A WordPress website has running costs after launch, but they should be understandable. Separate the essentials that keep it online from the work that maintains it, the software it uses and the improvements you choose to make. That gives you a more realistic budget than a single unexplained monthly figure.
At SJH Studio, website and email hosting is £120 a year plus VAT. Our WordPress maintenance plan is £75 a month plus VAT, including annual hosting. You choose the appropriate arrangement; the hosting charge is not added again to the maintenance plan.
Hosting and maintenance are different services
Website hosting provides the environment in which the site runs. Maintenance concerns the application and its continuing operation. A hosting account can remain available while a plugin is outdated, a contact form stops working or content becomes inaccurate.
Equally, a maintenance agreement has a defined scope. Before signing up, ask what is checked, how updates are handled and which types of assistance are included. Do not assume that “managed” or “maintenance” means unlimited design changes, every possible licence or a guaranteed response at any hour.
For a simple site with someone competent managing it internally, hosting plus separately commissioned work may be suitable. For a business that wants ongoing help with WordPress, a maintenance plan may be more practical. The decision should consider the website's role and who actually owns its upkeep.
The SJH figures, with VAT explained
| Service | Price excluding VAT | At 20% VAT |
|---|---|---|
| Website and email hosting | £120 per year | £144 per year including VAT |
| WordPress maintenance, including annual hosting | £75 per month; £900 over twelve months | £90 per month; £1,080 over twelve months including VAT |
These are our service figures, not a claim about the average cost of every WordPress website. Larger shops, unusual infrastructure and complex integrations can need a different support arrangement. Confirm the scope and any separate charges for your own site. The VAT examples use the UK standard rate of 20%.
Domain names and renewals
Your domain is separate from the website files and hosting, even when one supplier helps with all three. Check the registered owner, renewal date, renewal price and who receives reminders. Keep the business's contact details current and make sure the recovery process does not depend on one former employee.
Do not assume a low first-year registration offer is the renewal price. You may also own more than one domain, but paying to renew several names does not automatically create more search visibility. Keep the names that have a clear business purpose and manage redirects deliberately.
Commercial plugins, themes and external services
WordPress software can be used without buying a commercial theme or premium plugins, but many business sites use paid tools. These may handle forms, memberships, bookings, subscriptions or specialist editing. A licence renewal might cover updates and support, while the running website depends on how that particular product is licensed.
Ask for a list of commercial dependencies and who pays for them. If an agency supplies a licence, understand what happens when the support agreement ends. Do not assume that an installed plugin means the business owns a transferable licence forever.
Third-party services can create additional bills: payment processing, transactional email, CRM platforms, maps, stock management and AI usage, for example. An e-commerce website may have several such connections. Record renewal dates and usage limits alongside the website budget.
Updates need a recovery and testing plan
WordPress core, plugins and themes evolve. The official WordPress auto-update documentation recommends keeping extensions current and being able to roll back if an update causes problems. Automatic updates can help, but they do not replace deciding what to test and who responds to a failure.
The important checks depend on the site. A brochure website needs its key pages and enquiry routes checked. A shop also needs attention to product selection, delivery rules, checkout and connected systems. A membership site needs its access rules checked. Testing should follow the journeys that matter to the business.
Backups need a suitable retention and recovery arrangement. Ask what is backed up, where it is stored, how long it is retained and whether recovery has been tested. The right frequency depends on how much changing information the site holds. Avoid assuming a particular schedule is included without checking the agreement.
Content and new features are separate decisions
A maintenance plan does not automatically answer who updates staff biographies, publishes articles or adds new products. Decide whether your team will handle routine editing, whether training would help and when you want an agency involved.
New functionality is normally a project decision rather than background maintenance. Connecting a CRM, changing a booking flow or adding trade pricing involves requirements, development and testing. Our web development service covers that kind of work with a defined scope, so you can distinguish keeping the existing site running from expanding it.
The same applies to SEO and content improvement. Technical care can support a healthy site, but it does not automatically include a sustained search campaign, fresh photography or ongoing article writing. Ask which service addresses each goal.
Who owns a problem when it happens?
Agree one clear contact route for website faults. The person receiving a report should be able to establish whether it concerns hosting, WordPress, a payment provider or another integration. You should not have to guess the technical cause before asking for help. Confirm any investigation charges and service hours in the agreement.
Build a twelve-month ownership budget
Make a simple list with five columns: item, supplier, renewal date, annual cost and person responsible. Include the domain, hosting or inclusive maintenance, licences and essential external services. Then add a separate allowance for planned improvements, rather than hiding them inside an assumed support entitlement.
Review the list when the business changes. A small enquiry site becoming an online shop may need different infrastructure and testing. A site you no longer use may have subscriptions that can be cancelled after checking dependencies and preserving necessary records.
If you are unsure what your WordPress site relies on, start by asking for a clear inventory and care scope. Our maintenance and security service can be discussed against the actual site, with hosting included in the stated plan and additional work explained before it begins.