How much does a proper backup and security setup cost?

For a small business website, a genuine backup and security setup typically runs from about $25 up to $100+ per month.

What you're paying for is a system that actually protects you and can restore you — reliable offsite backups, a malware scanner, a firewall, real-time monitoring, and updates. Cheaper DIY options exist, but they usually skip the parts that matter most in an emergency. You're not paying for a checkbox; you're paying for a safety net that works when you need it.

These are the non-negotiables:

• Automatic offsite backups that actually restore — not just copies sitting beside the site.
• A malware scanner that checks your files and flags problems.
• A web application firewall that blocks bad traffic before it reaches you.
• Security monitoring that watches for problems around the clock.
• Updates and patches applied so you're not sitting on known holes.

Anything labeled "security" that doesn't include real backups and real monitoring is only a partial setup — and the parts it leaves out tend to be exactly the ones you need when something goes wrong.

Because protection is ongoing work, not a one-time purchase. New vulnerabilities, patches, and attacks appear every single day, and protection has to keep pace.

A monthly fee covers continuous monitoring, applied updates, and a system that stays current. A one-time "we secured your site" payment is really just a snapshot at setup — it stops meaning much once the security landscape moves on, which is by definition all the time.

Free tools often give a false sense of safety more than real protection:

• Host "backups" often keep only the last few days and live on the same server — so one failure can wipe out your site and your only backup together.
• Free scanners check for known issues but don't watch in real time and can't restore you.
• Nobody is applying updates unless you are, which is the fastest way to become a target.

You can get lucky with free tools for a long time — but luck isn't a plan. Real protection, and the ability to actually recover, are worth paying for.

Almost always, yes — once you stack it against the cost of a problem. A single hack can wipe out weeks of work and thousands of dollars in lost leads, sales, and downtime, on top of the cleanup.

A few dollars a month is cheap insurance against all of that. The real question isn't "can I afford protection?" It's "can I afford the alternative, if something goes wrong and I have nothing to come back to?"

Backups and security are baked into our support plans, so you're not cobbling together half-baked add-ons yourself.

• Plans start at $49 per month for ongoing website care.
• Everything's included — daily backups, 24/7 security monitoring, automated updates tested in staging, malware protection.
• A real human handles problems and emails you when it's done.
• No surprise bills — month to month, no long-term contract, unused hours roll over.

You get the whole safety net without the jargon or the upsell. You email us the task, we handle it. No jargon, no surprises.