WordPress Maintenance · Speed · Security
WordPress Maintenance, Speed & Security Plans
Is your WordPress site one plugin update away from breaking? Problems rarely show up on launch day. They show up months later, when an update breaks the checkout, a security hole goes unpatched, or nobody notices the site’s been down since Tuesday.
86DSGN keeps your WordPress site updated, backed up, monitored and fast, every month, so small problems get caught before they become expensive ones.
- Plans from R750/month
- Month-to-month
- Cancel anytime
The WordPress Headaches We Fix Every Week
This isn’t scare tactics. It’s what lands on our desk from businesses arriving on a plan for the first time.
"Isn't my hosting company doing this?"
That depends on your hosting package. Hosting keeps the server running; some hosts add backups or security on top. We’ll check what your host already covers and where separate care is needed.
You wouldn't skip servicing a vehicle you rely on every day. Your website is no different.
Big names and owner-run businesses, looked after the same way.
Our Maintenance Plans
Three plans for WordPress sites. No lock-in contract. Every plan includes real support from a real person, not a ticket queue. Prices exclude VAT.
Essential
From R750/month
For sites that don’t change often but still need to stay protected and online.
- Core updates: WordPress, plugins, themes
- Weekly offsite backup (files and database)
- Security monitoring, malware scanning and firewall
- Login hardening: two-factor authentication, a login CAPTCHA, lockouts after repeated failed attempts, and XML-RPC logins blocked
- Monthly browser caching and image optimisation
- Broken link scan
- Monthly plain-English report
- We reply within two working days (South African time)
Growth
From R1,650/month
For active business sites that change regularly and need faster support.
- Everything in Essential
- Daily offsite backup
- Weekly speed optimisation and performance checks
- PHP checks: an outdated PHP version, and PHP errors after every round of updates
- Bug fixes, done as needed
- Spam removal
- 2 hours of site updates per month: content, images, pages, forms
- We reply within one working day (South African time)
Pro
From R2,800/month
For shops, busy sites, and anyone who needs a faster reply.
- Everything in Growth
- Priority response, same working day (weekdays, South African time)
- eCommerce management: products, categories, pricing, orders (per site)
Bigger sites, custom needs
Quoted for your site, with the scope agreed up front.
- Larger or more complex sites
- Several sites or brands under one plan
- Custom processes, integrations and automations
- Copywriting and new content
Response times are when we reply, not when the fix is done. When you sign on, you get our WhatsApp number for emergencies; outside working hours, we reply as soon as we can.
These plans are for WordPress. Shopify care is quoted separately.
Not sure which plan fits? Tell us about your site on WhatsApp and we’ll recommend one. And if the health check shows a rebuild makes more sense than patching, we’ll say so and quote it. Your call either way.
Proprietary · Built in-house
86Tools: built from years of fixing broken sites
After years of maintaining WordPress sites, and rescuing the broken ones people bring us, we kept seeing the same problems. So we built our own toolkit to catch them early.
86Tools is proprietary. You won’t find it in a plugin store. It’s installed on the sites we maintain, with your permission, because a scan from the outside can’t see the full picture. It checks in with our dashboard every day, and the 404 monitor watches for broken links.
Whole-site checkCore, plugins, theme, database, SEO, email records and speed in one report.
Security checksSSL, security headers, XML-RPC, user enumeration and signs of a pirated or tampered theme.
404 monitorLogs visits to missing pages, sends a weekly or daily digest and alerts, and manages redirects.
Daily check-inEvery site reports its version and active features to our dashboard.
SEO AdvisorReads your Search Console data and flags SEO opportunities for us to review.
Fixes, rankedEvery finding is graded by severity and comes with what to do about it.
- Security headers missingCritical
- 4 plugins out of dateWarning
- 2 broken linksWarning
- SSL certificate validGood
- DMARC record foundGood
How It Starts
- Full backup taken before updates
- WordPress core and plugins updated
- Daily offsite backups ran
- Security scan: nothing found
- Speed check: no slowdowns
- Health check & chatSend us your URL. With your permission, we install 86Tools and check your WordPress site from the inside, then tell you what we find, including if we're not the right fit.
- Plan & quoteA clear scope, timeline and price, before anything starts.
- Fix what mattersAnything urgent from the health check gets fixed first, then your site moves onto the right plan.
- Look after & reportMonthly maintenance and a plain-English report, so you always know what we did and what's next.
Insurers and financial services
If a compliance team asks
South Africa’s Joint Standard 2 of 2024 sets cybersecurity requirements for insurers and certain other financial institutions, including how they manage outside providers. Most advice-only insurance brokers are not directly covered. Ask your compliance adviser if you’re unsure.
This is website maintenance, not a compliance certification or a replacement for a wider cybersecurity programme.
What's covered, and what we quote
A quick guide so there are no surprises:
Logo replacement
In your plan: a simple swap.
Quoted: logo edits or background removal.
New webpage
In your plan: built from content you provide.
Quoted: writing the content. We offer copywriting, quoted or as part of a custom package.
Plugin settings
In your plan: changes to your existing setup.
Quoted: installing and configuring a new plugin.
Bug fixes
In your plan: fixed as needed, on Growth and Pro.
Quoted: major feature development.
Hacked site or malware
In your plan: security monitoring and early warning.
Quoted: specialist clean-up and recovery, as a fixed fee per site.
New content
In your plan: publishing content you provide, on Growth and Pro.
Quoted: copywriting, or as part of a custom package.
Bigger projects (redesigns, new features, copywriting, hacked-site clean-up or custom development) are scoped and quoted separately. See custom development and integrations.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's included in WordPress maintenance?
Core and plugin updates, offsite backups, security monitoring, speed optimisation, and support for small changes, depending on your plan. You get a plain-English report every month.
Can you fix a site another agency built or abandoned?
Yes. We run a free health check first, quote any fix-up work needed, then move the site onto the right plan.
Do you work with insurers and financial-services businesses?
Yes. Joint Standard 2 of 2024 sets cybersecurity requirements for insurers and certain other financial institutions. Most advice-only insurance brokers are not directly covered, so ask your compliance adviser if you’re unsure. This is website maintenance, not a compliance certification or a replacement for a wider cybersecurity programme.
Do you look after Shopify stores?
These plans are for WordPress. Shopify care is quoted separately.
Is there a minimum term?
No. Care is month-to-month, with no long-term commitment. You stay because it works, not because you’re locked in.
Keep your site running. Focus on your business.
Tell us about your site. We reply the same or next working day (South African time). On WordPress, with your permission, we install 86Tools and check it from the inside: speed, security, plugin and theme health, SEO basics, email setup and broken links, in plain English. No sales call, no obligation.
Prefer to chat? WhatsApp us, call +27 72 912 9099 or mail ready@86dsgn.com.