A website care plan is a monthly subscription that keeps your site maintained and up to date after launch: a set number of hours for changes, regular checks for broken forms, links and speed, a monthly report, and a guaranteed response time. In 2026, care plans for small business websites typically cost $100 to $1,000 per month, with most solid plans for marketing sites between $250 and $600. The best plans let unused hours roll over, so quiet months bank time for busy ones.

What a Care Plan Should Include

• Hours for changes: new sections, copy updates, images, CMS entries, small design tweaks.

• Monthly site check: forms, links, mobile layout, page speed, metadata and anything that quietly broke.

• A short report: visits, where they came from and how many enquiries the site produced.

• A response time: for example, changes within one or two business days.

• Platform housekeeping: plan, domain, settings, and backups before larger changes.

• Someone who knows your site: the most valuable part, and the hardest to put a price on.

What It Should Not Include

Redesigns, new features and large new sections are projects, not maintenance. A good care plan quotes those separately, ideally at a discount for existing clients, instead of quietly consuming months of hours.

What Care Plans Cost in 2026

Platform matters too. WordPress sites often need more maintenance for plugin updates and security. Hosted platforms such as Framer handle hosting, security and updates themselves, so a care plan can focus on improvements instead of upkeep.

Care Plan or Pay per Hour?

Paying per hour makes sense if you need a change two or three times a year. A care plan makes sense when changes come regularly, when you want guaranteed response times, or when the site is important enough that someone should be checking it monthly. A simple test: if your effective hourly rate on the plan is lower than the agency's ad-hoc rate and you use most of the hours, the plan is the better deal.

The Problem with "Use It or Lose It"

Many plans reset hours every month. That works for teams with steady requests, but most small businesses are quiet for months and then busy for a week. Look for plans where unused hours roll over for at least two or three months. That single detail decides whether a plan feels fair.

Questions to Ask Before You Sign

1. How many hours are included, and do unused hours roll over?

2. What is the response time for changes?

3. What happens when I need more hours in a busy month?

4. Is there a minimum term, and how do I cancel?

5. What do I receive each month, even when I request nothing?

Off/Mode Care Plans

Our Care plan is $290 a month and includes 4 hours of changes, unused hours that roll over for 3 months, a monthly site check and report, and changes within 2 business days. The Growth option is $590 a month with 10 hours and priority. Extra work is $85 an hour, there is a 3-month minimum, and you can cancel anytime after that. Every project we launch also includes 15 to 30 days of post-launch support before any plan starts. See the pricing section on our homepage.

FAQ

How much does website maintenance cost per month? Most small business sites pay between $100 and $1,000 a month, with solid plans for marketing sites usually between $250 and $600.

What is included in a website care plan? Change hours, a monthly site check, a short performance report, a guaranteed response time and platform housekeeping.

Do I need a care plan for a Framer website? Not for security or updates, which Framer handles. A plan is worth it if you want regular changes, monthly checks and a fast response when something comes up.

Do unused care plan hours roll over? It depends on the provider. Look for plans where they roll over for at least two to three months.

Can I cancel a website care plan? Most plans have a short minimum term, often one to three months, and can be cancelled after that.