White label for 22 websites
Every finished project left another website to look after; the agency team handled the upkeep on the side.
- Partner
- Web design agency
- Partner since
- 2020
- Scope
- 22 client websites in our care
Starting point
As of 2020-
outdated
Client website updates were left undone
-
no process
End-client requests piled up, with no fixed process
-
on the side
Maintenance took time away from design work
-
no team
Too little volume for dedicated staff, dropping maintenance was not an option
Wanted:
someone to take over the upkeep of all client websites while staying in the background.
How we took over the upkeep of the 22 websites
The agency remains its clients' contract partner; we work in the background.At the start, each website was brought up to the same standard.
- Responsibilities and data protection settled
- Each website backed up separately, off-site
- All 22 websites monitored automatically
- 1Responsibilities and data protection agreed with the agency
- 2Every client website reviewed, updated, secured
- 3Automatic monitoring set up for all websites
- 4Off-site backups, recovery rehearsed
- 5New websites taken on when the agency reports them
The agency team has time for new websites again
When something important comes up, the agency gets a short summary and informs its clients itself.The same process applies to all 22 websites.
Before, each website got attention at most twice a year.Today, each one gets ongoing care.
- Upkeep per website 2020: at most twice a year today: ongoing
- Process 2020: none, requests piled up today: one for all 22 websites
- Team time 2020: tied up by maintenance today: designing new websites again
Today
The ongoing work since 2020 and who handles it.
- Update, back up, monitor and document ongoing, all 22 HTMLHELD
- New websites reported by the agency, taken into our care within a week HTMLHELD
- Short summary to the agency when important HTMLHELD
- Inform clients when important Agency
- Requests from the agency, reported in the customer area as soon as possible HTMLHELD
WordPress maintenance for agencies: how white label works
Your agency designs, advises and remains the contract partner. We keep your clients' websites secure and up to date in the background.
Under your name
We work in the background and do not talk to your clients. We are only visible via the maintenance note in the legal notice.
You remain the contact
When something important comes up, you get a short summary with the technical facts and inform your clients yourself.
New websites within a week
You register a website, we back it up, review it thoroughly and take it into our care.
Per website, monthly
Each website has its own maintenance plan and its own term. If a client leaves, only that maintenance ends.
Which agencies benefit from white-label maintenance
For agencies that build WordPress websites for their clients and keep looking after them after launch. The comparison below shows what changes compared with upkeep by your own team.
Upkeep happens on the side
Every finished project leaves another website to look after. If your team handles upkeep alongside its work, updates are left undone as soon as new projects press. Dropping maintenance is not a solution either.
Too little volume for dedicated staff
Dependable maintenance needs fixed routines and cover, including weekends and holidays. The number of websites is often too small for a team of its own.
An incident reflects on you
If a client's website goes down or gets hacked, the client turns to their agency. Most attacks exploit known vulnerabilities in outdated plugins that an update would have closed long ago.
Websites from many years
Every project has its own theme, its own plugins and its own state, and some were built by a previous agency. At the start we bring each website up to the same standard; after that, the same process applies to all.
- Updates own team: when there is time partner: ongoing, with a backup first
- Backups own team: often only at the host partner: in five places, three months back
- Holidays and weekends own team: cover needed partner: emergency service every day
- Traceability own team: knowledge held by individuals partner: every task traceable in the customer area
- Team time own team: tied up by upkeep partner: free for new projects
- Costs own team: working time hard to plan partner: fixed monthly price per website
Who does what and who talks to whom
Your clients have one contact: your agency. We work in the background and do not talk to your clients.
- Advise clients, design, build new websites ongoing Agency
- Contract with your clients ongoing Agency
- Content and smaller changes as needed Agency
- Announce bigger changes before the change Agency
- Updates with a backup first, in a fixed order ongoing HTMLHELD
- Backups, hardening and monitoring ongoing HTMLHELD
- Restore the website after a hack or failure in an emergency HTMLHELD
- Short summary with the technical facts when important HTMLHELD
- Inform your clients when important Agency
- Handle agency requests in the customer area most urgent first HTMLHELD
Handover: how your clients' websites come into our care
You register a website, we take it over within a week.Access details only go through the encrypted customer area, never by email.Ideally, bring your existing client contracts to the introductory call.
- No change of hosting needed
- Responsibilities recorded at the start
- Your presentation to clients agreed
- 1Responsibilities and your presentation to clients clarified
- 2Data protection settled in writing
- 3Website registered in the customer area, access handed over encrypted
- 4WordPress, theme, plugins and access reviewed
- 5Updates in a fixed order, with a backup first
- 6Hardening, monitoring and backups set up
What WordPress maintenance includes per client website
The core services are the same in every plan. They differ only in backup frequency and focus.
Safe updates in staging
We update WordPress, theme and plugins with a backup first and in a fixed order. If needed, we test on a copy of the website first.
Backups in five places
Fourfold redundant on independent systems, plus the hosting. Each state is kept for three months. No backup has been lost so far.
Hardening and malware protection
Every client website is hardened against attacks and protected from malicious code. This is part of every plan.
Round-the-clock monitoring
All websites are monitored automatically 24 hours a day. If one goes down, we take care of it.
Emergency service and recovery
Every day, holidays included. Recovery after a hack or failure comes at no extra cost, and we keep working until the website is back up.
Changes up to one hour a month
Under the fair use principle, at no extra cost. Larger jobs become a separate project with a fixed-price quote.
Ticket system in the customer area
Every request with its history. For every website you can see what was done and when.
One dedicated contact
For all of your agency's websites. Replies as fast as possible, most urgent first.
An emergency on a client website
We handle the recovery, you have the conversation with your client. For that, you get the technical facts from us.
- 1Outage or attack detected, by monitoring or your report
- 2Website repaired or restored from a backup
- 3After an attack, the point of entry closed
- 4Short summary with the technical facts to you
- 5You inform your client
Maintenance plans and billing per client website
Each website gets the plan that fits how it is built and what it does. We find the right one in the introductory call.
PLUS for business websites
Backups 4x daily, plus all core maintenance services.
PREMIUM for technically complex websites
Hourly backups and support for complex websites, plus all core services.
SHOP for online shops
Backups dynamically in real time, so every order is saved. Plus shop and WooCommerce support.
Billing per website
A fixed monthly price and a monthly term for every website. If you cancel by the 15th, it ends at the end of the month. If a client leaves, only that maintenance ends, all others continue.
Questions agencies ask us
Do my clients find out about HTMLHELD?
Hardly. We work in the background and do not talk to your clients. We are only visible via the maintenance note in the legal notice.
A client website has been hacked. What happens?
We restore it, you inform your client. Recovery is part of maintenance, at no extra cost. For the conversation, you get the technical facts from us.
May our developers keep working on the websites?
Yes. Your agency handles content and smaller changes itself. Please announce bigger changes beforehand so we can back up first and test on the copy if needed.
How is data protection arranged between us?
In writing at the start. Before we touch the first website. Which agreement is needed depends on your clients and their data, and we clarify it in the introductory call.
How much does WordPress maintenance cost?
With us, a fixed monthly price per website. The amount depends on the maintenance plan, meaning how the website is built and what it does, and we tell you in the introductory call. Additional costs arise only for work beyond maintenance that you explicitly order.
What is a WordPress maintenance contract?
A fixed agreement on the ongoing care of a website. It sets out what is done regularly, at what price and how you reach us. Our contract covers services, backup frequency, term and cancellation, and you see it in full before signing. Each client website has its own plan and its own term.
Do our clients' websites have to change host?
No, we work with the existing hosting. Backups are also stored on independent systems. If the hosting slows down or endangers the website, we suggest an alternative. The decision stays with you and your client.
Why won't my WordPress plugins update?
Usually a valid license is missing, or the environment does not fit. Premium plugins only get updates with an active license. Other common causes are an outdated PHP version, missing write permissions on the server or an interrupted update that leaves the website stuck in maintenance mode. In our maintenance, we install updates ourselves, with a backup first. More on updates in WordPress.
A client leaves. What happens to their website?
Maintenance of that website ends, the others continue. Each website has its own monthly term; if you cancel by the 15th, it ends at the end of the month. Access and content stay with you and your client, our backups are deleted, and licenses through us end with maintenance.
Which WordPress agency is the best?
For white label, the one that suits your agency and stays in the background. Check whether the partner works under your name and does not talk to your clients, whether backups are stored outside the hosting and recovery is rehearsed, who helps in an emergency every day, and whether each website can be cancelled individually each month.