Are you considering hiring a website maintenance unit in Ho Chi Minh City but are unclear about the reasonable price, specific scope of work and SLA (response/remediation time)? This article summarizes the 2025 price range, how to break down the package, what work is included, what SLA numbers should be required, and tips on choosing the right package for your needs — so you don't pay for something you don't use.
If you want to see the P1 troubleshooting playbook (site down, hacking, payment errors) and standard operating procedures, refer to the website maintenance pillar article Our HCM website: Ho Chi Minh website maintenance service.
1) Principles for building packages & how to form unit prices
Maintenance price is usually composed by 4 groups of factors:
Level of technical risk: CMS (WordPress/Shopify/Custom), number of plugins/apps, payment integration, ERP/CRM, headless/SSR.
Scale & frequency of changes: Number of pages/products, traffic volume, content/function update schedule, campaigns Ads.
Commitment to response/fixing (SLA): the more urgent, the higher the on-duty cost.
Scope of work: just technical maintenance or also speed optimization, technical SEO, security, content updates.
Common calculation method:
Fixed fee according to package (including technical hours/month) + hourly bill for work incurred outside the scope. For e-commerce sites, there is usually a P1 duty surcharge (outside office hours, weekends).
2) Reference price list (HCM - 2025)
The rates below are a reference frame for small & medium-sized businesses. Actual price depends on the system and existing risks.
Basic Package (SMB Lite) — 3–5 million VND/month
Objects: introduction websites/small businesses (≤100 pages, basic WP/Shopify).
Scope: safe core/theme/plugin updates; daily/weekly backup; small patch; check uptime; Scheduled malware scanning; fix mild P2/P3 problems.
SLA: response 4 working hours, fix 24–48 hours for P2/P3.
Technical hours: ~5–7 hours/month.
Standard Package (Business Core) — 6–10 million VND/month
Object: service site with form/booking, regular blog, average traffic.
Scope: entire Basic package + periodic speed optimization (Core Web Vitals), database/media cleanup, technical SEO review (sitemap, 404, schema), security recommendations; supports light content editing.
SLA: response 2 working hours, fix 8–24 hours P2; P1 office hours ≤4h.
Technical hours: ~10–15 hours/month.
E-commerce package (Commerce Care) — 12–20 million VND/month
Objects: eCommerce (Woo/Shopify/Custom), many apps/gateways, campaigns Ads.
Scope: Standard package + webhook/checkout monitoring, sandbox upgrade testing → production, order data checking, security hardening, 5xx/timeout monitoring; extended duty.
SLA: response 60–90 minutes, P1 ≤2–4h; P2 ≤8–16h.
Technical hours: ~20–30 hours/month.
Emergency Package (24/7 Incident Ready) — additional 3–8 million VND/month on top of main package
Subject: request on duty 24/7, Revenue depends on Ads/sales.
Scope: emergency contact channel, rotating shift on-call, P1 runbook, monthly rollback/restore drills.
SLA: P1 ≤120 minutes all time frames; status updates every 30–60 minutes.
Need to see detailed SOPs by month? See monthly website maintenance process (updated checklist, cleaning up recurring errors, speed audit/technical SEO): Monthly website maintenance process.
3) Scope of work: recommended have & should not have
Should be in every package
3–2–1 backup (3 copies, 2 media, 1 off-site) + restore test.
Controlled updates (staging → production), low-risk drop points.
Uptime monitoring & 5xx errors; Instant notification when downloading.
Basic security: vulnerability patching, malware scanning, WAF/CDN rules, 2FA admin.
Minimum speed optimization: image compression, cache, minify CSS/JS, lazy-load.
Basic technical SEO: clean sitemap, robots, canonical, 301 correct, fix 404.
Options/Added
Major interface edits, new features (outside the scope of maintenance).
Conversion optimization (CRO), A/B Testing, advanced tracking.
Third system integration (ERP, CRM, CDP…).
Content writing/content SEO (different from technical SEO).
Do not “mix” vaguely
“Fix all errors” is not binding: separate maintenance (operation) and development (new build) for transparency of costs fee.
4) SLA should be required (don't forget the remediation part)
SLA is not just feedback but importantly remediation framework:
P1 (serious): site down, hacked, payment error, no admin access
→ Response: 15–90 minutes (depending on package) • Fix: 2–4 hours (restore traffic)P2 (interruption): UI broken, error 404 small group, form not sent, CWV drops heavily
→ Response: 2 hours • Fix: 8–24hP3 (improvement): periodic speed/SEO optimization, housekeeping
→ According to sprint 1–2 weeks
Incident Report after P1/P2 should have: timeline, root cause (RCA), impact, hardening measures, lessons & updates SOP.
5) How to choose the right package for your needs (3 self-check questions)
How much does online revenue depend on the website?
If ≥40% of revenue, avoid cheap packages that lack on-call and strict SLA P1.
Your system changes often regularly? (change themes, plugins, campaigns)
Need a package with mandatory staging, a controlled update schedule.
Do you need someone to be responsible for “from A–Z” or just technical?
If there is no in-house, you should choose a package that includes monitoring, reporting, SOP operation.
6) Standard onboard process (48 hours)
Hours 0–4: check access rights (hosting, DNS/CDN, CMS, repo), turn on uptime & error monitor.
Hours 4–24: crawl the entire site, assess risks (security/speed/SEO technical), create runbook P1 for your own system.
Hours 24–48: configure 3–2–1 backup, staging, safety update schedule; send 30–60 day plan (priority P1→P2→P3).
7) Common mistakes when buying maintenance packages (and how to avoid them)
Choose the cheapest but… no P1 available after hours → down on weekends no one picks up the phone.
No read scope: thought it was "lifetime", until changing theme/add new app, there was an additional cost.
Lack of staging: straight update to production → broken UI during peak hours.
No test restore: backup but can't restore when needed.
No operational KPI: uptime, 5xx, recovery time, CWV… not tracked.
8) Operational KPIs should be tracked monthly
Uptime (target ≥ 99.9%), number of downs & duration.
Actual SLA: response/remediation time according to P1/P2.
Technical errors: 5xx/404, JS error, payment webhook error.
Performance: LCP/INP/CLS (Core Web Vitals), TTFB.
Security: number of vulnerabilities patched, malware scans, permission changes.
Technical SEO: index error, clean sitemap, 301/robots/canonical correct.
9) Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
1. Should you pay by the hour instead of by the package?
If the system is simple, by the hour is economical. But with a site that has revenue, you need online commitment & SLA, which is hard to get if you just "call when it breaks".
2. Does maintenance help increase SEO/Revenue?
Indirectly: site stable, fast, error-free helps good technical SEO; checkout/lead form works well to increase conversions. If you want strong growth, you need to add content SEO/CRO.
3. I just need to "stand up when there is a problem", is there a cheaper package?
It is possible to use the On-call package but the cost of urgent hours is usually higher. Combining the Basic + Emergency package is optimal.
4. How long does it take to complete maintenance?
Usually 48 hours for onboard & baseline; Large systems can take 3–7 days to complete the audit & runbook.
10) Sample scope of work (shortened to include in the contract)
Required: backup 3–2–1; uptime monitoring & 5xx; security patching; Update with staging; clean up 404/301/sitemap; Optimize basic speed; monthly report.
SLA: P1 ≤ 2–4h (according to package); P2 ≤ 8–24h; P1 response ≤ 15–90 minutes.
Excludes: new features, redesign, content SEO, article writing, new system integration (separate quote).
Payment: monthly/quarterly; SLA reward – penalty (if any).
Handover: administrative account, infrastructure diagram, P1 runbook, backup/restore test schedule.
11) When should you upgrade the package?
Traffic/orders increase, start omnichannel/flash sale.
The system adds more app/gateway; Need to monitor webhook/queue.
Requires on-call 24/7, launching campaigns on nights/weekends.
Core Web Vitals/Technical SEO drops due to increased features, needs deeper periodic optimization.
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