
