A maintenance agreement should name the recurring work, response process and exclusions so both sides know what support means.
Separate different types of work
Distinguish software updates, uptime monitoring, backups and content edits. A plan covering updates may not include writing new articles or redesigning pages. List third-party licences and hosting separately. Specify how many requests are included and what qualifies as a new development project.
Define response and recovery
State support hours, contact route and incident priorities. Distinguish response time from resolution time. Identify who can approve urgent rollback or supplier costs. Backups should have a retention policy and restore testing, not only a statement that a backup job runs.
Ask for useful evidence
A short report can list updates, failed checks, restore tests and open issues. Review expiring domains and licences. Agree how the site is handed over if the plan ends. Choose coverage according to business dependence on the website rather than selecting only the cheapest monthly figure.