The verdict in three sentences
A premium site without a maintenance plan degrades in 12-18 months: security holes, obsolete dependencies, unmaintained content. In 2026, a maintenance plan costs 250,000 to 1,200,000 FCFA/year depending on the SLA tier, plus enhancements at a day rate (200,000-450,000 FCFA). A maintenance plan is not passive insurance: it is monthly security, daily backups, monitoring and enhancements, to be budgeted from the rebuild onward.
What a maintenance plan contains
| Service | Corrective | Evolutive | Managed hosting |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly security updates | included | included | included |
| Daily backups | included | included | included |
| Bug fixing | included | included | — |
| Small enhancements (hours/month) | — | 2-8 h/month | — |
| Uptime monitoring | included | included | included |
| Support hotline | 8/5 | 8/5 or 24/7 | per tier |
A corrective plan keeps the site alive and safe; an evolutive plan adds a monthly pool of hours to evolve the site without re-quoting each request.
Cost by SLA tier
| Tier | Uptime SLA | Support | Annual plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essential | 99.0% | 8/5, 48 h response | 250,000-450,000 FCFA |
| Standard | 99.5% | 8/5, 24 h response | 500,000-750,000 FCFA |
| Business | 99.9% | 8/5, 4 h response | 800,000-1,000,000 FCFA |
| Premium | 99.9% | 24/7, 1-2 h response | 1,000,000-1,200,000 FCFA |
The higher the uptime SLA and responsiveness, the higher the plan: 24/7 with 1-2 h response is reserved for sites where downtime has a direct business cost.
Day rates for out-of-plan work
| Type of work | 2026 day rate | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Evolutive development | 250,000-450,000 FCFA | New section, module |
| Integration / API | 300,000-450,000 FCFA | Connecting a third-party tool |
| Design / UI | 200,000-350,000 FCFA | New page, block redesign |
| Advisory / audit | 250,000-400,000 FCFA | Performance, SEO audit |
Maintenance plan vs time-and-materials vs one-off
| Model | Cost | Advantage | Limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maintenance plan | 250,000-1,200,000 FCFA/yr | Predictable, proactive | Capped hours |
| Time-and-materials | Day rate x days | Flexible | Less proactive follow-up |
| One-off pickup | Day rate on demand | Zero commitment | Reactive, no ongoing security |
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The one-off pickup looks cheap but leaves the site unmonitored: an unpatched flaw or a missing backup costs far more than an annual plan.
Mini case study
Adam, manager of a B2B SME in Dublin (equipment distribution), just finished a premium rebuild at 6,500,000 FCFA. He hesitates over a maintenance plan.
- Option A — no plan: one-off pickup. After 14 months, an unpatched flaw causes a breach. Restoration + cleanup: 1,800,000 FCFA in emergency, plus 3 days of downtime.
- Option B — Standard plan at 650,000 FCFA/year: monthly security, backups, monitoring. Cost over 14 months: ~760,000 FCFA, no incident.
The maintenance plan costs less than the avoided incident alone, not counting reputation and revenue loss during downtime. For a site that carries quote requests, the decision is quickly made.
FAQ
Is a maintenance plan really mandatory? Not contractually, but a premium site without security updates becomes vulnerable in 12-18 months. It is protection, not a luxury.
Difference between corrective and evolutive? Corrective keeps the site healthy (security, bugs, backups). Evolutive adds a monthly pool of hours to evolve the site without re-quoting.
What does a 99.9% SLA cover? Maximum downtime of about 8-9 hours per year. Beyond that, penalties or credits apply per the contract.
Time-and-materials or a plan? The plan offers proactivity and budget predictability; T&M suits large one-off needs. Many combine a base plan + T&M for big projects.
How much to budget for year one? Ballpark: plan 250,000-1,200,000 FCFA by SLA, plus 2-5 day-rate days of enhancements, for a realistic total of 1,000,000 to 2,500,000 FCFA/year for an active premium site.
Let's scope your project. Tell us your desired SLA tier and annual enhancement volume, and we hand you a clear maintenance plan with a day-rate grid. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
