Why am I being charged for plugin upgrades?
Dear Client
We understands your frustration, if you check with a few other IT gurus they may even advise this is a very simple task
Let us explain more in detail;
- Your site is made up of plugins, usually 15-30 or more
- These plugin’s work collectively to form a site
- Usually over time these plugins degrade (ceased to stop working or newer versions come up)
- The plugin upgrade itself is a simple click of a button function. (this is where the misunderstanding occurs)
- The issue is that when the plugin is upgraded your theme stops working
- In some cases if the plugin has ceased to function we need to find a new plugin
- That is why we have to upgrade each (one by one) plugin and check the front end and tweak the theme
- If there are 15 plugins this process can take 5-8 hours, if there are 30 plugs in it can 12 to 14 hours
- In some cases the site completely crashes and in these instances we have to restore the full site and start the process all over again, each restoration can take 1 hour or more.
- End of the day it usually takes much more than we have quoted
As you can see the cost is not purely for the plugin’s upgrade, it is for the entire process
We are doing everything to keep your site safe. End of the day a hack can cost you much more in terms of reputation and business loss, than what we quoted.
I hope you understand our side of the situation
I am paying annuals? Surely upgrades should be a part of the fee!
True and you have a point. Most upgrades are done as part of the annuals, in fact if the basic upgrades are not done frequently, your site will not be working by now, that itself is proof to show that BWW upgrades the major updates for free
But overtime a full upgrade is needed for three reasons
- There is a major security issue with WordPress (Usually WP or alliances inform about it on their blogs)
- Your site is slowing down
- Your site is not working
In such events we can upgrade without extra charges but the chances are that 70% of the time the site can crash, which is the reason we get prior approval from the client to utilize maintenance or separates charges to fix the issue.
Hence the charges are not for the plugin upgrades but the issues which arise out of the upgrade
I was not informed of a charge prior nor was my approval taken for a plugin upgrades!
In most cases we can plan the upgrades and inform you way ahead. But there are times when serious security flaws are deteced globally and we need to do these changes overnight for your own benefit. As we manage hundreds of clients it is not practical to request written permission from each due to the urgency
The upgrade is for your benefit and the charges are very small, comparing to the loss you can face if there is a serious hack which costs you clients, business and reputation
Thank you for the understanding
Can I just run without all these additional charges or special upgrades?
Yes of course! but as with anything you have a risk of a hack or a crash and the cost may end up being much than the upgrade itself
But other host upgrade these without any charges like WP Engine and Godaddy
This is a huge misunderstanding. Yes they do upgrade but if you read the finer print they will not fix the problems which arises out of it
Here is a example
