What Happens After Your Website Launches

Your website launches. The champagne moment. Everything looks great, the forms work, Google is starting to index it. Then what? For a lot of businesses, the answer is "nothing" until something breaks. This guide covers what should happen after launch, what it costs, and how to avoid the problems that catch businesses off guard.

Launching Is the Halfway Point

A website launch is not the finish line. It is more like moving into a new building. The construction is done, but you still need to keep the lights on, fix things that wear out, and make improvements as you learn how people actually use the space. The businesses that get the most from their websites treat them as ongoing assets, not one-off projects.

What Maintenance Actually Means

"Maintenance" is a vague word that means different things to different providers. Here is what it should cover in plain English.

Security updates

Software has vulnerabilities. WordPress releases security patches regularly. Plugins get updated to close holes. If nobody applies these updates, your site becomes an easy target. This is the non-negotiable part of maintenance.

Backups

Automated daily backups stored somewhere separate from your hosting. If your server fails, gets hacked, or an update goes wrong, you can restore the site to yesterday's version. Without backups, you start from scratch.

Performance monitoring

Page speed degrades over time. Images get added without being optimised. Plugins accumulate. Hosting performance fluctuates. Monthly performance checks catch problems before they affect your visitors or your Google rankings.

Uptime monitoring

Automated checks that alert someone when your site goes down. Downtime costs you money and reputation, especially if nobody notices for days.

Content updates

Changing a phone number, updating opening hours, adding a new team member, or swapping out a photo. Small changes that keep your site accurate.

What Your Developer Should Be Doing Each Month

If you are paying for a maintenance plan, you should know what happens each month. Here is what a typical monthly maintenance session looks like.

• Review and apply WordPress core updates, or framework updates for non-WordPress sites
• Update plugins and themes, testing each update on a staging environment first
• Run a security scan and review the results
• Check backup logs to confirm backups are running and restorable
• Review uptime reports and investigate any downtime
• Check page speed and Core Web Vitals scores, flagging any degradation
• Test forms, checkout flows, and key user journeys
• Fix any broken links
• Apply any small content changes you have requested
• Send you a summary of what was done

Hosting vs Maintenance: They Are Different Things

Hosting is the server your website lives on. Maintenance is the work done to keep the site running well on that server. Some providers bundle them. Others sell them separately. Both are necessary, but they are not the same thing.

A common mistake is assuming hosting includes maintenance. Most shared hosting plans give you a server and nothing else. Your WordPress install, plugins, and security are your responsibility.

How Much Does Maintenance Cost in New Zealand?

Most small to medium NZ businesses land in the $100-$200/month range. That covers the essentials without overpaying for services you do not use. If your site is an e-commerce store or handles bookings, you will likely need the higher end because there are more things that can break.

The Developer Ghosted Me

This is one of the most common problems we hear from businesses reaching out for help. Their developer or freelancer built the site, was responsive for a few months, and then gradually became unreachable. Emails go unanswered. Updates stop. The site slowly breaks, and the business owner has no idea how to fix it.

What to do right now

• Check if you have admin login credentials for your CMS (WordPress, Shopify, etc.). If not, try password recovery.
• Find out who your domain is registered with. Log into the registrar (Metaname, Crazy Domains, GoDaddy, etc.) and confirm the domain is in your name.
• Find out who your hosting is with. Check your email for hosting invoices or receipts.
• If the developer registered the domain or hosting in their name, you may need to negotiate a transfer. In some cases, the Domain Name Commission (DNC) can help with .nz domain disputes.
• Do not panic. Most situations can be resolved even if it takes a few weeks.

How to protect yourself next time

• Register the domain yourself, in your business name. Your developer can manage it, but you should own it.
• Get admin-level login credentials for your CMS, hosting, and any third-party services such as analytics, email marketing, and payment gateways.
• Keep a document with all your login details, account numbers, and who manages what.
• Make sure backups are stored somewhere you can access, not just on the developer's server.
• Have a written agreement that covers what happens if the relationship ends. Who owns the code? How do you get access to everything?

When You Do Not Need a Maintenance Plan

Not every website needs a paid maintenance plan. Be honest about what you are running.

• Static sites with no CMS, plain HTML or built with a framework like Next.js, need minimal ongoing maintenance. There are no plugins to update, no database to back up, and fewer security concerns.
• Hosted platforms like Squarespace and Wix handle their own updates and security. Your main responsibility is keeping your content accurate.
• Very simple WordPress sites with no e-commerce, no forms collecting sensitive data, and no custom plugins have lower risk, though updates and backups are still recommended.

If your site is a WordPress install with WooCommerce, a booking system, or custom functionality, you need maintenance. The more moving parts your site has, the more things can go wrong.

Need a Hand with Your Site?

Whether your site needs regular upkeep or you have been left in the lurch by a previous developer, <a href="/contact">get in touch</a>. We maintain sites we have built and sites built by others. We will take a look at what you have and tell you honestly what it needs.