The verdict in three sentences
For an Edinburgh SME, a serious maintenance contract costs between 60 and 450 EUR excl. VAT per month in 2026, or 720 to 5,400 EUR a year (roughly 52 to 390 GBP a month). The right level depends on three variables: backup frequency, the guaranteed response time (SLA) and the number of included development hours. Without a contract, an unpatched WordPress site almost always ends up compromised, and restoration costs 2,000 to 8,000 EUR, before counting lost leads.
The three contract tiers offered in Edinburgh in 2026
Agencies and freelancers in Edinburgh structure their offer in three tiers. Price gaps reflect the human time actually committed, not the tools.
| Tier | Price excl. VAT/month | Updates | Backups | Response time | Included changes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essential | 60 to 120 EUR | monthly | weekly | 48 business hours | 0 h |
| Standard | 130 to 250 EUR | weekly | daily | 8 business hours | 1 to 2 h/month |
| Premium | 260 to 450 EUR | continuous + testing | daily, 30-day retention | 4 business hours | 3 to 5 h/month |
| Out-of-scope hour | 65 to 95 EUR excl. VAT | on quote | |||
| Takeover audit (existing site) | 400 to 1,200 EUR excl. VAT | one-off |
A 10 to 20 page business site that generates quote requests usually belongs in the Standard tier. Premium is justified as soon as the site carries a critical form, a client area or online booking.
The 12 clauses to check before signing
| Clause | What to require | Red flag |
|---|---|---|
| CMS and plugin updates | written frequency, staging tests | "as needed" |
| Backups | daily, stored off-server, 30 days | backup on the same server |
| Restoration | guaranteed time, twice-yearly test | no restore ever tested |
| Response SLA | time stated in business hours | "as soon as possible" |
| Uptime monitoring | checks every 1 to 5 minutes | no monitoring |
| Security | web application firewall, malware scans | not mentioned |
| SSL certificate | renewal included | billed separately without notice |
| Development hours | monthly quota, rollover allowed | quota lost every month |
| Monthly report | updates, incidents, traffic | no reporting |
| Ownership and access | admin credentials handed to client | access kept by the agency |
| Reversibility | full export within 15 days | exit fees |
| Term and termination | 12 months, 1 to 3 months notice | 36-month lock-in |
The reversibility clause is the one most often forgotten. Without it, switching provider can cost 500 to 1,500 EUR in file and database recovery.
The real cost of an unmaintained site
A WordPress site with 15 to 25 plugins receives on average 2 to 4 security updates a month. Skipping 6 months means accumulating around twenty known vulnerabilities. The most frequent incidents in 2025 and 2026: redirects to fraudulent sites, pharma spam injection, blocking by Google Safe Browsing.
The typical restoration bill: clean-up and analysis (800 to 2,500 EUR), partial rebuild if backups are missing (1,000 to 4,000 EUR), Google review request and toxic link clean-up (200 to 1,500 EUR). Add 2 to 6 weeks of lost visibility on local searches.
Mini case study
Callum, managing director of an 18-employee joinery firm in Leith, receives 25 quote requests a month through his site, with an average order of 6,500 EUR and a 20% conversion rate. His site therefore generates about 32,500 EUR of monthly revenue.
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He is weighing no contract against a Standard tier at 180 EUR excl. VAT per month, or 2,160 EUR a year. A hack with 3 weeks of downtime would cost him about 24,000 EUR of delayed revenue, plus 3,500 EUR of restoration. Even with an estimated 15% annual incident probability without maintenance, the expected loss reaches 0.15 × 27,500 = 4,125 EUR, nearly twice the contract. The 1.5 h of monthly changes included also cover adding his new projects.
FAQ
Is a maintenance contract mandatory after launch?
No, but the delivery warranty usually covers only 1 to 3 months of fixes. Beyond that, an unmaintained site accumulates 2 to 4 vulnerabilities a month.
Can we do maintenance in-house?
Yes for simple updates, provided you have a staging site and external backups. Allow 2 to 4 h a month and the risk of an incompatible plugin breaking the site.
What does a 4 h SLA mean?
The provider commits to starting work within 4 business hours of the report. Full resolution can take longer, which the contract should also specify.
Is hosting included in the price?
Rarely in the Essential tier, often in Standard and Premium. Decent shared hosting costs 8 to 25 EUR a month, a managed VPS 40 to 120 EUR.
How do we take over a site built by another agency?
A takeover audit at 400 to 1,200 EUR excl. VAT maps versions, plugins and access. It prevents signing a contract on an already compromised site.
Let's scope your project. Tell us your CMS, plugin count and the response time you need: we will propose a contract between 60 and 450 EUR excl. VAT per month with all 12 clauses spelled out. 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.
