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Custom Plugin Maintenance: Plugin Care Plans for WordPress
A custom plugin is built for your website as it is today, but WordPress releases about three major updates a year, hosts move sites to newer versions of PHP (the language WordPress runs on), and the plugins your custom code works alongside keep changing too. Our custom plugin maintenance plans keep your plugin tested, secure and working through all of it, so the feature your business depends on never quietly breaks after an update.
Plugin Care is an add-on to your website care plan, priced per plugin. Olea Works has been writing and maintaining custom WordPress plugins for clients since 2000, and every plugin we build includes a Plugin Care recommendation in the quote. We are based in Bakersfield, California, and look after custom plugins for businesses across the US.
How our Plugin Care plans compare
Both plans test your plugin with each major WordPress release, keep it compatible with new versions of PHP and fix security issues as they are found. The difference is how often we check it against the plugins it works alongside, whether updates are tested on a staging copy first, and how much support time you get.
| Plugin Care | Plugin Care Plus | |
|---|---|---|
| Price (per plugin) | $59/mo | $149/mo |
| Testing with each major WordPress release | Yes | Yes |
| PHP version updates | Yes | Yes |
| Security fixes | Yes | Yes |
| Compatibility checks with the plugins it works alongside | Quarterly | Monthly |
| Updates tested on a staging copy first | No | Yes |
| Support hours per month | None | 1 |
| Response target | Next business day | Same business day |
Plugin Care
$59.00 /moKeeps a custom plugin working through WordPress and PHP updates, per plugin.
- Testing with each major WordPress release
- PHP version updates
- Security fixes
- Quarterly compatibility checks with the plugins it works alongside
- Response time: Next business day
Plugin Care Plus
$149.00 /moEverything in Plugin Care plus monthly checks, staging tests and a support hour, per plugin.
- Everything in Plugin Care
- Monthly compatibility checks with the plugins it works alongside
- Updates tested on a staging copy first
- 1 support hour / month
- Response time: Same business day
Plugin Care
Plugin Care ($59 a month per plugin) keeps a custom plugin compatible, secure and working as WordPress and your hosting change around it.
- Testing with each major WordPress release
- Updates for new PHP versions
- Security fixes
- Quarterly compatibility checks with the plugins it works alongside
- Response target: next business day
Plugin Care Plus
Plugin Care Plus ($149 a month per plugin) is for custom plugins your business relies on every day, such as booking tools, product selectors, directories and integrations.
- Everything in Plugin Care
- Monthly compatibility checks with the plugins it works alongside
- Updates tested on a staging copy of your website first, a private copy where changes are checked before they touch the live site
- 1 support hour per month for small changes and questions
- Response target: same business day
What support hours can be used for
Included hours cover small changes to how your plugin works: adjusting a setting, changing a label or message, tweaking a calculation, adding an option to a list, or looking into an error a customer reported. New features are quoted separately. Every minute is logged and visible in the Hours tab of your client portal, tracked in 15-minute increments. Included hours reset each billing month and do not roll over.
Why custom plugins need their own care
A website care plan keeps WordPress, your theme and your off-the-shelf plugins up to date. Those plugins are maintained by their own developers, who release fixes as WordPress changes. A custom plugin has no outside developer behind it. If nobody tests it when WordPress or PHP is updated, the first sign of a problem is often a broken form, a missing feature or an error message your customers see first.
The Olea Works plugin care process was developed from more than two decades of building and maintaining custom WordPress code. Each major WordPress release, each PHP change on your host and each significant update to the plugins your code relies on is checked against your plugin, and any needed changes are made before they become a problem on your live site.
What we need from you
- An active Olea Works website care plan for the site the plugin runs on
- Admin access to your website, and to your hosting account if your site is not hosted with us
- A contact person for urgent issues
- Requests in writing, with screenshots of any errors
What is not included
- New features or major changes to how the plugin works, which are quoted separately
- Plugins written by other developers, unless we review and take them on first
- Rollover of unused support hours
- Work beyond your included hours
Full details are in our Service Terms.
Frequently asked questions
Why does a custom plugin need ongoing maintenance?
WordPress releases about three major updates a year, hosts move sites to newer versions of PHP, and other plugins keep changing. A custom plugin has no outside developer updating it, so without care it can stop working after an update.
How much does custom plugin maintenance cost?
Plugin Care is $59 a month per plugin, and Plugin Care Plus is $149 a month per plugin. Both are add-ons to an Olea Works website care plan.
Do I need a website care plan too?
Yes. Plugin Care is an add-on to a website care plan, which looks after WordPress itself, your theme and your other plugins. Plugin Care covers the custom code built for your business.
Can you look after a plugin another developer built?
Often, yes. We review the plugin first to understand how it works and what condition it is in, then let you know whether it can be covered and whether any fixes are needed before it starts.
What happens to my unused support hours?
Unused hours do not roll over to the next month. Your client portal shows hours used and remaining at any time.
Keep your custom plugin working
Add Plugin Care from our Services catalog, or tell us about your plugin and we will recommend the right plan. You can also call 909.255.OLEA (909.255.6532). Need a new custom feature? See our custom development services. Every plan comes with the same logged, transparent hours Olea Works gives all of its clients.
“Testimonial quote goes here.”
Client role, industry
Agencies: these services are available white label at partner pricing. Learn about our agency program.