Answer
What to include in a website maintenance report
Include the work as an outcome, then whether the site was up, when the certificate expires, when the domain expires, and one performance snapshot if you have one. Leave out vulnerability claims you did not run, backup percentages you did not read, and a login the client will never use.
That is the whole report. Anything else is an appendix for you. The client reads the first screen. If the first screen is a table of plugin versions, you have sent your dashboard.
A copyable outline is the maintenance report template. How those lines earn the renewal is how to prove the retainer. The WordPress version, with the public sample beside a blank you can copy, is the WordPress maintenance report.
The comparison
| Put it in | Leave it out | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Outcome title and the date | A diary of every click | They repeat the outcome. They do not repeat the click path |
| Uptime for the period, including a short miss | A green badge with no dates | A hidden miss is what they find later, without you |
| Certificate and domain expiry | A security grade you did not measure | Dates are facts. A grade you invented is not |
| One Lighthouse snapshot, labeled as mobile | A waterfall and a lecture | The snapshot supports the work. It is not a second product |
| Your name | A monitoring vendor’s logo as the letterhead | The buyer pays the studio, not the probe |
When a PDF from the suite is the right file
Send the suite’s PDF when the client asked for the operations log, or when you are the only reader. Plugin rows, backup rows, and WooCommerce counts belong there if that tool actually collected them. Do not retype them into a second system to look thorough.
When the client page should be shorter
Send the short page when the reader is the person who pays. RetainerProof is that page. Work entries show only when you wrote one in the period. If the period is empty, that section is left off, and the checks still show. The public status page stays a separate URL and does not pick up the work.
Plans are Starter at $9/month for up to 5 sites, Studio at $29/month for up to 25 sites, and Agency at $79/month for up to 100 sites. Studio is the plan marked recommended when it is for sale. Starter, including a trial, keeps a small Powered by RetainerProof link on the client digest and the public status page. Studio and Agency remove that link. Prices are on the pricing page.
FAQ
Do I include hours?
Minutes are optional on a work entry. Lead with the outcome either way. A pile of hours without a result reads like a timesheet.
Do I include every URL?
The homepage, plus the extra paths you actually care about. The product allows up to 12. A sitemap dump is not a report.
Where does the status page fit?
Beside the report, not inside it. Current state and recent incidents. The report is the thing you send. The status page is the thing they can refresh.
Other comparisons
- RetainerProof compared with the tools you already run
- RetainerProof vs ManageWP
- RetainerProof vs MainWP
- RetainerProof vs WP Umbrella
- WP Umbrella alternative
- RetainerProof vs Modular DS
- Modular DS alternative
- AgencyAnalytics alternative
- Better Stack status page alternative
- Uptime Kuma alternative
- How to prove a website maintenance retainer to clients
Also see pricing and a sample client digest.
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