Maintenance Care Plans

Maintenance Care Plans are offered on an annualized Retainer Agreement and priced according to website size and complexity.

Websites with lapsed maintenance plans or those not designed by Creative by Clark may require the Initial Corrective Maintenance Audit.

Creative by Clark Penguin performing website maintenance
Website Care Plans

Overview

Creative by Clark offers Maintenance Care Plans not only for websites that we have built but also for all WordPress sites. Projects that are not our own or where our maintenance care has lapsed for more than one year must undergo our Initial Audit. This audit identifies the baseline status of the entire website and its operating environment to illuminate problems, provide thorough discovery, and enable us to remediate and bring the site current. 

Maintenance Audit Components

Plan Components

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Maintenance Regular Backups icon

Regular Secure Backups

While hosting providers frequently include complimentary and premium localized backup services, Creative by Clark uses an installed plugin to perform regular backups of the Database before changes. Before theme and plugin updates, I run separate backups of those components if I ever need to perform a rapid “roll-back.” A complete backup is scheduled weekly to ship to a secure remote location.

Optimize Performance

Optimize Performance

As a significant ranking component, Google considers site speed an important consideration.  User experience is also critical, and a poor download speed or unexpected issues can increase your bounce rate and void conversions. Sites built by Creative by Clark already have gone through vigorous optimization practices.  Those new to our Maintenance Care must first undergo an Audit process that might include initial optimization.  Optimization is an ongoing practice and not a one-time process.

Regular Software Updates

Regular Software Updates

Updating to the latest versions of WordPress core, themes and plugins are important; however, it is vital first to research the stability and compatibility of new software.  Updating is a rip & replace process—so not insignificant. Numerous instances have presented, for example, where famous plugins are identified for conflicts or other bugs that might break a site if installed. So long as security is not a factor, updates may defer until a patch is implemented in a new sub-release.

 
WordPress Security

WordPress Security

With special software installed, your site is monitored 24/7 and protected from various exploits, including brute-force login attempts and malicious file intrusions. While no software can guarantee a site is 100% free of risk, in my many years of business and utilization, I have never had a client website hacked or experienced a malware exploit.  in the past, I have been engaged by new clients to rescue their websites after a hack or malware injection. Read about an example case (anonymized).

Uptime Monitoring

Uptime Monitoring

Using a specialized third-party service, your website is monitored 24/7 for uptime – from when it goes offline to when it has returned to online service. I receive an email notification, and while I sleep, matters are taken into hand to resolve the issue at the start of business.  In 99% of cases, there is a problem with the hosting provider that requires a support investigation.

404 Redirection

404 Redirection

When a 404 Error occurs, a page or page element cannot be found.  It is because someone has renamed a page or post or deleted an image, so it cannot be located.  In some instances, there is a server problem.  No matter, we receive a notification and endeavor to fix the problem.  Images are replaced, and pages that are renamed or deleted are redirected to one that exists.  We provide a custom 404 Error page that reflects your branding and messaging to your site visitor, customized and informative, and a path to valid content.

 
Organic SEO

Organic SEO

I do not provide SEO or SEM Services per se, as those services are a dedicated specialization.  Yoast SEO plugin (often the premium version) is incorporated with basic configuration, keywords, meta descriptions, and a connection to Google Search Console if not already in place.  The goal is to enable the highest achievable Organic SEO via standard optimization. The site is scanned with a third-party tool, and you will receive a written report to review and know where things stand before enlisting a specialist.

Advanced & Premium Care Plans Only.  It can be purchased as an add-on to Basic Care Plan.

Vital Custom Development

Custom Development

While I provide standalone WordPress Development Services, there are times when it is necessary to take action requiring expert skillsets as part of maintenance.  For example, in WooCommerce installations, it is not uncommon to encounter themes that employ custom templates, and there are times when these must be modified to remain compatible with the current WooCommerce version.  Sometimes the task is to recognize where a plugin or theme error occurs, discover the cause, and then reach out to that developer directly to initially inform them but pursue their correction to a secure solution. When none are readily available, more drastic corrective action is required, especially if it is resulting in a performance issue on the website.

Creative by Clark Personalized Consultation

Personalized Consultation

With Creative by Clark you are engaging its principal directly and not a huge agency or off-shore boiler room.  We are responsive and communicate directly to understand any problem or issue faced as well as provide feedback for issues observed.  As a courtesy, we inform when various expiration dates (domain, hosting, paid SSL, plugin licensing) are coming up so that you can bookmark your calendar and make certain a current credit card is attached to the account if you authorize automatic renewals.  Likewise, we may suggest an upcoming expiry as a great time to change hosting and what would be involved to migrate. We treat your website as our own and act as your agent. Finally, while possessing deep WordPress expertise, if there is something outside our wheelhouse or availability bandwidth, we communicate facts transparently and suggest alternative services for a specific task.

What are the Maintenance Care Plan Costs?

  • All plans are an annual retainer agreement with payment due in advance of service delivery on or before the first of the month due date.
  • Payment plans either lump annual, quarterly, or monthly by check, ZellePay, or Credit Card with a 4% service fee.
  • The Initial Corrective Audit is required if Creative by Clark did not build the website.
  • Plans are re-priced annually.
  • Subject to additional costs for Infection Removal.

Need the Initial Corrective Audit?

The answer is “Yes” for any of the following conditions:

  • the website was not built by Creative by Clark
  • the website was originally built by us, but you haven’t had our Maintenance Care for more than 6 months
  • you prefer taking care of your own Maintenance, but would like to purchase a Standalone Audit to objectively assess condition, remediate and optimize

 

  • Create Initial Backups
  • Evaluate Overall Performance
  • Security Evaluation
  • Malware & Hack Removal – extra fees are incurred
  • Evaluate Installation Status
  • Evaluate Hosting & Reconfigure Settings
  • Establish 24/7 Uptime Monitoring
  • Examine & Resolve 404 Errors
  • Assess SEO Status (Advanced & Premium plans only)