Web Performance & Accessibility vs Website Maintenance & Support
Which you need, what each costs, and when a project wants both — web performance & accessibility compared with website maintenance & support.
Last revised
Both sit under Web Design & Development, and clients regularly ask which of the two they actually want. The short answer is below; the rest of this page is how to tell, what each costs, and the cases where a project needs both.
In one line each
- Web Performance & Accessibility
- Measured against field data rather than lab scores, and against real assistive technology rather than an automated score. You get the findings, the fixes and the audit trail.
- Website Maintenance & Support
- Ongoing care for a live website: updates, backups, security, monitoring and the small changes a business needs every month.
Head to head
| Web Performance & Accessibility | Website Maintenance & Support | |
|---|---|---|
| Starts at | From $1,200.00 per audit | From $4,800.00 per project |
| Typical turnaround | 1–3 weeks | — |
| Services underneath | 7 | 6 |
Pick Web Performance & Accessibility when
Web Performance & Accessibility:
- Budget is the binding constraint: this starts at $1,200.00 per audit against $4,800.00 per project for website maintenance & support
- The job is specifically accessibility audit (WCAG 2.2 aa), which sits under this one
- The job is specifically accessibility remediation, which sits under this one
- The job is specifically caching & CDN setup, which sits under this one
Pick Website Maintenance & Support when
Website Maintenance & Support:
- Budget is the binding constraint: this starts at $4,800.00 per project against $1,200.00 per audit for web performance & accessibility
- The job is specifically backups & disaster recovery, which sits under this one
- The job is specifically bug fixing & hotfixes, which sits under this one
- The job is specifically content update retainers, which sits under this one
When you need both
Verdict More often than the question implies — the same job frequently touches both, and one team covers them, so moving between them is a conversation rather than a second supplier. If you are not sure which your files need, that is what the free trial is for. The process is the same either way: whichever you pick, the work runs through the same stages and is checked against the same bar. Web Design & Development sets that out.
Questions we get on this specific choice
Is one of them cheaper?
Web Performance & Accessibility starts at $1,200.00 per audit and website maintenance & support at $4,800.00 per project. Complexity and volume move both, and the cheaper unit is not always the cheaper job.
Which is faster?
Much the same, and volume moves the number far more than the choice between these two does.
Can you tell me which one my files need?
Yes, free. Send two or three real files — that judgment is part of the trial rather than something quoted separately.
Can I switch after we start?
Yes. If the files say the other one is the right answer, we re-quote before doing the work rather than after.
Where to go from here
- Web Performance & Accessibility — what it is, in full, with its own pricing
- Website Maintenance & Support — the same for the alternative
- Web Design & Development pricing — both rates side by side with the US market ranges
- Try it free — a free technical review of one page, written up, and we will tell you which of the two your files need
- Get a quote if the scope is already clear
- Every rate we publish, on one page
