Squarespace Websites
Monthly Maintenance Plan
Website maintenance is essential!
Once you have your website designed and hosted, you will need to maintain it on an ongoing basis. Next to Advertising & Marketing, website maintenance is critical!
What is web maintenance?
Why is a monthly website maintenance plan important?
Website maintenance is the process of keeping a website up-to-date and running smoothly as well as performing optimally. Website maintenance includes tasks like ensuring all the links on your site are working, regularly updating content, and fixing any broken links. It also involves more general housekeeping tasks like monitoring your site's performance.
After you launch a website, it's important to regularly perform web maintenance to prevent technical issues, improve the user experience, and ensure your site ranks high in search engine results pages.
A monthly website maintenance plan is akin to regular check-ups for your digital storefront, and its importance cannot be overstated. Just as you wouldn't neglect the upkeep of a physical store, your online presence deserves the same care. It's your frontline in the digital realm, and with frequent security updates, content refreshes, and performance optimizations, it's always ready to deliver a top-tier experience.
Moreover, maintaining legal compliance, fixing bugs, and staying ahead of technological shifts is part of ensuring that your website is not just surviving, but thriving. With a monthly maintenance plan, you can focus on your core operations with the peace of mind that your digital identity is in expert hands.
Our Squarespace Website maintenance policy
We define "Maintenance" as keeping the website current. It is not intended to be a new design or SEO optimization.
Squarespace maintains a current backup and we archive all submitted and working files for your website.
We reserve the right to distinguish between "updates" and "new designs". Major or wholesale changes to the navigation design, adding new pages, graphic design changes, new buttons or forms, etc. are considered new designs and charged accordingly to our hourly design rate.
It is the client's responsibility to review updates and notify us of any necessary changes that we need to make. There will be no charge for any errors on our part. However, if a change needs to be made due to a client error, or “new design” the regular hourly rates will be charged. Your rate is calculated on the total time involved in completing the updates at a rate of $50 per hour. Billing occurs on the last day of each month as a separate invoice in addition to the regular maintenance fee.
Updates should be provided electronically (by email) as much as possible. Attachments should be in text format (.txt or Word .doc formats are fine). Send digitized pictures in a common format such as .jpg, .gif, .ai, .psd, .png, .bmp, etc. Updates may also be sent by postal mail or by fax. This will require retyping data or the scanning of photos and will incur additional fees to complete your changes.
Your website may be using third-party components. We have no control over what third-party sites do and take no responsibility for the loss of information due to the actions of these sites. Any changes to your site stemming from regulations of these third-party components will be billed at the normal maintenance rate.
Scope of the Maintenance Contract
What to expect:
With our website maintenance plan, you can expect a comprehensive and proactive approach to keeping your online presence at its best. We'll conduct a thorough review of your website at least once a month, ensuring that it's running smoothly, securely, and up-to-date.
Our team will keep you informed about any work we've completed, giving you transparency into the improvements made.
Additionally, to provide you with insights into your site's performance, you'll receive a monthly email summary detailing your site's traffic and its overall performance metrics.
This regular communication and proactive maintenance ensure that your website consistently delivers an exceptional user experience while keeping you informed about its progress.
What is included in the Website Maintenance Contract
Graphics & Animation Updates – adding, editing and sizing of any pictures/animations to the existing website which fell under the scope of the original layout or design of the website as well as some minor page additions (see Services Offered)
Website Content Updates – adding, editing and/or removing any text or copy on the existing site including any articles, reports, contact information and product or service descriptions. (see what is not included in the next section)
Blog/Event Posts - the creation of one new blog or event post a month or 12 Blog posts in the first year of the contract from supplied Client content.
Script / Program Updates – adding, editing, removing and installing any scripts, programs or software to the existing website can be done under the scope of this contract provided it does not change the overall design or look of the site by more than 30%. If this will change the existing website by more than 30% then it would fall under the scope of a New or Redesign Contract.
Services Offered
We monitor your website intermittently and upon your request.
We check for and fix any broken links.
We check for poor or fading images and replace them as required.
We can update your web page (static page) Meta tags.
We list and review your business with search engines monthly.
We will test all e-mail accounts if required (requires you to confirm receipt).
We will remain in touch with Squarespace updates and inform you if any changes are important to your account.
We will make minor changes to a sentence or paragraph wording on a page (this does not include removing nearly all the text from a page and replacing it with new text).
Any additional text/alterations or images submitted or requested that will change the page by more than 50% will be charged at an hourly rate. ($50 per hour). The minimum charge is one hour.
Addition of new gallery or portfolio images
Website Marketing – the scope of this contract includes making minor changes and edits to existing Meta-tags, Alt-tags, Titles, Keywords or Page Descriptions as required or provided by the client.
Website support - contract does include responding to clients' minor support requests and issues regarding DIY editing. We retain the right to determine when support becomes training which would then be charged separately.
What is not included
The scope of this plan does not include the following:
Website Re-design – the scope of this contract is limited to maintenance and does not allow for complete or partial redesign of the existing site.
Website Marketing - wholesale changes, SEO optimization or revisions of existing Meta-tags, alt-tags, Titles, keywords and descriptions. These tasks fall under the scope of the Search Engine Optimization contract and require a different contract.
Social Media posts or marketing
New Pages - the scope does not include creating new pages, landing or lead pages, galleries, etc.
New Features - the scope of this contract does not include adding new features, plugins or third-party add-ins. These will be billed separately at an hourly rate ($50 per hour)
Web hosting - Squarespace subscriptions or domain fees.
Third Pary plugins or Integrations - subscription fees or renewal fees
Website or business consulting
Traning - this contract does not include training clients on DIY Squarespace editing and designing.
Website Maintenance Cost
$49 per month
CAD (plus applicable taxes)
Minimin 12 month contract.
Monthly recurring Payments will be in Canadian dollars and be made via credit card, which will require your authorization. We use Wave accounting and you will receive the authorization request from this service.
The first month’s payment will be due and payable at signing. Subsequent monthly payments are due every month on the same day. The payments will re-occur until cancelled by the client. The minimum initial contract term is 12 months and can be cancelled at any time after that.