Guide · WordPress maintenance
WordPress maintenance: what looking after a site really means
Maintaining a site means keeping three pieces of software current that do not coordinate with each other, fixing what drifts along the way, making the small changes you ask for, and keeping a record of all of it.
A WordPress site is three things moving separately
When people talk about “updating the site”, they are really talking about three separate pieces of software, each with its own vendor and its own calendar.
The core is WordPress itself. It comes from a single project, ships on a predictable rhythm, and regularly fixes security problems.
The theme decides how the site looks. It comes from a commercial vendor, from an agency, or from someone who wrote it for you four years ago and no longer answers email.
The plugins add the functions: the contact form, the gallery, the booking system, the store. A small-business site commonly runs fifteen to thirty of them. Each has its own vendor, its own pace, and its own idea of what counts as compatible.
Those three clocks are not synchronized. That is where most of the work comes from, and why a site left alone eventually drifts without anyone having done anything wrong. We go into this in the guide on updates.
What we maintain, in practice
What happens without you asking
Core, plugin and theme updates. Backups that are verified, not only scheduled. Checks that the site responds and that forms are still delivering.
This is the invisible part. When it is done well, you do not notice it. You only notice that there is no longer a red dot in the dashboard, and that nobody has written to say the form stopped working.
What starts with a sentence you write
Fixes and changes. A layout that slipped, a form that stopped sending, a setting to redo after an update. Change a paragraph, swap a photo, correct opening hours.
This is the part that concerns you directly, and it is a good share of the real work. You write down what you need, and someone does it. The failures that come up most often are covered separately.
How often, and why it depends on the site
Upkeep can be monthly, twice a month, or weekly. What justifies one over another is not the size of the company but how much the site moves.
A brochure site that does not change, with ten stable plugins, does very well with one pass a month. A site you actively use, where content changes and requests come in regularly, is better seen twice. A site that has to hold up, because it takes bookings or payments, gets looked at every week.
Frequency also sets how fast you hear back: within three business days, within one, or the same day on weekdays. It is one of the factors that make the price of upkeep vary.
Upkeep and support: what is the difference?
The two get confused often, and understandably: both amount to writing to someone when there is a problem. The difference is duration.
A one-off repair solves a specific problem, once. You call, someone fixes it, you pay, and the relationship ends there. Next time, you will have to explain your site again to someone who does not know it.
Maintenance support is something else: someone knows your site over time. They know which plugins are installed, which one caused trouble last year, why that page is built the way it is. When you write, you are not starting from zero.
What you see on your side
Your requests arrive in one place and carry a number. You follow their status. Every intervention stays written down, dated, and counted in time. The change time used and what is left are shown at all times.
This is not transparency for its own sake. It is what lets you discuss an invoice without reconstructing a month from memory, and know whether your plan is the right one.
Hand your site’s upkeep over
Twenty minutes to look at what you have, then a written proposal.
Request coverageUpkeep, security, backup, hosting: four different things
Many plans bundle these four items under a single price. It simplifies the invoice and complicates everything else, because you no longer know what you are buying.
Upkeep keeps the site current and working. That is what we do.
Security is a separate trade: looking for weaknesses, running an audit, testing an intrusion. It takes written authorization and its own skills. Here, that is Repère Security, a separate service from the same house.
A backup is a copy of your site at a given moment. A backup can be part of a maintenance intervention when it is needed. Repère does not currently provide standalone backup infrastructure with a guaranteed frequency, retention and off-site copies run as a separate service.
Hosting is where the site lives. It stays yours, in your name, with your provider. We do not sell it, and we do not want your site held captive by us.
A fifth item often joins the list: Quebec Law 25 compliance, consent banner and privacy policy. That is Repère Québec.
Worth remembering
A plan covering upkeep, security, backup and hosting for one amount is not necessarily a good deal: it is mostly hard to compare. Ask exactly what each line covers before you compare two prices.
When it stops being upkeep
The line is simple to state and rarely written down. Upkeep restores what was working, and changes what already exists. Past that, it is a project.
A redesign or a new version of the site is a project, with its own schedule and its own quote. So is developing a feature that does not exist yet. Writing content is not upkeep either: we publish your text, we do not write it. SEO and advertising are another trade, with their own specialists.
Keeping that work out of the plan is not a way to bill more. It is what lets the plan stay predictable. See the plans.
How we go about it
We start by looking at the site: what you have, and what is bothering you. Twenty minutes is usually enough.
We then set the level of coverage, with a review of where the site stands, a catch-up pass and a first backup. After that, upkeep becomes routine and there is nothing left for you to trigger.
The only step that is yours is the fourth: you write down what you need, when you need it. We do the work, and we keep the record.
We mostly maintain WordPress sites, which is what most small businesses here run. Other systems are possible. Talk to us and we will tell you honestly whether we are the right people.
Common questions
Do I need a maintenance plan if the site works fine?
A site that works fine today works fine because nothing has moved yet. Upkeep is what keeps that true in six months, once fifteen plugins have shipped new versions. If your site is stable and you never touch it, a less frequent pass may be enough. We will tell you.
Can I keep my current host?
Yes, and we prefer it. Your hosting and domain names stay in your name, with your provider. We install no technical lock-in.
What happens if I stop?
You leave whenever you want. No minimum term, no exit fee. You keep your access, your hosting, and the history of what was done.
Practical WordPress guides
Four procedures to prepare the work, verify the result and keep a usable way back.
Your site should be
looked after.
Tell us what you have and what is bothering you. No cold calls, no chasing.
Request coverage