A website is not a thing you buy once. It is a thing that runs. Here are the eight failures we see most often in the first twelve months after launch — and what each one costs to prevent.
1. Plugins stop being updated
A typical WordPress site runs fifteen to twenty plugins. Each one gets updates, and some of those updates close security holes that are already being scanned for. Six months without updates is how most small sites get hacked — not by a targeted attack, but by a script that tries ten thousand addresses an hour.
2. The contact form quietly stops sending
This one is worse than a site being down, because nothing looks wrong. The form still says "thank you", the enquiries just never arrive. It usually happens after a hosting change or a plugin update. Test yours today: fill it in and see whether the email lands.
3. The SSL certificate expires
Most certificates renew automatically — until the renewal fails and nobody is watching. The visitor then sees a full-page browser warning that the site is not secure. It takes minutes to fix and costs you every visitor who saw it.
4. Backups exist but have never been restored
Having backups and having a restore are two different things. Plenty of sites back up faithfully to a folder that filled up eight months ago. The only honest test is to restore a copy somewhere and look at it.
5. The site gets slower and nobody notices
Images uploaded straight from a phone, a growing database, a plugin that queries too much. It happens gradually, so you stop seeing it — but a visitor who has never been to your site before does.
6. Content goes out of date
Old prices, a member of staff who left, opening hours from before you changed them. Nothing technical here at all, and it does more damage to trust than a slow page.
7. Nobody knows who holds the logins
The domain was registered by a friend, the hosting is on someone's personal card, the WordPress admin belongs to an agency you stopped working with. This is discovered at the worst possible moment, usually during an emergency. Write down where the domain, the hosting and the admin account live, and who can reach them.
8. Search visibility drifts away
Nothing dramatic — a broken page here, a missing description there, and a competitor who has been publishing. Six months of that and the rankings you paid for are gone.
What it costs to keep on top of this
You can do all of it yourself; the point is that somebody has to. If you would rather it was us:
- Care — £39 a month. WordPress updates, security monitoring, weekly backups, uptime monitoring, email support. No minimum contract.
- Care Plus — £79 a month. Everything above, plus daily backups, priority support and up to an hour of content changes each month.
- Growth — £149 a month. Up to two hours of work each month and a monthly report.
- Development retainer — £299 a month. Up to five hours of development and consultancy, for sites that change regularly.
Hosting is separate and starts at £15 a month, or £150 for a year.
The five-minute version
If you do nothing else this month: send yourself a message through your own contact form, check that your certificate is valid, and find out today who owns the domain. Those three take five minutes and cover the failures that hurt most.