Website maintenance costs: what you pay per month

Website maintenance costs: the short answer

What are normal website maintenance costs? In the Netherlands, WordPress maintenance plans start at around €45 a month. For a small business, roughly €100 a month all-in for hosting and maintenance is very common. It can be cheaper, sometimes even without any monthly fees. But then you need to know what you're leaving undone.

In this article I explain where that money goes, what you actually need and when managing it yourself is a good idea. I offer hosting and maintenance myself, so I have a stake in this. I'll still tell you when you don't need me. As is usual for business services in the Netherlands, all prices exclude VAT (btw).

What are you actually paying for?

Maintenance is an umbrella term. Two providers who both sell maintenance can mean very different things. One only runs updates, the other also edits your content and calls you when something goes wrong. If you take the bill apart, you'll find these components:

• Hosting: the server your website runs on.
• Domain name: your address on the internet. A .nl domain costs a few euros a year.
• SSL certificate: the padlock in the browser. Free with good hosting.
• Updates: of the system, the theme and the plugins. With WordPress, this is most of the work.
• Backups: a regular copy, and the certainty that you can actually restore it.
• Security and monitoring: noticing something is wrong before your customers do.
• Changes: a new photo, an updated price, an extra page.
• Business email: separate from the website, but often arranged with the same provider.

Website hosting costs

Hosting on its own isn't expensive. Basic shared hosting costs a few euros a month. For a modern static website, hosting is sometimes even free, because there's no database or server running that needs managing.

The difference is in what's included. Cheap hosting is often just space on a server. Updates, backups and help when something goes wrong are then your problem. With managed hosting, someone else handles that for you. You pay more for it, and it's usually worth the money if you don't have the know-how or the time yourself.

So always ask one question about a hosting price: who fixes it when the site goes down? If the answer is you, via a helpdesk, you pay little but do a lot yourself.

What does WordPress maintenance cost?

For WordPress sites, maintenance plans are completely normal. There's a reason for that. A WordPress site runs on a stack of plugins, and every plugin gets regular updates. Leave them and your site becomes vulnerable to hackers. Apply them blindly and something occasionally breaks. Someone has to keep track, test and fix things when needed. Those hours are in the monthly price.

Prices in the Netherlands roughly look like this:

• Basic: €45–90 a month. Updates, backups and monitoring.
• Standard: €90–180 a month. Often also a few hours for changes and a speed check.
• Premium: €180–450 a month. More hours, faster response times, sometimes SEO work or reporting.

Website as a subscription

Some providers sell the build and maintenance together as a subscription, usually for €49–149 a month. You pay no build price upfront. That's handy if you have little budget to start with.

Do read the small print. You're often tied in for at least twelve months. And if you stop, the website usually isn't yours. Over three years you also often pay more than with a one-off build plus separate maintenance. How that calculation works out is covered in how much does a website cost.

A website without monthly fees: is that possible?

Yes, it is. If you get the code of your website and host it yourself, you don't pay anyone anything per month. Only your domain name costs a few euros a year. A static site can run for free or almost free with several hosting providers.

But no monthly fees isn't the same as no maintenance. Someone still has to make sure the site stays secure, that forms keep working and that the content is correct. If that's you, fine. Just be honest with yourself about it.

This is where the technology makes a big difference. A WordPress site that hasn't been updated for a year is a risk. A modern static site, without plugins or a database, can run for years without needing anything. That's why I build this way. How AI helps with that is covered in building a website with AI.

Don't forget your email

Business email isn't part of your website, but it often comes up in the same conversation. Google Workspace costs €6.80–8.10 per user per month. Microsoft 365 is around €5–6. If you only need a mailbox, without shared calendars, documents and video calls, it can be cheaper.

Important when switching: you want your email to keep working as normal. Website and email are two separate things, even if they're currently with the same provider. That also applies if your company already has email set up abroad: it can usually stay exactly where it is. Always ask how the switch will work before anything moves.

How I handle it myself

At truck8.dev you have three options after launch. Hosting costs €39 a month, including a small change of about half an hour. Care costs €100 a month, with three hours of work included for changes and additions. Or you choose Self-managed: you pay a one-off €195, get the code and host it yourself, with no monthly fees to me.

A business mailbox can be added for €5 per mailbox per month. Your domain can stay with your own provider, or I manage it alongside your Hosting or Care for €25 a year (Care includes 2). Your existing email keeps working. All prices exclude VAT. More details are under hosting and maintenance. Not sure what suits you? Send me a message and I'll think it through with you.