Website Management vs Annual Hosting: Which one do you need?
If you've had a website designed by Mawer Design, you'll know that we offer two options for looking after your website after it has been built: annual hosting or monthly website management.
But what's the difference?
It's something we're asked about regularly, so we've put together this simple guide to explain exactly what's included with each option.
In short, annual hosting is for keeping your website online and technically maintained, while monthly management gives you ongoing time each month for website changes and updates.
What is included with annual hosting?
Our annual hosting package is designed for clients who are happy to manage their own website content but want the technical side taken care of.
Annual hosting covers the cost of hosting your website, along with essential technical maintenance to help keep everything running properly.
This includes:
Website hosting for the year
Essential PHP updates
WordPress theme updates
Plugin updates
General backend maintenance
An end-of-year website performance report
The end-of-year report gives you an overview of how your website has performed during the year, so you can see how your website is doing and identify any areas that may need attention.
What annual hosting doesn't include is regular content or design changes.
So, if you need a new page added, text changed, images updated or other work carried out on your website, this would be quoted separately.
What is included with monthly website management?
Monthly management is our option for clients who want us to actively look after and update their website throughout the year.
As part of the monthly management package, you get up to 3 hours of website changes and content updates every month.
This could be used for things such as:
Updating your website text
Changing images
Adding new services
Updating prices or offers
Adding or updating website content
Making small design changes
Adding new sections
Updating existing pages
Making general content improvements
The great thing about monthly management is that you don't need to start from scratch every time you want something changed.
You have dedicated time each month that can be used to keep your website up to date as your business develops.
Monthly management also includes everything covered by our annual hosting service, including the technical updates and end-of-year website performance report.
So, what's the actual difference?
The easiest way to think about it is this:
Annual hosting = your website is hosted and technically maintained.
Monthly management = your website is hosted, technically maintained and you have up to 3 hours every month for changes and updates.
Monthly management costs a little more because you're getting that additional time and support throughout the year.
If your website doesn't need regular changes, annual hosting may be all you need.
If you regularly want to make changes to your website, monthly management gives you a convenient way to have those changes taken care of without needing to arrange a separate quote every time.
Which Mawer Design option is right for you?
If you're still unsure, ask yourself how often you expect your website to need changes.
If the answer is “not very often”, annual hosting is probably the better option. You'll have the peace of mind that your website is hosted and the essential technical maintenance is being looked after.
If the answer is “quite regularly”, monthly management could be the better choice. You'll have up to 3 hours of support each month to keep your website content current and make changes as your business grows.
And if you're not sure how much you'll actually need, that's absolutely fine too.
You don't need to choose the more expensive option just because it sounds like more is included. We want you to have the option that actually suits your business and how you use your website.
Need help choosing?
If you've been sent to this page because you're unsure which Mawer Design package you need, hopefully that has cleared things up!
If you're still not sure, just get in touch. Tell us what you'd like to be able to do with your website and we can let you know which option would be the best fit.
Already a Mawer Design client and want to change your support package? Get in touch and we'll be happy to discuss your options.
