Choosing who looks after your website is a trust decision. Here are ten questions worth asking any company before you sign, including us. A good provider answers them plainly, and the grid below shows what a good answer sounds like and what should make you pause.
The ten questions, with what to listen for
| Question | A good answer sounds like | A red flag sounds like | Our answer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. What exactly is included? | A written list: updates, security, backups, monitoring, reports, hours | "Everything you need" | Listed on the pricing page |
| 2. How many hands-on hours do I get? | A number, and what happens when it runs out | "Unlimited" with no detail | 2, 6 or 12 a month, with a quote before any extra |
| 3. Where are backups stored? | Away from your host, encrypted, with a restore tested | "On your server" | Encrypted storage away from your host, tested monthly |
| 4. How are updates handled? | A backup first, staging for busy sites, a check afterwards | Updates applied blindly | Staging on Business and Priority, a recent backup confirmed first |
| 5. How do you handle my logins? | A secure vault, with a clear return process | "Just email them" | A secure vault in your client area |
| 6. Who will I talk to, and how fast? | A named contact or team, and a stated first-reply time | No named contact | A reply by your next business morning, Eastern time |
| 7. What are the contract terms? | Month to month, or a clear exit | A long term with a penalty | Month to month, 30-day money-back guarantee |
| 8. Can you take over a site someone else built? | Yes, after an audit that tells you what they find | "Yes" with no audit | Yes, with an onboarding report in 2 to 5 days |
| 9. What do you not do? | A short, specific list | "We do everything" | See each service page for what is not included |
| 10. What proof can I see? | Real reports or examples, and reviews you can check | Testimonials with no source | Reviews that name the platform they were left on |
Red flags to walk away from
- A provider who asks you to send passwords by email or chat.
- No named contact and no stated reply time.
- A long contract with no easy exit.
- A price that is far below everyone else's with no explanation of what is left out.
- Refusing to say where backups are stored.
- Promises that your site will "never" be hacked or go down.
Freelancer, agency, in-house or a maintenance plan
| Freelancer | Agency retainer | In-house | Maintenance plan | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | Small sites with a person you trust | A larger site with design work on top | Many sites or a very busy one | A site that needs steady, predictable care |
| Cover when they are away | Often none | Usually covered | Depends on team size | A team, not a person |
| Cost pattern | Hourly or small retainer | Larger fixed fee | Salary | Fixed monthly fee |
| Main risk | One point of failure | Paying for work you do not need | Cost | Scope that is narrower than you assumed |
How to compare two offers fairly
- Put both offers in one table with the same rows: hours, backups, security, reply time, contract.
- Compare the hands-on hours, not just the monthly price.
- Ask where backups are kept and whether a restore is tested.
- Ask whether updates are tested first.
- Check the contract terms and what happens to your logins if you leave.
Questions about security, specifically
Security is where vague answers do the most harm. Ask these four and listen for detail:
- What runs on my site to block attacks, and who watches it?
- What is scanned, how often, and what happens when something is found?
- If my site is hacked, is clean-up included, and what does it cost?
- How do you hold access to my site, and who inside your company can use it?
A good answer names the protection, the schedule, the clean-up policy and the access rules. A poor one says "we use the best security".
Questions about hours and requests
- Do routine maintenance tasks use my hours, or only the work I ask for?
- Do unused hours carry forward? (With us they do not. Hours reset each month.)
- How are requests sent and tracked, and can I see time used on each one?
- What counts as a request, and what needs a separate quote?
Reading reviews with care
A review is more useful when you can see where it was left, who left it, what service it was about and when. Be cautious of a page of glowing quotes with no names, platforms or dates. Where a public link exists, read the original.
A fifteen-minute call script
- Describe your site in one sentence: platform, what it does, how often it changes.
- Ask for the plan they would suggest, and why.
- Ask the ten questions above, and write the answers down.
- Ask what happens in your first week.
- Ask how you would leave, and what you would get back.
Afterwards, compare your notes across providers. The one that answered every question directly is usually the one to trust.
Try it for a month
If a provider offers month-to-month terms, treat the first month as a trial. Look for three things: whether the first reply came when promised, whether the onboarding report told you something useful about your site, and whether you could see what was done and how long it took.
The first 30 days after you choose
- Days 1 to 3: you share access, and the provider confirms what they now hold.
- Days 2 to 5: you receive a report on how the site stands today. It should tell you something you did not know.
- Week two: you send your first requests and see how they are handled.
- Week four: you read the first report and decide whether the plan fits.
If any step is missing or slow, raise it early. It is far easier to change course in month one than in month ten.
Questions about contracts and leaving
- How long is the commitment, and what does cancelling cost?
- If I leave, how do I get my logins, my backups and my reports?
- Is there a refund period, and what does it cover?
- Who owns the work done on my site?
A provider confident in its service explains these plainly. If answers are vague, treat that as information.
Questions about staging and testing
- Are updates tested on a copy of my site before they go live?
- If a test fails, what happens next?
- For a store, is the checkout tested with a real test order?
Questions about reporting
- What does the monthly report contain?
- Can I see an example with the details removed?
- Can I see how much of my time allowance each request used?
How to check a provider's claims
For any claim that matters, ask for something you can look at. A claim about backups can be tested by asking for the date and result of the last restore. A claim about reply times can be tested in your first week. A claim about reviews can be checked by reading them on the platform where they were left.
Warning signs in the first call
- You are pushed to decide today.
- The price changes depending on how interested you sound.
- Questions are answered with another question, or with a brochure.
- Nobody asks what your site does or who it serves.
Why this is a checklist and not a ranking
You will find lists that rank "the 10 best" companies, often with the author's own company near the top. We would rather give you the questions and let you do the ranking, because only you know what your site needs. Use them with any provider you are considering.
How we answer
You can read our answers on the pricing page, the security page and how it works. If anything is unclear, ask us before you sign up. If you manage sites for clients, read about maintenance for agencies.
