New 24/7 monitoring and daily cloud backups now included in every Shield Pro plan.

Compare Options

Choose between a WordPress developer or maintenance company.

Choose one-off developer help for a defined task, or ongoing maintenance when your site needs regular updates, backups, monitoring, and continuing fix cover.

from £49.99

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What to look for

Developer vs maintenance company: the real difference

  1. 01

    Freelancers are great until they are booked solid or disappear.

  2. 02

    Maintenance companies charge monthly but exclude actual bug fixes.

  3. 03

    Agencies want £5,000 retainers for work that takes an hour.

  4. 04

    You need emergency help but only have a monthly plan with slow tickets.

  5. 05

    Neither option includes secure credential sharing or fix tracking.

How we help

How BugShield bridges the gap

BugShield works like a developer when you need a single fix, confirmed price, BugShield developer, direct chat. It works like a maintenance company when you subscribe, monitoring, backups, included fixes, and activity logs.

Start with a one-off fix to test us. Upgrade to Shield Light or Shield Pro when ongoing care makes sense. No lock-in.

Pricing
Clear before work begins
Support
Direct developer chat
Access
Encrypted Password Vault
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How It Works

WordPress developer vs maintenance company: your options

1

One-off fix

Single issue? Pay from £49.99 per fix with no monthly commitment.

2

Shield Light

Ongoing care with 2 monthly fixes, monitoring, and backups for £99/month.

3

Shield Pro

Unlimited fixes, daily backups, and priority response for £199/month.

Choose Your Plan

Two plans, one goal: a site that just works

Each WordPress site needs its own subscription. Mix Shield Light and Shield Pro across your portfolio from a single account.

Shield Light

£99 per month, per site

Monitoring, weekly backups, and two included fixes per month for sites that need ongoing care without unlimited developer time.

  • 2 bug fixes per month
  • Weekly cloud backups (100GB)
  • Full monitoring suite and SEO audits
  • File integrity checks
  • Response within 24 hours
  • Activity log and subscriber support chat
Learn about Shield Light
Most Popular

Shield Pro

£199 per month, per site

Everything in Shield Light, plus unlimited bug fixes, malware prevention, daily backups, and priority response.

  • Unlimited bug fixes
  • Daily backups plus on-demand runs (200GB)
  • Malware prevention and removal
  • Response within 1 hour
  • Priority support channel
  • Everything in Shield Light
Learn about Shield Pro

Compare

How BugShield compares

Feature BugShield Typical freelancer Typical maintenance co.
Published pricing Yes Rarely Sometimes
Direct developer chat Yes Sometimes Rarely
Bug fixes included Yes (plans) Pay per hour Often extra
Monitoring and backups Included No Sometimes
UK-focused support Yes Varies Varies

WordPress developer vs maintenance company: the difference

A WordPress developer fixes specific problems when you ask. A maintenance company provides ongoing care: updates, monitoring, backups, and security, often with developer support included.

Neither is inherently better. The right choice depends on whether you have a one-time issue or need continuous protection.

  • Developers: pay per task, reactive, no monitoring
  • Maintenance companies: monthly fee, proactive, includes tooling
  • Agencies: high retainers, often slow for small fixes
  • BugShield one-off: fixed price per fix from £49.99
  • BugShield maintenance: plans from £99/month with included fixes

When to hire a developer

A developer (or one-off fix service) is right when you have a specific bug, a broken feature, or a one-time task. You pay for the work done and the relationship ends when the fix is complete.

This is the most cost-effective option for sites that rarely break and do not need ongoing monitoring.

When to choose a maintenance company

Maintenance makes sense when your site earns revenue, handles customer data, or would be expensive to rebuild. Proactive monitoring and backups catch problems before customers notice.

If you find yourself paying for multiple one-off fixes each month, a maintenance plan with included fixes is almost always better value.

How BugShield combines both

BugShield works like a developer when you need a single fix: confirmed price, BugShield developer, direct chat. It works like a maintenance company when you subscribe: monitoring, backups, included fixes, and activity logs.

Start with a one-off fix to test us. Upgrade to Shield Light or Shield Pro when ongoing care makes sense. No lock-in, cancel anytime.

Choose by the type of work

A defined bug or feature suits task-based developer work. Updates, backups, security checks, and recurring oversight suit a maintenance relationship.

Decide who owns routine decisions

Maintenance should make responsibility for updates, alerts, backups, and recovery clear. With one-off development, those ongoing decisions normally remain with the site owner.

Keep larger projects separately scoped

A monthly plan can include repairs without covering redesigns or new systems. Separating recurring care from project work keeps expectations and pricing understandable.

Evidence of the work

How BugShield verifies the result.

Useful maintenance leaves a record. We look at the site before work, record what changed, and check the result so updates, backups, monitoring, and fixes remain understandable.

  1. 01

    Record the starting state

    Review WordPress, plugin and PHP versions, current alerts, backup status, and any known faults before planned work begins.

  2. 02

    Keep a visible change history

    Log updates, monitoring events, backup activity, credential use, and developer work against the relevant site.

  3. 03

    Check the site after maintenance

    Verify the public site and important journeys, confirm monitoring and backups remain active, and investigate unexpected behaviour rather than recording only that an update ran.

FAQ

WordPress developer vs maintenance company FAQs

Should I hire a WordPress developer or a maintenance company?

For a one-time issue, hire per fix. For ongoing updates, monitoring, and included support, choose maintenance. BugShield offers both.

Is a maintenance plan cheaper than a developer?

If you need more than two fixes per month, Shield Pro at £199 with unlimited fixes is usually cheaper than hourly developer rates.

Can I switch from one-off fixes to a maintenance plan?

Yes. Many customers start with a one-off fix and upgrade when they see the value.

When should I hire a WordPress developer instead of a maintenance company?

Hire per fix for one-time problems. Choose maintenance when you want ongoing updates, monitoring, backups, and included developer support every month.

Can a freelancer replace a maintenance company?

A freelancer fixes things when asked but rarely provides monitoring, backups, or proactive updates. You are responsible for noticing when something breaks.

What does a maintenance company actually do?

Updates plugins and core, monitors uptime, takes backups, and handles security. Good maintenance companies also include developer time for fixes. BugShield includes all of this with published pricing.

Should I choose Shield Light or Shield Pro?

Both plans work for any WordPress site. Shield Pro adds a greater backup storage allowance, malware removal, and daily malware scans on top of Shield Light.

Can I use a developer and maintenance service together?

Yes. A maintenance provider can handle routine care while a specialist developer delivers larger features. Clear ownership and a shared change record help prevent overlap.

Who should handle a WordPress emergency?

Use the service with access, availability, and responsibility for recovery. Confirm whether emergency diagnosis and repairs are included before relying on a maintenance plan.

What should happen when maintenance finds a fault?

The provider should explain the symptom, assess the impact, and state whether investigation and repair are included. An alert without a response route leaves the work with you.

More in compare wordpress maintenance plans

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Ready to fix your WordPress site?

Confirmed pricing, a BugShield developer, and secure credential sharing. No subscription required.

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