Web design and development · Delivered online · anywhere in Ireland
Website maintenance
Whether this needs a licence in Ireland
No licence required
Taken from the statute below; not yet reviewed by a lawyer
Website maintenance: what the job involves
Keeping an existing website updated, backed up and working after launch: software and plugin updates, security checks, small content changes and fixing what breaks. It is usually an ongoing arrangement, monthly or by the hour, with an agreed response time.
Also asked for as: website support · WordPress maintenance · website updates · someone to look after my website · website care plan
How the job is usually done
- Review the site, hosting, logins and current backups, and list what needs attention.
- Agree what is covered: updates, backups, monitoring, content changes and response times.
- Set up backups stored away from the hosting, and uptime and security monitoring.
- Apply updates on a schedule, testing on a staging copy where the site is complex.
- Make the small changes requested and fix faults as they come up.
- Send a short report of updates, backups and issues each period.
Website maintenance: what is included
Usually included
- Core, theme and plugin updates on an agreed schedule
- Regular backups and a periodic test restore
- Uptime and security monitoring
- An agreed amount of small content changes
- A short regular report
Usually not included — agree it separately
- New features, redesigns or new pages beyond the agreed allowance
- Cleaning up a site that is already hacked, unless agreed
- Hosting, domain and licence renewals, unless the plan covers them
- Search optimisation and marketing
Materials and who supplies them
- Backup storage and monitoring tools, supplied by the provider or the business
- Premium plugin and theme licences, kept current by the business
How long it takes
Ongoing; the first review and setup usually takes a day or two, then a few hours a month for a typical small business site.
Website maintenance: the rules in Ireland
What the official sources say, checked against them on the date shown. A summary, not legal advice — follow the link to read the rule itself.
A developer, agency or host that stores or can access the personal data on a site on the business’s behalf is a processor, and the two must have a written contract covering the matters set out in Article 28 GDPR: instructions, confidentiality, security, sub-processors, deletion or return at the end, and help with breaches.
Applies to: the business, as controller, and the developer or host, as processor
GDPR, Article 28; Data Protection Commission, A Practical Guide to Controller-Processor Contracts · dataprotection.ie · Checked 10 October 2026
Personal data must be protected with security appropriate to the risk, such as encryption in transit, access control and tested backups. A personal data breach that poses a risk to people must be reported to the Data Protection Commission within 72 hours of becoming aware of it.
Applies to: the business that owns the website, helped by its developer or host
GDPR, Articles 32 and 33; Data Protection Commission · dataprotection.ie · Checked 10 October 2026
Hosting, email or plugins that send personal data outside the European Economic Area are restricted transfers and need an adequacy decision or another safeguard, such as standard contractual clauses.
Applies to: the business that owns the website
GDPR, Chapter V; Data Protection Commission · dataprotection.ie · Checked 10 October 2026
What website maintenance costs, and why
What jobs on Talqero came to
Not enough comparable jobs yet to publish a range here. Talqero shows a price range only once at least five comparable jobs, agreed prices or offers exist — a range from fewer would describe a handful of jobs, not the market. Post your job and compare the offers you get.
What affects the price
- Size and complexity of the site and the number of plugins
- How often updates and backups are done
- Response time promised for faults
- Amount of content changes included
- Whether an online shop or bookings must be tested after each update
What you should get at the end
- Written agreement of what is covered and the response time
- Data processing terms, since the provider can access personal data on the site
- Regular reports of updates, backups and incidents
- Up-to-date list of logins and where backups are stored
What the provider should hand over
- Send the regular report and keep the login list up to date
- At the end of the arrangement, hand back all access and delete personal data you hold
Safety
- Give the maintenance provider its own account, not your own password, so it can be removed if you change provider.
- Make sure backups are kept somewhere other than the hosting account, and that a restore has actually been tested.
- Ask to be told at once about any security incident; a breach of personal data may have to be reported within 72 hours.
Website maintenance: before you hire
Questions to ask before you hire
- What exactly is included each month, and what costs extra?
- Where are backups stored, and how fast can you restore the site?
- How quickly will you respond if the site goes down?
- Will you sign a data processing agreement?
- If we part ways, how do I get everything back?
What you can do yourself
An owner can apply minor updates after taking a backup and check the site afterwards, but should leave major upgrades and anything involving a shop checkout to someone who can roll it back.
What to put in your task
- What is your website built with?
- What does the site do?
- How often do you need content changes?
- Is anything wrong with the site right now?
Photos that help
- The website address
- Screenshots of any errors or warnings
- A list of who holds the hosting, domain and admin logins
Web design and development
Need website maintenance? Describe the job.
Post it once, free. Professionals anywhere in Ireland reply with their own price and when they could start. You choose, and pay them directly.
Questions about website maintenance
Does website maintenance need a licence in Ireland?
No licence is required for this work in Ireland (source: www.irishstatutebook.ie). Ask instead for references and photographs of similar jobs.
Does my website really need maintenance?
Hosted builders such as Shopify or Wix handle most updates themselves. A self-hosted site such as WordPress needs regular updates and backups, or it becomes a security risk.
Is the maintenance provider responsible for my customers’ data?
The business stays the controller and remains responsible. The provider is a processor and needs a written contract under Article 28 GDPR setting out how it handles the data.
What if the site breaks after an update?
A good provider takes a backup before updating and can roll back quickly. Agree in writing how fast that happens and who pays for fixing conflicts.