Like any other asset, websites require regular maintenance to ensure they are in the best shape, function properly and continue adding value. A popular question website owners ask is, “How much does website maintenance cost in Nigeria?”
In this post, we’ll state the average cost of website design services, list the sub-items that contribute to the overall cost, and discuss other factors that influence or determine the cost of website maintenance in Nigeria.
What Is Website Maintenance & Why Is It Important?
Website maintenance involves the methods and steps to keep a website operational, updated, and functioning correctly. This includes tasks like content updates, bug fixes, and performance optimization. Ongoing, scheduled website maintenance is crucial to keeping your website functional and optimized and providing a good user experience for your users and potential clients/customers, ensuring it continues to be an effective asset.
Like most other digital and non-digital assets, maintenance should be budgeted; otherwise, it will get ignored until there is a failure. Similarly, website maintenance should also be budgeted for. This guide provides the average cost of website maintenance in Nigeria to help you plan and budget effectively.
Website Maintenance in Nigeria – Cost Breakdown
Now, let’s look at some essential costs that, when added together, make up what is usually termed your “website’s maintenance cost.”
Website Hosting
Hosting is the service that allows you to rent space on servers to store (host) your website content (HTML, CSS, and image files) so it’s available to your users via the internet. Think of hosting fees as the rent or lease on the land where your website (house) is built. Multiple local and foreign hosting companies offer different perks and prices.
If your website is live, it’s probably hosted with a hosting company, and you already pay hosting fees. Unless otherwise stated, hosting fees are a significant component of website maintenance fees.
To find out the cost of your specific website hosting, identify the hosting company and visit their pricing pages to find out the cost of the package you’re currently on.
Domain Name
A domain name is a website’s online address, such as “google.com” or “wikipedia.com.” Without domain names, users need to remember the exact IP address, like “172.217.167.78,” whenever they want to visit a website.
Domain names, like rent, are renewed regularly—usually annually or biannually. Unlike hosting, where package costs are fixed, the cost of acquiring and renewing domain names is determined by multiple factors, such as their type. There are mainly three types of domain names widely used:
- Generic Top-Level Domains (gTLDs): These consist of popular extensions like .com, .net, .org, and .info, especially for businesses that want to reach across borders.
- Country-Code TLDs (ccTLDs): These are two-letter domains like .ng and .uk, valuable for businesses emphasizing a local presence or targeting a specific country.
- Sponsored TLDs (TLDs): Extensions such as .gov, .edu, and .museum. They are limited to unique organizations and require a special license.
Other factors that affect domain cost include availability, registrar pricing, and exchange rate fluctuations (especially for foreign registrars). Unless stated otherwise, domain name cost is also an essential component of the overall website maintenance cost for websites in Nigeria.
SSL Certificate
An SSL certificate (Secure Sockets Layer) is, in simple terms, like a digital ID card for a website that proves its legitimacy and allows secure communication as data moves from the hosting server to web browsers. It’s indicated by “HTTPS” and a padlock icon. SSL certificates also improve your website’s ranking on search engines.
SSL certificates are also renewed regularly—usually yearly. SSL prices vary depending on the provider, type of SSL, and number of domains it secures.
A single-domain SSL from SSLs.com costs between ₦7,000 ($4.52 @ ₦1,550/$) and ₦60,000 ($38.71 @ ₦1,550/$) per year, while a wildcard SSL (protecting several domains) from SSLs.com can cost between ₦50,000 ($32.26 @ ₦1,550/$) and ₦250,000 ($161.29 @ ₦1,550/$) per year.
Email Services
Most organizations have domain-based email addresses like hello@kresteldigital.com because they signal professionalism and credibility instead of generic emails like kresteldigital@gmail.com. These domain-based emails are mostly subscribed to from service providers like Zoho, Microsoft 365, and Google Workspace, and these subscriptions are renewed periodically—monthly or annually. Email service subscriptions also contribute to the total website maintenance cost for websites in Nigeria.
Third-Party Tools
Third-party tools like CDNs, live chat, forms, and calculators are responsible for extending a website’s functionalities. Although most of these tools come with a free basic plan, they operate on a freemium pricing model, where you have to subscribe annually or monthly for more advanced features. These subscription costs also contribute to website maintenance costs.
General Support
This encompasses all the support services required to keep a website performing optimally, such as regular backups, updates, security scans, performance optimizations, and regular health checks. This cost is mainly lumped into a single professional service fee. This ensures your website gets priority attention when/if issues arise, similar to a lawyer’s retainer.
Additional Costs if Developed Using a CMS (WordPress, etc.)
As explained earlier, website maintenance costs include hosting, domain name, SSL certificate, email services, add-on third-party tools, and professional fees. However, there may be additional CMS-specific costs if your website was developed using a CMS like WordPress, such as:
Plugins
Plugins extend the functionality of WordPress. Yoast for SEO, Elementor Builder, and Wordfence for security are some examples of widely used WordPress plugins. These plugins, similar to third-party tools, operate on the freemium model—offering basic functionality for free and requiring a subscription for advanced features.
For example, the basic plan for Elementor costs ₦40,000 ($25.81 @ ₦1,550/$) per year, Yoast premium costs ₦35,000 ($22.58 @ ₦1,550/$) per year, and Wordfence premium costs ₦45,000 ($29.03 @ ₦1,550/$) per year.
These additional plugin fees also contribute to the website maintenance fee.
Themes
Themes are templates that determine the look and feel of your site. While website builders like Elementor and Divi are slowly replacing them, they’re still essential to the WordPress ecosystem. The cost of themes varies—they’re free, freemium, one-off purchases, or subscription-based.
Other cost factors include the size and complexity of your website, the average monthly traffic, your specific business requirements, and more.
How Much Does Website Maintenance Cost in Nigeria?
To answer the question, “How much does website maintenance cost?” We outline the items that make up the “website maintenance cost.” Kindly note that these are average costs as of 2025, and these prices are subject to change regularly.
| Website Maintenance List Item | Benchmark | Cost (in 2025) (Exchange Rate: ₦1550 -> $1) |
|---|---|---|
| Domain Name | A .com.ng domain -> A .com domain name from Whogohost | ₦7,200 -> ₦24,000/Year $4.64 ->$15.48/Year |
| SSL Certificate | A single-domain SSL -> A wildcard SSL from SSLs.com | ₦9,285 -> ₦61,985 /Year $5.99 – $39.99 /Year |
| Website Hosting | Single shared hosting from Whogohost -> A dedicated server from Namecheap | ₦25,000 -> ₦74,214 /Year $16.12 -> $47.88 /Year |
| Domain-Based Email | From Google Workspace | ₦117,180 /Year $75.6 /Year |
| Plugins & Themes | Elementor (premium) | ₦92,814 /Year $59.88 /Year |
| Professional Fee | The professional fee varies widely and is mainly dependent on the vendor. Hence, we’re unable to quote a fee confidently. Contact us directly for a custom fee tailored to your business needs. | Variable |
Hence, the website maintenance fees in Nigeria are approximately ₦251,479 to ₦370,193 per year, excluding professional fees.
It’s worth noting here that most website maintenance service providers in Nigeria offer two billing models:
- All-Inclusive Website Maintenance: This covers hosting, domain, and all associated costs. It is a more hands-off option that allows better planning and protects against regular price fluctuations.
- Only Tech Support: With this option, you (the client) are responsible for all non-professional fee costs, while the service provider is only responsible for tech support. This option is preferred for organizations with a tech-savvy owner or an internal IT officer.
Need Website Maintenance Services for Your Website? Contact Us
Our team of expert website designers and developers is ideally suited to cover all your website maintenance needs. As business people, we know how important your website is to you, and we’ll provide the maintenance it needs and deserves.
Contact us today for a customized website maintenance solution tailored to your business.
Conclusion
In this post, we answered the question, “How much does website maintenance cost for Nigerian websites?” stating that website maintenance costs average ₦251,479 to ₦370,193 + (a highly variable, service provider-dependent professional fee) annually. We also explained the factors that influence cost, irrespective of the development platform, and other costs associated with sites built with WordPress.
We’ve also reiterated the importance and benefits of scheduled maintenance and the dangers associated with neglecting regular maintenance. With this information, you have what you need to plan and budget adequately for your WordPress website maintenance.
Questions, comments, or requests? Please contact us!
