WordPress maintenance
WordPress maintenance on demand: monitoring, updates and fixes, no contract.
A WordPress site rarely goes down without warning: a plugin throws error 500 after an update, a certificate expires, the disk fills up, a vulnerability stays open because nobody installed the patch. Centoculus monitors your site, warns you about vulnerabilities in WordPress core and plugins, and installs updates or fixes the outage when you ask for it. No contract, no monthly package: you order what you need, and you see the price before you order. The common causes are covered by a quick fix at a fixed price.
Monitoring your site is part of the free plan. Updates and fixes are ordered one at a time, on the free plan too, paid in advance.
Your WordPress site under watch
Add your site in the app. We check it from our locations in Europe, North America and Asia, as often as several times a minute depending on the plan.
- HTTP check: does the site answer, with which status code, how fast? An error 500, 502 or 503 raises an alert
- Keyword check: a white page or "Error establishing a database connection" sometimes answers with status 200; the expected keyword is missing, so you are alerted anyway
- SSL check: you are warned before the certificate expires, not after, see SSL certificate monitoring
- On your own server, the server agent adds what happens inside: a full disk, a stopped database, memory running out, PHP-FPM down
- Alerts by email, app push, Telegram or webhook, depending on the plan; on paid plans every outage is confirmed from a second location before the alert goes out
Monitoring works with any hosting, SSH or not. The limits of the free plan are listed on the pricing page.
Security alerts for core, plugins and themes
Most hacked WordPress sites get in through a plugin with a known vulnerability that was never updated. We publish the vulnerabilities that matter and what to do about them.
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WordPress core
WordPress security releases, what they fix and whether the automatic update takes care of it or not.
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Plugins
Vulnerabilities in widely used plugins: shops, forms, page builders, caches, backups. With the fixed version and what to do.
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Themes
Vulnerabilities in themes and their child themes, often forgotten because they show up in no update list.
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PHP and server
End of support for a PHP version, vulnerabilities in the web server or the database on your own server.
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What to do
Every alert says in plain words who is affected, what is exposed and which update closes the hole. All alerts are on the blog.
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Patch it for me
No time? From the alert you order the update for your site, with a backup before and a check afterwards. Price shown before you order.
Updates on demand, not by subscription
A WordPress update is ordered as a deep fix: you say what to update, you see the estimate, you order. We back up the files and the database, install the updates one by one and check that the site answers and that the home page, the login and the cart still work. If an update breaks the site, we go back to the backup and tell you what we found.
- WordPress core, plugins and themes
- A PHP version change on your own server, with the site tested before and after; on shared hosting you switch it in your control panel and we check the site afterwards
- Billed in 15-minute blocks; every started block counts; the estimate is the upper limit, you never pay more
- No commitment: no contract, no monthly fee, no minimum. You order when an alert calls for it, or whenever you like
Down? We step in.
Error 500 after an update, a maintenance mode that never ends, a database that cannot be reached, broken file permissions: you order a fix, we take over, around the clock, weekends included.
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A check fails
You get the alert with the error code and, if the server agent is installed, the likely cause. From the alert you order a fix with one click.
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The quick fix
It restarts a stopped service after its configuration test passes, frees disk space, renews an expired certificate and corrects small configuration errors, with a backup first. Fixed price. It installs nothing, never reboots the server, never deletes website files or databases.
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The deep fix
For everything else: error 500 after an update, a stuck .maintenance file, a plugin to disable, a database to repair, permissions to restore. Billed in 15-minute blocks, the estimate is the upper limit. The quick fix is credited if you order the deep fix within 24 hours.
Every session on your server is logged, and you can revoke access at any time with one click. If we could not do anything, you pay nothing. If the cause is at your host, you get a ready-to-send message for them. The full rules are on the fixes page.
What we need, and what we do not do
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Your own server
A VPS, dedicated or cloud server running Linux: access through the Responder, a small program installed with one command that talks outbound HTTPS only, no open port and no SSH, or through SSH as root. Here we do everything: updates, PHP, database, web server.
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Shared hosting with SSH
SSH access to your webspace is enough for updates and for everything inside it: files, .htaccess, PHP settings, permissions, caches, database. SFTP alone is not enough. What lies at your host stays with the host, and you get a ready-to-send message for them.
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What we do not do
No clean-up of hacked sites with an estimate: how far a hack goes only shows while cleaning. No content work, no writing, no layout. No fixes on a site builder or on wordpress.com without SSH access; monitoring works there all the same.
Questions about WordPress maintenance
Do I have to sign a contract or a subscription?
No. There is no contract, no monthly subscription and no commitment. Monitoring your site is part of the free plan; paid plans add more frequent checks and more alert channels. Updates and fixes are ordered one at a time, when you need them, with the price shown before you order.
Can you install my plugin updates?
Yes, on your own server or on shared hosting with SSH access. You order a deep fix, we back up the files and the database, install the updates and check that the site answers. Billed in 15-minute blocks, the estimate is the upper limit.
My site shows error 500 since an update. What now?
Most often a plugin or theme is no longer compatible. Our guide on what to do when a website is down shows how to read the PHP error log and disable the plugin at fault. If you would rather not touch it, order a fix: we find the cause in the log, disable what blocks the site and bring it back online.
Do you need access to my site?
For monitoring, no: we check your site from outside. For updates and fixes, yes: the Responder or SSH as root on your own server, or SSH access to your shared hosting. A WordPress login or SFTP alone is not enough. You can revoke access at any time, and every session is logged.
My site is on shared hosting. Does this work?
Yes, if your hosting offers SSH access, even a restricted one. We then work on everything inside your webspace: WordPress files, .htaccess, PHP settings, permissions, caches, database. What belongs to the host (the web server itself, the network, the hardware) stays with the host, and you get a ready-to-send message for them.
My site was hacked. Can you clean it?
Not with an estimate: how far a hack goes only shows while cleaning. What a deep fix can do: bring a clean backup back online if you have one, close the hole with the update, change passwords and keys, check permissions. If you want to go further, we tell you what we found and what is left to do.
What if you cannot fix my site?
If we could not do anything, you pay nothing. If the quick fix was not enough, it tells you what it found and its price is credited if you order the deep fix within 24 hours. For updates, we go back to the backup if the site no longer answers afterwards.
WordPress monitored, up to date and fixed when it matters.
Add your site for free, get the security alerts that concern you, and order an update or a fix only when you need one. Is your site down right now? Check it with our free website down checker.
Related: Fixes when something breaks · Security alerts · Server monitoring · Plans and pricing · Website down checker