Development

Website Care & Hosting

Your website kept online, patched and backed up after launch, with someone watching for problems so you don't first hear about them from a customer.

Site healthSample view
  • Plugin updatesPlugin update testedManaged
  • BackupsBackup verified with a test restoreManaged
  • Uptime and certificateCertificate renewed automaticallyManaged
  • Security monitoringUnexpected admin account removedContained
  • Web application firewallMalicious traffic filteredManaged
  • PlatformCMS upgrade to approveDecision needed
Illustration · not live data

01Who it's for

Is this service right for you?

It suits organisations whose website has had little care since launch, including sites another developer built and nobody has looked after since.

Built for

  • Businesses whose website has not been updated since it launched and nobody is sure who looks after it
  • Organisations that have had a site hacked, defaced or flagged by a browser warning
  • Teams that want one accountable provider for hosting, updates and small changes
  • Government, council and health teams that need hosting with clear security controls and Australian data locations

You probably need it if…

  • Your site hasn't been updated since it was built
  • Nobody is sure where it is hosted or who holds the passwords
  • You have never tested whether a backup actually restores
  • You would only find out the site was down when a customer told you
  • Your site has been hacked before and you are not sure the cause was fixed

02What's included

What you get

Host & protect

Managed hosting

Hosting on a configured, hardened platform with HTTPS, security headers and a web application firewall. We manage the server and platform software, and we can host in Australian regions where data residency matters.

Domain, DNS and certificates

We manage your domain name system (DNS) records and HTTPS certificates and help protect them from accidental or unauthorised changes, which could take your website or email offline.

Maintain

Software updates

We update your content management system (CMS), plugins, themes and server software on a regular schedule. Security patches go on sooner when a serious flaw is announced. We check the site after updating and roll back any change that breaks it.

Backups and restores

Automatic backups of your site files and database, stored separately from the hosting. We test restores, so a backup is something we know works rather than something we hope works.

Monitor

Uptime monitoring

Your site is checked automatically from outside your network. If it goes down or its security certificate is about to expire, we are alerted and investigate.

Security monitoring

We watch for signs of compromise such as changed files, new admin accounts, malware and blocklisting, and scan for known vulnerabilities. Anything suspicious is investigated by our security team, not passed to a general helpdesk.

03In detail

Website care & hosting, in depth

What is website care and hosting?

It is the ongoing work that keeps your website online, current and secure after launch: a place for your site to live, plus the routine maintenance most sites quietly miss. From Sydney, Catharsis looks after websites for organisations across Australia. When we take over a site, the first review often finds unused admin accounts and plugins that are no longer maintained.

What does an unpatched site risk?

The result of a missed update can be a defaced homepage, a site that serves malware to visitors, stolen form data or a browser warning that drives customers away. Ongoing care is the website equivalent of patching your computers, and it applies the same thinking as “Patch applications” and “Regular backups”, two of the controls ASD prioritises, aligned with ASD Essentials.

Where does website care stop?

Managed hosting means we run the platform your site sits on, not just rent you space. Care covers the website, its hosting, domain and certificates. Your wider systems are covered by other services:

What happens if your site is compromised?

If your site is down, we find the cause and restore service. If it has been compromised, we contain the problem, restore from a known-good backup and close the weakness that was used. We also tell you whether personal information may have been involved, and whether it may be a notifiable data breach under the Notifiable Data Breaches (NDB) scheme.

04The process

How it works

  1. Site review

    We review your current site, hosting, domain and accounts, and list any urgent issues such as outdated plugins or missing backups.

  2. Migration or onboarding

    We move your site to our managed hosting, or take over care where it is, with a tested backup before any change.

  3. Ongoing care

    Scheduled updates, backups and monitoring, handled by our team, with plain-English updates when something needs your attention.

05Frameworks

How this maps to the frameworks

Useful for your auditor, board or procurement team. The mapping shows where this service supports each framework. It doesn't replace a formal assessment.

Website Care & Hosting: framework mapping
ControlASD EssentialsASD maturity model (current)ISO/IEC 27001NIST CSF
Patching CMS and pluginsNot applicablePatch applicationsA.8.8Protect (PR.PS-02)
Backups and tested restoresNot applicableRegular backupsA.8.13Protect (PR.DS-11)
Uptime and security monitoringVisibility and responseNot applicableA.8.16Detect (DE.CM-01)
Hardened hostingBoundary servicesNot applicableA.8.9, A.8.20Not applicable

06Pricing

Pricing and how to start

Pricing

Quoted for your environment

What changes the price

The price depends on the size and type of site, traffic, whether it is an online store, the platform it runs on and how often it changes.

  • Managed hosting with HTTPS and security headers
  • Scheduled software and security updates
  • Automatic backups with tested restores
  • Uptime and security monitoring

Not included: rebuilds and larger design or feature work, which are quoted separately. If your site needs a rebuild, our website design and development team can quote it.

07FAQ

Website care & hosting, answered.

Can't see your question? Ask a specialist and get a straight answer.

Ask a specialist
What is included in website care and hosting?

The core is the work needed to keep your site online, up to date and secure: hosting, updates, tested backups and monitoring. Small changes to content, design or features can be added to your plan, and larger work is quoted separately.

Why does a website need ongoing updates?

Because the software behind most websites, such as the CMS, plugins and themes, regularly has security flaws discovered and fixed. Automated scans look for sites still running a version with a known flaw, and many successful attacks use a flaw that already had a fix available. Regular updates close those gaps, and checking each update protects your site from breaking when one changes.

Will moving hosting affect our email?

It shouldn't, if the move is planned. Email usually runs on a separate service, such as Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, and depends on mail-routing and email authentication records in your DNS. Before moving, we copy every existing DNS record, change only the records the website needs and check that mail still flows afterwards. If your email is hosted with your current web host, we plan its move separately.

Can you look after a website you did not build?

Yes. We start with a review of the site, its hosting, domain and accounts, and tell you about anything urgent first. Some sites can be cared for where they are hosted now; others are easier to secure after a move to our managed hosting. We take a tested backup before making any change.

How are alerts and urgent issues handled?

Monitoring alerts are investigated by our security team, and coverage and response targets are agreed with you in a written service level agreement (SLA) before you sign. Automatic protections such as the web application firewall and scheduled backups run without waiting for a person. If your site is an online store or otherwise time-critical, tell us early so the SLA reflects it.

Do we keep ownership of our website and domain?

Yes. Your domain name is registered to your organisation, not to us, and you own your website content and files. We document every account involved in running the site. If you ever move to another provider, we hand over a full backup and the access details they need, so you are not locked in.

Talk to our team

Talk to us about website care & hosting.

No obligation. You talk to the people who do the work. Enquiries usually get a reply within 3 business days.