Maintenance
Software ages even when nobody touches it. New vulnerabilities in Contao, WordPress and Shopware appear constantly. Leave them open and you are running an unlocked door without knowing it.
We keep your site current, watch it while it runs and check that the backups actually come back. Ideally you notice none of it. That is precisely the point.
What we watch is out in the open in our blog: security updates for Contao, Shopware and the Apple ecosystem, week after week. The same work that sits behind the plans.
Who it is for
Companies whose website runs but has not seen an update in months
Shop owners for whom downtime costs revenue directly
Agencies that want to hand over the technical upkeep of their client projects
Anyone who took over an application and can no longer reach the people who know it
What we do
Five areas that together keep a small problem from becoming a large one.
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01.
Updates and security
The core of it. Not just the system itself, but everything attached to it.
- System, extensions and dependencies on a fixed cycle
- Critical vulnerabilities closed outside that cycle
- A check after every update that the site still does what it should
- On CAREpro, tested on staging beforehand
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02.
Monitoring
So that you do not hear from a customer that something has stopped working.
- Uptime around the clock
- Expiring SSL certificates, before the browser warning appears
- Errors during operation
- Response times on CAREpro
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03.
Backups
A backup that has never been restored is an assumption, not a safeguard.
- Checks that the backups run and are complete
- Retention period by agreement
- An annual restore test on CAREpro
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04.
Reports
You should be able to read what you are paying for.
- What was updated and what came up along the way
- Half-yearly on CAREstandard, quarterly on CAREpro
- Documented so it holds up in an audit
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05.
Your contact
You write to the same address and reach the same people as last time.
- Response times depend on the plan
- During business hours, no on-call duty
- A named contact on CAREpro
The three tiers
What changes between them is not the scope of the work, but how quickly and how carefully we do it.
CAREbasic
CHF 39.90/month
For the company website that runs and should keep running.
- Security updates for the system and its extensions, quarterly
- Critical vulnerabilities closed outside the cycle
- Uptime monitoring around the clock
- We check that your backups actually run
- Response within two working days
Recommended
CAREstandard
CHF 69.90/month
For sites that are worked on continuously.
- Everything in CAREbasic
- Updates monthly instead of quarterly
- Monitoring also covers errors and expiring certificates
- Half-yearly report on updates and incidents
- Response within one working day
CAREpro
CHF 199.90/month
For shops and applications where downtime costs money.
- Everything in CAREstandard
- Updates tested on a staging environment first
- Monitoring also covers response times
- Annual restore test from the backup
- Quarterly report and a named contact
- Response within four working hours
Something that does not fit these three, a Laravel application for instance? Send an individual enquiry.
All prices are per installation and month, plus VAT. Minimum term 12 months, after which you can cancel with one month notice to the end of the contract period. Not included: content changes, further development and recovery after a security incident. Those are billed by time and materials. We do not offer on-call cover outside business hours.
Which systems
Contao, in daily use for years as a premium partner
WordPress
Shopware 6
Statamic
Applications built on Laravel
We do not take other systems into a maintenance plan. If yours is not on the list, we say so before the contract, not after.
How we start
From the first look to routine operation.
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01.
Taking stock
We look at what is actually running rather than relying on what we are told.
- System, version, extensions, hosting environment, backup situation
- With external hosting we check what the environment even permits
- The result is a recommendation on which tier fits
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02.
Handover
Sorting out access, setting up monitoring, clearing the backlog.
- Accumulated updates are caught up once, billed by time and materials
- After that the cycle of your chosen plan applies
- You receive an overview of what was taken over
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03.
Routine operation
From here it runs, and you hear from us when there is something to say.
- Updates and monitoring according to the plan
- A report every six months or every quarter
- Change requests any time, billed by time and materials
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to host with you?
No. We also maintain sites that sit with another provider.
We can only promise what the external environment allows, though. If it runs an outdated PHP version, offers no SSH access or keeps the backups solely on the provider's side, some of the work has nothing to act on. So we look at the environment before the contract and tell you what is possible and what is not.
What happens if my site gets hacked?
We offer no on-call duty and no emergency service. Not in the evening, not at the weekend. If you need that, we are the wrong firm, and we would rather say so upfront.
We deal with the incident during business hours. Analysis, clean-up and recovery are not part of the plan and are billed by time and materials. Maintenance lowers the likelihood of it happening, it is not insurance.
Are content changes included?
No, and that is deliberate. An hourly allowance inside a subscription means some clients never use it and pay for it anyway, while others run over it.
Content changes, extensions and further development are billed by time and materials. The plan covers technical upkeep: updates, monitoring, backups, reports.
Which systems do you maintain?
Contao, WordPress, Shopware 6 and Statamic. These are the systems we develop in ourselves and whose release cycles we follow closely.
Applications built on Laravel we take on request. A custom-built application cannot be maintained to a fixed pattern, the effort depends on the application itself. We look at it and quote accordingly.
We do not take Shopware 5 into a plan. For a version the vendor no longer issues security updates for, we cannot promise to apply them. If you are still on Shopware 5, the better conversation is about migrating to 6.
My site has not been updated in years. Is that still possible?
Yes, and it is more the rule than the exception. We catch up the backlog once, billed by time and materials, before the plan takes effect.
How large that item is becomes clear when we take stock. With very old versions a migration can work out cheaper than catching up, and we will tell you that too.
How long am I tied in?
The minimum term is 12 months from activation. After that the plan renews for a further 12 months unless you cancel with one month notice to the end of the current period.
An email is enough to cancel. You can move between tiers at any time, there is no need to wait for the end of the term.
What exactly does response time mean?
The time until a person gets back to you and starts work, counted in working hours or working days during business hours. Not the time until the problem is solved, which depends on the problem.
Two working days on CAREbasic, one working day on CAREstandard, four working hours on CAREpro.
Get in touch.
Tell us what's stuck or what you want to build. You'll reach someone who knows the answer, not a switchboard.