Hosting Support vs. a Maintenance Plan: What’s the Difference?
Hosting support keeps the server running and helps you understand problems. A maintenance plan keeps the website itself updated, backed up and fixed. Most hosts provide the first; you need the second if you don’t want to do the upkeep yourself.
Side by side
| Hosting support | Maintenance plan | |
|---|---|---|
| Server problems | Fixed by the host | Not the plan’s job |
| Something wrong with the site | Diagnosis and advice | Fixed for you |
| Core, theme and plugin updates | You run them | Run for you, regularly |
| Backups | Varies by host | Regular, stored off-site |
| Hack cleanup | Usually a paid extra | Often included |
What hosting support usually covers
Hosting support looks after the server your site runs on: keeping it online, the server software, your account and anything the host controls. At Iridium Hosting, server problems are always ours to fix, and if your site itself breaks, we’ll find what’s wrong and tell you how to fix it.
What a maintenance plan covers
A maintenance plan looks after the website: updating WordPress core, the theme and plugins, keeping backups off the server, and fixing things when an update or an attack breaks them. On our Manage plan that also includes small technical jobs under 30 minutes and free hack cleanup.
Which one do you need?
- Comfortable running updates and fixing plugin conflicts yourself: good hosting support may be enough
- Your site brings in leads or sales and nobody has time for upkeep: add a maintenance plan
- Your site is on a host you like: a maintenance plan that works with any host lets you stay put
Frequently asked questions
Do I need both hosting and a maintenance plan?
Every site needs hosting. A maintenance plan is optional, and worth it when nobody on your team wants to handle updates, backups and fixes.
Can I get a maintenance plan without moving hosts?
Yes. Our Manage plan works with any host.
See exactly what we cover: hosting support vs. the Manage plan.
