What a website AMC covers, and why the contract wording matters
A website AMC (annual maintenance contract) is an agreement in which a provider keeps your site updated, backed up, checked and edited within agreed limits for a fixed period. Two AMCs with the same name can cover very different amounts of work, so the plan label tells you little. The list of services, quotas and exclusions in the contract tells you everything.
This guide is for owners, office managers and marketing staff who have received an AMC proposal, or who are renewing one and want to know whether it is fair. After reading, you should be able to go through a proposal clause by clause, mark what is included, what will cost extra and what you still need to ask. If you want to understand how backups and security updates work technically, our separate guide on website security updates and backups for owners covers that in plain language.
The core services every website AMC should name
A good AMC names each service and says how often it happens. Vague phrases such as "complete care" or "full support" are not services. Look for these six items written out in the contract or its schedule.
Software updates
The contract should say which software is updated: the content management system (for example WordPress core), the theme, plugins, and for custom sites the framework and libraries. It should also say how often updates are checked and whether a backup is taken before each update.
Backups and restore help
Look for the backup frequency, how many past copies are kept, where they are stored, and whether restoring the site after a problem is included or billed separately. A backup clause without a restore clause is only half a promise.
Security checks
This may include malware scanning, login protection, removing unused plugins or accounts, and basic hardening of settings. Ask what happens if the site is hacked anyway: is the clean-up included, partly included, or charged by the hour?
Uptime and hosting health
Some AMCs include monitoring that alerts the provider when the site goes down. Others only react when you call. Neither is wrong, but you should know which one you are buying.
Bug fixes
Broken layouts, links that lead nowhere and forms that stop sending email are typical bugs. The contract should say that fixing faults in the existing site is covered, as distinct from building something new.
Content edits
Text changes, banner swaps, new photos and small page additions. This is the clause that causes the most disagreement, so it gets its own section below.
Content edits: agree the quota before it becomes a dispute
Think about how your organisation actually uses the site. A coaching centre may change batch timings and result banners every month. A manufacturer may add five new products in one week before a trade fair and then nothing for two months. A school may need an admission notice, a holiday list and a photo gallery update every term. The AMC should fit that pattern.
Ask the provider to define the edit quota in a measurable way, such as a number of requests or a number of working hours per month. Then check three details: whether unused edits carry forward, what counts as a "minor" edit compared with a new page, and how the provider will tell you before a request goes beyond the quota. A written example helps, such as "replacing text and up to five images on an existing page counts as one edit; a new page with a new layout is quoted separately".
Keep a simple shared log of the edit requests you send and when they were completed. It settles most quota questions in a minute.
Hosting, domain and SSL renewals: who pays, who renews, whose name
Hosting, domain names and SSL certificates are renewed on their own cycles, and they often renew on different dates from the AMC. Missed renewals take a site offline faster than almost any technical fault, so the contract should be clear about them.
- Ownership: the domain should be registered in your business's name with an email address your organisation controls, not the personal email of a staff member or the agency.
- Responsibility: state whether the provider renews on your behalf, only reminds you, or has no role at all.
- Billing: if renewal costs are bundled into the AMC, ask for them as separate lines so you can see each one and compare.
- Access: you should hold, or be able to obtain at any time, the logins for the domain registrar and hosting control panel.
If a proposal registers your domain under the agency's account, treat it as a warning sign. Our article on red flags in web design proposals explains why and what a fair clause looks like.
Response times and support channels: get them in writing
"Quick support" means different things to different people. The contract should separate response time (when someone acknowledges and starts work) from resolution time (when the problem is fixed). It should also say which hours count, for example office hours on working days, and how to reach the provider: phone, WhatsApp, email or a ticket system.
It helps to agree priority levels in advance, because not every request is urgent. The times themselves are something you and your provider agree; the table below only shows a sensible way to group requests.
| Priority | Typical situation | What to agree |
|---|---|---|
| Urgent | Site down, hacked, checkout or enquiry form not working | How fast someone starts work, and whether this applies outside office hours |
| Normal | A page layout broken on mobile, a link not working, a slow page | Target time to fix during working days |
| Routine | Text change, new photos, banner update | Turnaround counted against the monthly edit quota |
Included, extra or ask: a clause table you can use
Use this table while reading a proposal. Practices vary between providers, so the middle column shows where each item commonly sits, not a rule. The right-hand column is the question to ask if the proposal is silent.
| Item | Where it commonly sits | Question to ask |
|---|---|---|
| CMS, theme and plugin updates | Included | How often, and is a backup taken before each update? |
| Scheduled backups | Included | How often, how many copies are kept, and where are they stored? |
| Restoring from backup | Ask | Is a restore included, and how many per year? |
| Malware clean-up after a hack | Ask | Fully covered, partly covered or charged separately? |
| Bug fixes on existing pages | Included | What counts as a bug versus a change request? |
| Minor content edits | Included up to a quota | How many per month, and do unused ones carry forward? |
| New pages or new features | Extra | How are they quoted and approved? |
| Hosting and domain renewal fees | Often billed separately | Who renews, and in whose name? |
| Premium theme or plugin licences | Often billed separately | Who holds the licence, and when does it renew? |
| Speed optimisation | Depends on plan | Is it one-time or ongoing? |
| Uptime monitoring | Depends on plan | Who gets the alert, and what happens next? |
| Monthly report | Ask | What exactly will the report show? |
Reports, exit terms and the clauses people forget
A monthly report is how you know the AMC is being delivered. A useful report lists the updates applied, backups taken, issues found and fixed, edit requests completed, and anything the provider recommends you decide on, such as an outdated plugin that needs replacing. A report that only says "all OK" every month is not much use.
Exit terms matter even if you are happy today. The contract should state the notice period, what you will receive on exit (logins, a final full backup, licence details) and that there is no charge for handing over your own data. If the site was built by another agency, also check whether the AMC provider expects an initial audit or clean-up before the regular contract starts, and whether that is priced separately.
Finally, check what is excluded. Common exclusions are problems caused by third-party services, changes made by your own staff outside the agreed process, and hosting outages that the provider does not control. Exclusions are reasonable when they are written clearly; they become a problem only when you discover them during an emergency.
How MATROP structures website maintenance, and when you may not need an AMC
MATROP's website maintenance service follows a monthly routine of three steps. First an audit of security, speed, broken links, forms, hosting health and backups. Then fixes and updates, including core, theme and plugin updates, bug fixes and performance tuning. Then a simple monthly report of work done with recommendations.
Plans are offered at three levels. Basic Care covers updates, basic security checks, a monthly backup and minor content updates. Standard Protect adds weekly backups, speed optimisation and priority support. Premium AMC adds daily backups where needed, uptime monitoring and dedicated support. The final plan and price depend on your website's technology (PHP, WordPress or custom), the number of pages and the support scope you need, which is why we look at the site before quoting.
An AMC is not always the right answer. If your site is a few pages that rarely change and it runs on a hosted platform that applies its own updates, paying for occasional fixes may be enough. If the site is old, slow and built on software that can no longer be updated safely, an AMC only delays the inevitable; a rebuild through website design and development may cost less over time. If you are unsure which situation you are in, our guide to the signs a website needs professional maintenance is a good place to start.
Questions people ask
Is a website AMC billed once a year or every month?
Both arrangements exist, and the billing cycle matters less than what the contract lists. Check that the services, the content edit quota, the renewal date and the notice period are written down whichever way you pay.
Does a website AMC cover redesigning pages or adding new features?
Usually not. An AMC keeps the existing site working and covers minor edits within an agreed quota; a redesign, a new section with its own logic, or a new integration is normally quoted as a separate piece of work.
Should hosting and domain charges be inside the AMC price?
They can be, but ask for them as separate lines with their own renewal dates. That way you know what you are paying for, and the domain stays registered in your business's name if you ever change provider.
What should we receive if we end the AMC?
At minimum: admin logins, hosting and domain access, a recent full backup of files and database, the list of paid themes, plugins or licences with renewal dates, and any notes on custom changes made during the contract.
