WordPress service agreement

Monitoring that filters out the noise

Monitoring is highly automated. Scripts, monitoring tools and machine-assisted analysis can check many signals far more often than is sensible to do by hand. The goal is not to send you a stream of technical alarms, but to filter out the noise and raise a flag when something needs attention.

• Uptime and HTTP status of the website.
• Known vulnerabilities in WordPress core, plugins and themes.
• Suspicious or unexpected file changes.
• Changes to plugins, themes and administrative users, where detectable.
• Indications of malware or compromise.
• Failed backup jobs and stale backups.
• SSL certificate and other obvious operational warnings, where data is available.
• WordPress and PHP errors and scheduled jobs on the packages where it is included.

Automation does not replace human judgement. Relevant alerts are collected and prioritised, and I assess whether it is normal activity, a fault, a security risk or something that needs action.

More ongoing checks

Every WordPress agreement also includes basic technical monitoring of relevant parts of the environment, where data and access allow: PHP version, WordPress version, database version, SSL and other obvious environment warnings, basic anti-spam protection of forms and comments, and automatic checking for broken internal and external links.

On Monitor you are alerted to findings. On Operations, small obvious fixes can use the included work time. On Operations Pro, ongoing cleanup of minor link errors is part of the proactive operation. The monitoring, security, backup and restore tools I install to deliver the agreement are included in the price — your own premium plugins and third-party licences are not automatically included.

What happens if the site goes down or is hit by malware?

On WordPress Monitor you get a notification, an assessment of the problem and a recommendation. You then decide whether I should fix it for a fee.

On WordPress Operations and Operations Pro I start restoring the site or cleaning up after a covered WordPress-related security incident as a matter of course, without us first having to spend time negotiating a small extra fee. The goal is to return the solution to stable operation as quickly and safely as possible.

Updates — not just “press update”

WordPress, plugins and themes are updated continuously, but not all updates should be treated the same. Critical security fixes are prioritised, while major version jumps and changes with known compatibility risk may require extra testing, backup or staging first.

If an update I carry out as part of the agreement causes an error, handling that error is included on Operations and Operations Pro. On Monitor you get a technical assessment, after which any fix is agreed.

A backup is only worth something when it can be restored

So the agreement is not just about seeing whether a backup job shows “green”. Backups are verified, at least one copy is kept separate from the production environment, and periodic restore tests are run according to the package level. The restore test runs in an isolated environment where technically possible, followed by a basic health check of WordPress and key pages.

• Monitor: at least daily backup, 30 days of history and automated restore testing at least quarterly.
• Operations: at least daily backup, 45 days of history and automated restore testing at least every two months.
• Operations Pro: at least two backups per day, 90 days of history and automated restore testing at least monthly.

At least one usable backup copy is kept separate from the primary production environment. If the hosting platform offers better snapshots or more frequent backups, they can be part of the overall strategy — but the only backup should not depend on the same environment as the live site.

Backups reduce the risk of data loss but cannot promise zero data loss in every event. In particular, dynamic data changed between two backups can be lost in a full restore. If the solution has frequently changing data, we can agree a shorter backup interval as part of a custom package.

Hosting is not required — but access is

The service agreement works even if the website is hosted with another provider. If the solution is not hosted with me, the agreement generally requires WordPress administrator access plus SSH or SFTP/FTP and access to the database. I may also need access to the hosting control panel, DNS or backup functions if it is necessary to deliver the agreed service.

If the necessary access is removed, changed or does not work, I cannot be held responsible for missing monitoring, backup, restore or fixes during that period. If you would rather not think about the server at all, you can combine the agreement with managed hosting and get 10% off the service agreement.

Onboarding an existing WordPress solution

If the website was built or maintained by others, we start with a technical onboarding review. The point is to get a known baseline before I take on ongoing responsibility. I review, among other things:

• WordPress, PHP, theme and plugin versions.
• Users, roles and administrative accounts.
• Known vulnerabilities and obvious security problems.
• Backup status and restore capability.
• Error logs, cron/scheduled tasks and database configuration, where access allows.
• Outdated, abandoned or conflicting components.
• Performance and configuration issues that can affect stability.

You get a prioritised list of critical issues that must be resolved before the agreement can take effect. Indicative onboarding review for WordPress: from DKK 1,680 excl. VAT. If I built and maintain the solution myself, the review can be fully or partly waived.

Included in every WordPress agreement

Whatever the level, you get a fixed technical contact and a solution that is monitored continuously. The packages differ mainly on who carries the work and the risk when monitoring finds a problem.

• Free email support for questions, explanation, assessment and sparring.
• Ongoing maintenance of WordPress, plugins and themes.
• Monitoring of uptime, security, known vulnerabilities and backup status.
• Response to relevant changes and alerts from monitoring.
• Backup and periodic restore testing according to the package level.
• Direct contact with me — not an anonymous support centre.
• The option to upgrade, downgrade or build a custom agreement.

Free email support — what does it mean?

You can write when you are in doubt, when WordPress shows a strange message, when a supplier sends a technical email, or when you want to know whether a change is a good idea. I help you understand the situation, assess the risk and point to the next step.

Free support is advice and assessment — not unlimited development work. If your request requires me to log in and carry out an actual task, any included work time in the package is used. When it is used up, or if your package has no work time, we agree extra work before I proceed.

Response time and priority

Monitoring can run around the clock, but the standard agreements are not a 24/7 staffed on-call service. The times below apply during normal working hours and describe the latest point for a first human assessment — not a guarantee that the problem is fully resolved by then.

• Monitor: critical alerts are assessed by the next working day at the latest; ordinary emails are typically answered within 1–2 working days.
• Operations: critical alerts get a first assessment within 4 working hours; ordinary emails by the next working day at the latest.
• Operations Pro: critical alerts get a first assessment within 2 working hours; ordinary emails are given the highest priority.

Monthly operations report

Every month you get a short, understandable operations report, so the value of the ongoing service is visible — even in months without an acute problem: uptime and recorded alerts, updates and significant changes, backup status and the latest successful backup, the latest restore test, recorded security incidents, what I have responded to, any recommendations, and an overall technical health status: green, amber or red.

Included work time, discounts and terms

The included time can be used for minor fixes, configuration, CSS and layout tweaks, adjusting existing functions and other limited technical maintenance. It cannot be used for larger redesigns, new features, new integrations, larger content tasks or actual new development. Unused time does not carry over. Monitor has no included work time, Operations has 30 minutes, and Operations Pro has 90 minutes per month.

Discounts

• 10% off the service agreement if the website is hosted with me.
• 10% off if the agreement is signed and invoiced three months at a time.
• If both apply, you get 20% in total — they are additive, not two successive percentage discounts.

Terms and limitations

• A standard agreement generally covers one WordPress installation. Multisite, multiple domains or multiple installations are assessed separately.
• Free email support is subject to fair use and covers questions, assessment and advice — not unlimited hands-on work.
• You must maintain the necessary access and must not knowingly disable monitoring, backup or security components that are part of the agreement.
• You should let me know if other developers or suppliers change code, plugins, themes, server, DNS or other operations-critical elements.
• Faults, outages or security incidents triggered by your or a third party’s changes are not covered by the included incident response on Operations and Operations Pro.
• Outages at an external hosting, DNS, mail or API provider cannot be guaranteed resolved by me. I help with troubleshooting and dialogue within the agreed access.
• No security solution can guarantee that a site is never compromised. The goal is to reduce the risk, detect incidents quickly and have a realistic path back to operation.
• Monthly agreements can be cancelled with the current month plus one month. Quarterly agreements run three months at a time and are invoiced in advance; a started period is not refunded on ordinary cancellation.
• The specific service agreement and the accepted quote take precedence if there is any difference between the standard text here and the individual agreement.

Have a different need?

The packages are standards — not a straitjacket. If you have several sites, special integrations, very frequent changes or stricter backup requirements, we can build a custom service agreement. Together we find a level that matches the real risk and the responsibility you want to hand over.