Contents
- 01
See what belongs in oneThe template
- 02
Fill it in against a real vendorHow to fill each section
- 03
Know what to check before signing
The template
This is a website maintenance contract sample: a copy-pasteable, fill-in-the-blank block. It is not a full agreement and it does not replace an attorney reading the actual document. Check it against the three plans and what each covers before you assume a vendor’s pricing page already says all of this.
| Component | What to look for | What good looks like |
|---|---|---|
|
Scope of work
|
Which of updates, backups, security scanning, uptime monitoring and performance checks are included, and at what cadence | Every item named, plus a named “out of scope, quoted separately” bucket |
|
Response-time SLA
|
When investigation starts, and when the issue gets resolved | Two stated numbers, not “prompt attention” |
|
Backup frequency and retention
|
Frequency, offsite storage, retention length, client access | Client can reach backups independently of the provider, and a restore has been tested |
|
Provider-caused breakage
|
Whether a break from the provider’s own update is included or billed separately | Included in the fee, answered in writing |
|
Termination and notice
|
The notice period, and any fee attached to leaving early | Notice period and early-exit fee checked as two separate facts |
|
Data handover on exit
|
Content, backups and credentials, format and timeframe | Standard formats, defined timeframe, no mandatory hosting lock-in |
Fill each blank against the vendor’s actual contract, not their marketing copy.
How to fill each section
Scope of work
Name which of updates, backups, security scanning, uptime monitoring and performance checks are included, and at what cadence. Anything not itemized falls into an “out of scope, quoted separately” bucket, and that bucket gets named too, not left implicit.
Read the scope line back against the vendor’s own plan page and confirm they match.
Response-time SLA
A real SLA states two numbers: when investigation starts, and when the issue gets resolved. “Prompt attention” is not a number.
NoDrama’s own three plans work as a worked example of a numbered response commitment. As of September 2026, The Standard, at $129 a month, commits to a 4-hour response. The Higher Standard, at $249 a month, commits to 2 hours. The Highest Standard, at $479 a month, commits to 1 hour. That is one number, not two. The pricing page states how fast work starts and publishes no resolution time, which is the exact gap the second blank in the template is there to catch. Tiering by plan is one vendor’s shape, not an adopted standard, so read any vendor’s tiering language the same way.
| Plan | Price | Response commitment |
|---|---|---|
| The Standard | $129/month | 4 hours |
| The Higher Standard | $249/month | 2 hours |
| The Highest Standard | $479/month | 1 hour |
Ask the vendor for the actual number in writing if the plan page only says “priority support.”
Backup frequency and retention
State the backup frequency, whether storage is offsite, the retention length and whether the client can access backups independently of the provider. A commonly cited minimum retention in vendor material is 30 days, though that figure comes from one vendor’s own recommendation, not an adopted standard.
Ask whether a restore has ever actually been tested, not just scheduled.
Provider-caused breakage
State plainly whether a break caused by the provider’s own update is included in the fee or billed separately. The buyer-favorable position, and the one that shows up increasingly often in vendor material, is that it should sit inside the fee.
Get this answered in writing before signing.
Termination and notice
State the plain notice period, commonly 30 days in the sources reviewed, and separately, whether a penalty clause charges the remaining term even inside that window. One real contract clause reviewed carries a 30-day cooling-off window after signing or renewal during which termination is penalty-free, but termination outside that window triggers an invoice for the remaining term at the highest tier used. That is one real contract’s clause, not a norm, and it is exactly why “30 days’ notice” and “no penalty” need checking as two separate facts.
Read the termination clause twice, once for the notice period and once for any fee attached to leaving early.
Data handover on exit
State full handover of content, backups and credentials, in standard formats, within a defined timeframe, with no mandatory hosting lock-in.
Confirm in writing what format the handover comes in before it is needed.
For what ongoing care actually covers, see the fuller scope this checklist is drawn from.
What reviewers or auditors actually check
No governing standard exists to check a maintenance contract against, so a reviewer checks whether the six components above are itemized with real numbers instead. The gap that matters is between a vendor’s plan page, which markets a tier, and the actual signed document, which is the enforceable set of terms. Before comparing contracts at all, it helps to check what state the site is in before you sign anything.
What this does not cover
This template names what belongs in a website maintenance contract. It does not replace an attorney reading the actual document, and it is not a data processing agreement or similar compliance-specific paperwork.
Where teams get this wrong
Taking a vendor’s pricing-page bullet list as legally equivalent to a contract term.
Downloading a generic freelancer template and never checking it against the vendor’s actual SLA numbers.
Assuming “30 days’ notice” is penalty-free without checking for a separate fee clause.
Is a written contract different from just a support plan on a pricing page
Yes. A plan page is marketing. A contract is the enforceable document, and the difference shows up exactly at the six components above.
Plan page
Markets a tier.
Signed contract
The enforceable set of terms.
See what NoDrama actually commits to in writing.
What NoDrama commits to across its three plans, spelled out the same way this template asks a vendor to.
Conclusion
A website maintenance contract worth signing itemizes six components with real numbers: scope of work, a numbered response-time SLA, backup frequency and retention, provider-caused-breakage liability, a termination clause with a real notice period, and a data handover clause on exit. Check each one against what the vendor’s own plan page says, and treat any mismatch as the thing to raise before signing, not after.