Problem

You have questions about what exactly is covered by the WordPress CMS Maintenance Plan. 


Solution

The WordPress CMS Maintenance plan scope is as follows:
  • WordPress incremental version security updates (i.e., not full versions)
  • Real-time monitoring of malicious attack attempts by bots, crawlers, and visitors
  • Scan core files, themes, and plugins for malware, code injections
  • Monthly delivery of Website Care report
Please note that the plan only covers incremental version updates of the WordPress CMS. These updates ensure the stability and security of your WordPress-powered website. These updates run regularly and are captured and reported in a Website Care Report you receive monthly. These routine updates are also applied to plugins requiring security updates, whenever possible.


Troubleshooting

Full version updates are NOT covered by your plan. These updates typically add features and functionality to your installation; they rarely are required for security purposes. While a security update is required and can usually be run without issue, a full version update usually adds features, but these features may not be compatible with the website. These updates usually require additional effort to resolve incompatibilities between plugins or themes.  Full version updates are akin to updating your computer operating system, or OS.  The system instability caused by full version updates often leads companies to run an OS that is several versions behind.

In addition, incompatibilities between WordPress, plugins or themes, may require a full version update to resolve. If additional manual effort is necessary to resolve an incompatibility between plugins, an On-Demand Request will be required. 

IMPORTANT
We recommend customers request full version updates only if they have the resources—budget, time, and plan—to both utilize the new features that come with a full version update, as well as troubleshoot the common issues that result. 

When budgeting your website support, please note that full versions of WordPress core, plugins, and themes are released every 12-18 months.