Quick answer
Website maintenance covers backups, security updates, uptime monitoring, form testing, speed checks and domain renewal, on monthly, quarterly and yearly schedules. With BuildSites, hosting, SSL, uptime monitoring every minute, security updates within 24 hours, nightly backups kept 30 days and unlimited edits are all included in every plan from $297 a month with no upfront cost.
TorontoBusinesses in North York, Scarborough, Etobicoke, East York, Downtown and the Beaches often discover a maintenance gap only after a customer mentions a broken form or a site that would not load. We look after sites across Toronto, handling monitoring, updates, backups and edits so owners do not have to. We work with you by video and on site where it helps.
What does website maintenance include?
Website maintenance covers backups, security updates, uptime monitoring, form testing, speed checks, content reviews, broken links, domain renewal and SSL renewal. Miss any of these long enough and something breaks.
Website maintenance is the ongoing work that keeps a site online, secure and accurate after it goes live.
The sections below break it down by cadence: monthly, quarterly and yearly. A table at the end shows what a BuildSites plan already handles.
What should you check on your website every month?
Every month, check that backups ran, security updates are applied, uptime is clean, and every form on the site sends a real reply.
- Backups: confirm nightly backups ran and a recent one is stored. A backup you have never tested may not restore.
- Security updates: apply any plugin, theme or platform updates. Unpatched software is a common entry point for attackers.
- Uptime log: review the monitoring log. An outage you did not know about is a lead you did not get.
- Form test: fill in every contact and quote form and confirm the reply arrives. A broken form is invisible to the owner and obvious to the visitor.
- SSL certificate: check the padlock is valid. Hosts often renew automatically, but a lapsed certificate turns visitors away with a browser warning.
What website tasks belong on a quarterly schedule?
Every quarter, test a backup restore, run a speed check, audit links and review the accuracy of your content.
- Backup restore test: restore one backup to a staging environment to confirm it actually works.
- Speed check: run the site through Core Web Vitals or a similar tool and fix anything that has slowed since launch.
- Broken links: crawl the site for 404 errors and fix or redirect them.
- Content review: update prices, hours, team members and service areas. Outdated content costs you calls.
- Google Business Profile: confirm the profile still links to the correct URL and that hours match the site.
See what your plan covers
Use the checklist below to see which monthly, quarterly and yearly tasks apply to your site.
Open checklistWhat needs attention once a year?
Yearly tasks are easy to forget because they are infrequent, but a lapsed domain or an expired SSL certificate takes a site offline immediately.
- Domain renewal: the domain is about $20 a year. Confirm auto-renew is on and the payment method is current.
- Annual content audit: read every page. Remove services you no longer offer and add ones you do.
- Design review: check that the site still reflects how the business looks and what it sells.
What does a BuildSites plan already cover?
The table below shows what is handled automatically on every plan and what the owner keeps.
| Task | Cadence | BuildSites plan |
|---|---|---|
| Hosting and SSL | Ongoing | Included |
| Uptime monitoring | Every minute | Included |
| Security updates | Within 24 hours of release | Included |
| Nightly backups | Daily, kept 30 days | Included |
| Content edits | As needed, usually same day | Included |
| Domain renewal | Yearly (about $20/yr) | Owner renews; stays in your name |
| Quarterly restore test | Quarterly | Owner handles |
| Speed checks | Ongoing | Owner handles |
Plans start at $297 a month with no upfront build cost, on a 12-month term. See full pricing details.
$0 upfront means your first payment is due the day the site goes live, with no design, build or setup fee.
For a deeper look at what a care plan does day to day, read website care plans explained. If you want to understand what happens when a site goes unwatched, why websites go down at 3 AM covers a real example. Owners in Toronto, the GTA and Montréal who also want leads handled automatically can read about lead follow-up automation and appointment reminder automation.
Next step
Talk through your maintenance gaps
On a 20-minute call we will walk through your current setup, identify which tasks are uncovered and show what a BuildSites plan handles automatically.
Questions we get asked
Does website maintenance have to be done manually?
Not entirely. Uptime monitoring, nightly backups and security updates can all run automatically. Content edits and form tests still need a person to check them.
What happens if I skip security updates?
Unpatched software is a common way a site gets compromised. BuildSites applies security updates within 24 hours of release on every plan.
How much does website maintenance cost with BuildSites?
Maintenance is included in every plan. The Website plan is $297 a month plus tax, with no upfront build cost and no per-edit fee. The 12-month term applies, then month to month with 30 days' notice.
Do I own my domain and content if I leave?
Yes. The domain, content and your accounts are yours from day one. The site itself is yours once the 12-month term is complete, and everything is handed over cleanly if you leave.
Can BuildSites maintain a site it did not build?
Often yes, after a quick audit. Some sites need fixes before they can be properly maintained.
Next step
Talk to us about your business
A 20-minute call. We'll tell you what we'd build, how long it takes and what it costs. Toronto, the GTA and Montréal.