Short answer: Yes. Website backups should follow the 3-2-1 rule: 3 copies, 2 storage types, 1 off-site, plus a restore test every quarter. A website maintenance contract should spell out at least 8 items, which can cut recovery time from 3 days to under 2 hours.
An interior design firm's website was injected with ad code, and Google showed a warning in search results. The owner called the original developer and found the contract only said "one-year warranty", long expired. The host had backups, but the latest was four months old, so 30 new portfolio items had to be re-uploaded. The site was down for three days and inquiries dropped to zero. Many owners assume the host always backs up and that maintenance means "fix it when it breaks", until an incident shows neither was in the contract.
Fixed costs after launch and backup responsibility
Bottom line: every site has yearly fixed costs, and who owns backups must be written into the maintenance contract.
| Item | Typical yearly cost | Backup responsibility to define |
|---|---|---|
| Domain renewal | NT$400–1,200 | Domain registered to the company |
| Hosting | NT$3,000–30,000 | How many days the host keeps backups |
| SSL certificate | Free–NT$15,000 | Who sets up auto-renewal |
| Maintenance | From NT$24,000 (NT$2,000/month) | Off-site backups and restore tests |
Eight items a maintenance contract should include
Bottom line: a good contract is less about price and more about who does what, and how fast, when something breaks.
- Backup frequency: database daily, files weekly, kept at least 30 days.
- Backup location: at least one copy outside the host, following the 3-2-1 backup rule.
- Restore tests: an actual restore every quarter, with records.
- Response time: hours to reply and hours to recover when the site is down.
- Update scope: whether framework, plugin and package security updates are included.
- SSL and domain reminders: free certificates last only 90 days, so someone must monitor auto-renewal.
- Accounts and source code: top-level access to hosting, domain and admin belongs to the company.
- Small-change allowance: monthly hours for text and image edits, and pricing beyond that.
Website maintenance cost breakdown
Bottom line: maintenance fees fall into three tiers; sites with members and payments need the strictest backups.
| Site type | Recommended backup frequency | Monthly maintenance |
|---|---|---|
| Brochure site (5–10 pages) | Weekly | NT$2,000–3,000 |
| Content or booking site | Daily | NT$3,000–6,000 |
| E-commerce or membership system | Daily plus real-time database backup | NT$6,000–15,000 |
Maintenance from ScriptWalker (a Taiwanese Laravel/Flutter custom development studio) starts at NT$2,000/month, including daily database backups, off-site storage and quarterly restore tests.
The real risks of no backups and no maintenance
Bottom line: without a usable backup, one incident usually costs more than several years of maintenance.
- Hacking: outdated plugins or packages get exploited, ads or phishing pages are injected, rankings fall.
- Data loss: hardware failure or accidental deletion means restoring from months ago.
- Expired certificates: browsers show "Not secure" and visitors leave.
- No one to call: the original vendor closes, and the passwords go with it.
DIY vs outsourced maintenance
Bottom line: a brochure site with a tech-savvy colleague can be self-managed; sites with members, payments or orders should be outsourced.
| Comparison | DIY | Outsourced |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Tools about NT$0–5,000/year | From NT$2,000/month |
| Skills needed | Set up automatic backup and restore | None |
| When something breaks | Diagnose it yourself | Handled within contract times |
| Best for | Brochure sites under 5 pages | Sites with transactions, members or bookings |
FAQ
My host backs up. Do I still need my own backups?
Yes. Host backups often last only 7 days and sit in the same place as the site, so one incident can hit both.
How often should a website be backed up?
Weekly for brochure sites; daily database backups for sites with orders, members or bookings.
Do I really need a maintenance contract?
Yes. Without one, response times, backup duties and fees have no basis.
How do I know backups actually work?
Have the vendor restore to a test environment every quarter and provide dated results.
Next step: monthly maintenance plans
Want to check whether your backups can really be restored, or review your maintenance contract? ScriptWalker offers a free website health check and will tell you within 30 minutes what is missing:
- Email: [email protected]
- Phone: 0916-224-047
- LINE: @ufv9089p