I was talking to a business owner in High Point last month who was frustrated. His website had been down for three days before he even noticed. When he finally called the person who built it two years ago, they'd gone out of business.

"I thought websites were done once they're built," he told me. "Like, I paid for it, it's done, right?"

I get it. It seems like once your website is live, it should just keep working forever. After all, it's not a car that needs oil changes or a building that needs repairs. It's just code, right?

But that's not how it works. Let me explain why websites need regular maintenance, and what happens when you skip it.

What Does Website Maintenance Actually Mean?

Website maintenance isn't about making your site look prettier or adding new features (though you might do that too). It's about keeping your site secure, fast, and functioning correctly.

Here's what regular maintenance involves:

Software updates: If you're running WordPress, the core software gets updated regularly—usually minor updates monthly and major updates a few times a year. Plugins get updated even more frequently. Custom sites need framework and dependency updates too.

Security monitoring: Checking for vulnerabilities, watching for suspicious activity, ensuring your SSL certificate is current, and making sure no one's trying to hack your site.

Backups: Regular, tested backups of your website and database. If something goes wrong, you can restore it quickly instead of losing everything.

Performance monitoring: Making sure your site loads fast, checking for broken links, ensuring forms still work, and confirming everything displays correctly.

Uptime monitoring: Watching to make sure your site stays online. If it goes down, you want to know immediately, not three days later when a customer tells you.

"But Nothing Ever Goes Wrong With My Site"

That's what people say... until something goes wrong.

Here's the thing: most problems start small and gradually get worse. You don't notice them until they become serious.

I had a client whose contact form stopped working. They didn't notice for six weeks because they got most leads through phone calls. Eventually someone mentioned it, and we discovered the form had been broken since the last update. They'd missed dozens of potential customers who tried to contact them and got silence.

Another client's site got hacked. The hackers didn't deface it or take it down—they added hidden links to pharmaceutical sites to boost their own search rankings. Google eventually caught it and blacklisted the entire domain. It took three months and a lot of work to get back in Google's good graces.

Neither of these problems was dramatic and obvious. They were quiet failures that cost real money.

What Can Go Wrong (Real Examples)

Let me walk you through some real situations I've dealt with:

Security breach: A WordPress site hadn't been updated in 18 months. Hackers exploited a known vulnerability in an outdated plugin. They didn't steal data or take the site down—they injected malware that infected visitors' computers. The site got blacklisted by Chrome, and visitors saw a scary "This site may harm your computer" warning. It took weeks to clean up and get delisted.

Hosting provider changes: A hosting company updated their PHP version to improve security and performance. The website, built years ago for an older PHP version, immediately broke. Nothing loaded—just error messages. Emergency fix cost $500 because it had to be done same-day.

SSL certificate expiration: An SSL certificate expired, and the site started showing "Not Secure" warnings in browsers. Some visitors left immediately. The business didn't notice for a week because the site still loaded fine for them (browsers cache security certificates). Lost customer trust and some business.

Database corruption: A database gradually developed errors over time. The site got slower and slower, then started displaying random error messages. Eventually the database was so corrupted it wouldn't load at all. No recent backups. Recovery cost $1,200 and the business lost two days of operations.

Plugin conflict: An automatic plugin update created a conflict with another plugin. The site's shopping cart stopped working. The owner didn't notice because they don't shop on their own site. Three days went by before a customer mentioned it. Those three days happened to be Black Friday weekend. The owner estimated losing $15,000 in sales.

None of these people thought maintenance was important until they learned the hard way.

The Real Cost of Skipping Maintenance

Let's do some math:

Option 1: Regular Maintenance

Monthly cost: $99-249
Annual cost: $1,188-2,988
Problems prevented: Most of them
Emergency fixes needed: Rarely

Option 2: No Maintenance

Monthly cost: $0
Annual cost: $0
Then something breaks: $500-2,000 emergency fix
Lost business during downtime: ???
Damaged reputation: ???
Stress and hassle: Significant

I'm not trying to scare you into buying maintenance. I'm trying to help you make an informed decision.

If your website isn't important to your business—if it's just there because everyone says you need one—maybe maintenance isn't worth it for you.

But if your website brings you customers, if people use it to contact you or learn about your services, if it represents your professional image, then maintenance isn't an expense—it's insurance.

"Can't I Just Fix Things When They Break?"

You can, but it's more expensive and more stressful.

When something breaks, it's usually urgent. Your site is down, or compromised, or not working right, and you need it fixed now. Emergency fixes cost more than scheduled maintenance.

It's like only taking your car to the mechanic when it breaks down on the highway versus getting regular oil changes and inspections. Sure, you might save money in the short term. But when you're stranded on I-40 waiting for a tow truck, those oil changes seem pretty cheap in retrospect.

Plus, some problems can't be fixed after the fact. If your site gets hacked and you don't have clean backups, you might lose everything. If you're blacklisted by Google for malware, it takes months to recover—if you can recover at all.

"I'll Just Do It Myself"

If you're technical and have time, you might be able to handle some maintenance yourself:

Installing updates (carefully!)
Running backups
Checking for broken links
Monitoring uptime

But here's what you probably can't do yourself:

Identify security vulnerabilities before they're exploited
Fix complicated issues when updates break things
Optimize performance and database queries
Respond quickly when something goes wrong at 2 AM

And more importantly: is this really how you want to spend your time? You started a business to do something you're good at, not to become a web developer.

What Good Maintenance Actually Includes

If you're paying someone for maintenance, here's what you should expect:

Basic Plan ($99-125/month):

Monthly software updates
Weekly backups (stored securely offsite)
Basic security monitoring
Monthly performance check
Email support for questions

Professional Plan ($200-250/month):

Everything in Basic, plus:
Weekly software updates
Daily backups
Advanced security monitoring
Uptime monitoring with alerts
Monthly performance optimization
Priority support
Small content updates included

Premium Plan ($400-500/month):

Everything in Professional, plus:
Real-time monitoring
Dedicated support
Included development hours for changes
Advanced analytics and reporting
Same-day response times

The right level depends on how critical your website is to your business.

How to Know What You Need

Ask yourself:

How much business comes through my website?
How quickly would I notice if my site went down?
What would happen if my site was down for a day? A week?
Could I afford an emergency $1,500 fix if something broke?
Do I have time to handle updates and monitoring myself?

If your website is central to your business, invest in professional maintenance. If it's just nice to have, basic maintenance or careful DIY might work.

What I Recommend

For most Triad businesses, I recommend at minimum:

Monthly WordPress/software updates
Weekly backups stored securely
Basic security monitoring
Someone to call when things go wrong

This isn't about selling you the most expensive plan. It's about making sure your website stays online, secure, and working for your business.

I've seen too many business owners learn the hard way that "it'll probably be fine" isn't a strategy. And I've cleaned up too many disasters that could have been prevented with basic maintenance.

The Bottom Line

Website maintenance isn't glamorous. It's not exciting. You won't see obvious results from it—which is exactly the point. Good maintenance means nothing dramatic happens.

But skip it, and eventually something will go wrong. It might be minor and fixable. Or it might be catastrophic and expensive.

Your website is an asset to your business. Like any asset, it needs care to keep working properly.

You don't have to use my maintenance services. But please, use someone's. Or at least have a plan for backups and updates.

Because "I didn't think anything would go wrong" is a expensive lesson to learn.

Want to discuss maintenance options for your website? Call (743) 214-0315 for an honest conversation about what you actually need.

Why Your Website Needs Regular Maintenance (And What Happens If You Skip It)