--- title: "Website maintenance contract: real estate agent checks" description: "Review incident priorities, response commitments, exclusions, renewal, cancellation, and exit records before signing an agent website care agreement." canonical: "https://scalewithsearch.com/articles/agent-website-maintenance-agreement-checks" --- ## Site navigation - [Scale With Search](https://scalewithsearch.com/) - Services - Services - [AI systems](https://scalewithsearch.com/ai-systems) - [Site build](https://scalewithsearch.com/work#site-build) - [Whole website fix](https://scalewithsearch.com/work#whole-website-fix) - [Content library with SEO](https://scalewithsearch.com/work#content-library) - [Working session](https://scalewithsearch.com/audit) - Start here - [Send your brief](https://scalewithsearch.com/work#send-your-brief) - [Example scope](https://scalewithsearch.com/work#review-the-example-scope) - [Prices and terms](https://scalewithsearch.com/work#prices-and-terms) - Industries - Real estate - [Real estate agents and teams](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/real-estate) - [Platforms, ownership, and IDX](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/real-estate/real-estate-website-platforms-ownership-idx) - [Search, content, and AI](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/real-estate/real-estate-search-content-ai) - [Inquiries, campaigns, and handoffs](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/real-estate/real-estate-website-inquiries-campaigns-handoffs) - [Buyer, seller, and local pages](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/real-estate/real-estate-buyer-seller-local-resources) - [Rules, privacy, and trust](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/real-estate/real-estate-website-rules-privacy-trust) - Browse by business - [Trades and home services](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/#group-trades) - [Health, wellness, and animal care](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/#group-practices) - [Law, finance, and IT](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/#group-professional) - [Marketing and SEO agencies](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/#group-agencies) - [Shops and manufacturers](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/#group-manufacturing) - [Restaurants, shops, studios, and nonprofits](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/#group-local-services) - Chiropractic practices - [Chiropractic and wellness practices](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/chiropractic-and-wellness-practices) - [Chiropractic and physical therapy clinics](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/chiropractic-and-physical-therapy-clinics) - [All industries](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/) - Resources - Free tools - [AI readiness check](https://scalewithsearch.com/check) - [Free tools](https://scalewithsearch.com/tools/) - [Free Starter Kit](https://scalewithsearch.com/kit/business-memory-starter-kit.zip) - Guides - [AI-native library](https://scalewithsearch.com/ai-native) - [Industry intelligence](https://scalewithsearch.com/intelligence) - [Office job guides](https://scalewithsearch.com/guides/) - [Business memory](https://scalewithsearch.com/articles/business-memory-for-ai-agents-guide) - [Agent governance](https://scalewithsearch.com/articles/ai-agent-governance-guide-small-business) - [Migration and ownership](https://scalewithsearch.com/articles/leaving-vendor-ai-memory-guide) - Articles - [All articles](https://scalewithsearch.com/articles/) - [What changed](https://scalewithsearch.com/changes/) - About - Evidence - [Proof](https://scalewithsearch.com/proof) - Scale With Search - [About](https://scalewithsearch.com/about) - [How it works](https://scalewithsearch.com/how-it-works) # Website maintenance contract checks for real estate agents Before signing a website maintenance contract, require written answers about failed inquiries and repair responsibility. Include support hours, extra charges, renewal, and cancellation. Define what closes an incident. Require the handoff records before maintenance access ends. Start with your own website's seller and buyer routes. A page that opens and a message that reaches the intended recipient need separate checks. WordPress documents that a successful email-function result does not establish recipient receipt. [WordPress email documentation](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/wp_mail/). Use the review below to mark the agreement and its service schedule. The checks and example priorities are proposed buying criteria. Documentation was checked on 2026.10.22. Ask the provider to confirm the terms for your actual website. ## Put the maintained website and its inquiry routes in the agreement Name the domain, covered pages, forms, receiving destinations, and required integrations. Include the seller-service page and buyer property-search route where applicable. Have the provider identify the version of the service schedule attached to the agreement. Specify who maintains each connection. For an IDX failure, name who investigates the website, opens the listing-provider ticket, and checks the repaired route. Separate an existing connection's care from new installation or feed approval. Include editing and speed checks where you need them. Name the edits you retain permission to make. Require speed measurements on agreed pages under recorded conditions. Ask who handles a slowdown involving a listing tool or outside service. Mark each responsibility included, excluded, or unresolved. Require a named owner for any excluded task needed to keep an inquiry route working. ## Define incident priority by the failed task Ask the provider to apply its priority categories to these examples. Record the agreed category beside each example before signing. | Example incident | Proposed treatment to discuss | Evidence required to close it | | --- | --- | --- | | Website unavailable | Urgent incident with a named escalation contact. | Agreed pages open again, followed by inquiry checks. | | Seller form accepts details but no inquiry arrives | Urgent delivery incident, even if the page remains available. | A marked submission reaches the agreed destination with reply details intact. | | Buyer search or property inquiry fails | Priority based on the affected buyer task and available alternative. | The agreed search works and a property-specific inquiry arrives. | | Suspected compromise or changed inquiry destination | Security escalation with a named decision maker. | Documented investigation, approved recovery, and verified destinations. | | Requested bio edit or new page | Planned work under the editing allowance or a separate quote. | Approved content appears on the intended page. | These examples assign no universal repair deadline. Have the maintainer supply its own commitments. Ask who can change an incident's priority and what evidence supports that change. Specify whether monitoring must detect these failures or whether you must report them. Name who receives alerts and who acts on them. Keep a failed seller form visible in the incident record even when a site-availability check passes. ## Separate response, restoration, and resolution Require a written definition for each promised milestone. Use these proposed definitions to question wording such as “fast response” or “emergency support.” | Milestone | Definition to agree | Record to retain | | --- | --- | --- | | Response | A responsible person acknowledges the incident and identifies the next action. | Acknowledgment time and assigned person. | | Diagnosis begins | Someone starts investigating the failed task. | Start time and affected route. | | Service restored | The agreed visitor task works, potentially through an approved temporary measure. | Repeat test and any remaining limitations. | | Incident resolved | The agreed repair and checks are complete, with remaining work explicitly accepted. | Repair details, receipt evidence, and closure decision. | For each milestone, require the target, clock start, and measurement rule. Ask whether the promise is a target or a contractual commitment. Record any remedy the provider offers when a commitment is missed. Ask when the clock pauses. Require the provider to record a missing access item, pending approval, or outside dependency when invoking a pause. Specify whether progress updates continue during that wait. If final resolution has no fixed deadline, request a progress-update schedule and an escalation trigger. Require approval for temporary changes to public contact routes. Agree who can accept closure when the website works through a temporary measure. ## Write the support hours beside the commitment Confirm the time zone, working days, holidays, reporting channel, and emergency route. Ask whether a commitment uses elapsed time or time counted only within support hours. Record what starts the clock: a monitoring alert, a valid ticket, or another agreed event. Walk through a seller-form failure reported outside normal hours. Have the provider explain who receives it, when action begins, and whether emergency authorization is required. Repeat that exercise for a weekend buyer-search fault. Name the person authorized to approve extra work and the spending limit, if any. Require confirmation before charges exceed that authority. Keep the emergency contact and reporting instructions accessible outside the website account. ## Turn exclusions into assigned work and approved charges Mark malware cleanup, pre-existing defects, custom code, content edits, hosting, IDX support, and connected email services individually. Ask the provider to confirm each entry. Request the approval procedure for work outside the agreement. For included editing time, confirm what consumes the allowance, whether unused time carries forward, and how overages are authorized. Distinguish a biography correction from a new neighborhood guide or redesigned seller page. For paid components, name the license holder, renewal responsibility, and what happens when maintenance ends. Require an explanation of any replacement work or continuing subscription needed for the site to function. For recovery, write down backup contents, retention, restore responsibility, and the acceptance check. WordPress's backup guidance distinguishes site files from the database. A typical complete recovery needs both. [WordPress backup requirements](https://developer.wordpress.org/advanced-administration/security/backup/). Require the maintainer to identify where newer inquiries and edits reside before authorizing a restore. Agree how those records will be preserved or reconciled. Put the recovery decision and repeat inquiry tests in the incident record. ## Read renewal and cancellation as a dated sequence Require the provider to complete this worksheet from the proposed agreement. Keep unanswered fields open rather than supplying a presumed standard term. | Field | Written answer to obtain | | --- | --- | | Initial term | Start date, end date, and any minimum commitment. | | Renewal | Automatic or manual renewal, next renewal date, and renewed term. | | Price changes | Notice method, notice period, and the charge that applies after renewal. | | Cancellation notice | Required recipient or portal, notice period, and whether sending or receipt satisfies it. | | Final bill | Remaining charges, prepaid-service treatment, and any stated termination fee. | | Service cutoff | Exact date and time when monitoring, support, and other covered services end. | | Handoff | Delivery deadline, included records, access period, and any handoff charge. | | Stored records | Retention and deletion terms for backups, inquiry records, and maintenance history. | Ask the provider to walk through cancellation before the next renewal. Request the notice deadline, acknowledgment, final charge, and service end in one written answer. Resolve conflicting wording between the proposal, service schedule, and referenced terms before signing. Arrange the replacement maintainer's access and checks before the cutoff. Keep domain registration, hosting, IDX, and email decisions separate from ending maintenance. Require written confirmation of which services continue. ## Specify the exit package and its acceptance check Ask for the agreed files or exports, usable backups, configuration notes, license dependencies, change history, and open incident records. Name the receiving person and delivery method. Require open faults to retain an owner during the handoff. WordPress's content export produces an XML file containing posts, pages, and other documented records. Request a complete backup separately. For another platform, require a sample export and a written list of omissions. [WordPress content export](https://wordpress.org/documentation/article/tools-export-screen/), [complete backup requirements](https://developer.wordpress.org/advanced-administration/security/backup/). Have the replacement maintainer open the package and demonstrate the agreed editing and recovery tasks. Arrange marked seller and buyer inquiry tests with destinations you control. Save the submission time, source page, received question, reply details, and property reference where relevant. Set the handoff acceptance check in writing. Then remove the departing maintainer's access through the agreed process. Keep the completed cancellation and handoff records where your business can retrieve them. ## Bring this work into your website scope Bring the approved brief, source records, and unresolved checks to the [real estate hub](/for/real-estate). Describe the pages and acceptance checks in your [written work request](/work). - [PHP upgrades for real estate WordPress websites: define the scope](/articles/agent-wordpress-php-upgrade-scope) - [WordPress security updates: a care policy for real estate websites](/articles/agent-wordpress-security-update-care-policy) - [Shared hosting vs VPS for a real estate website](/articles/shared-hosting-vs-vps-agent-website) ## Related: Real estate - [PHP upgrades for real estate WordPress websites: define the scope](/articles/agent-wordpress-php-upgrade-scope) - [WordPress security updates: a care policy for real estate websites](/articles/agent-wordpress-security-update-care-policy) - [Shared hosting vs VPS for a real estate website](/articles/shared-hosting-vs-vps-agent-website) ---- ```text .|########||. .|########||. .|########||. |##||. .||##|. |##||. .||##|. |##||. .||##|. |#|. .|#|. |#|. .|#|. |#|. .|#|. |#| |#| |#| |#| |#| |#| .#| |#. .#| |#. .#| |#. .#. .#| .#. .#| .#. .#| |#. .#| |#. .#| |#. .#| |# ...... #| |# ...... #| |# ...... #| .# ||#########| #| .# ||#########| #| .# ||#########| #| .#. |######||######|. .#. .#. |######||######|. .#. .#. |######||######|. .#. #. .##|###|##|#|######| .# #. .##|###|##|#|######| .# #. .##|###|##|#|######| .# || |##|#||||||||||||#||#| || || |##|#||||||||||||#||#| || || |##|#||||||||||||#||#| || # |#||||||||||||||||||||#| #. # |#||||||||||||||||||||#| #. # |#||||||||||||||||||||#| #. || |#||||||||||||||||||||||#| || || |#||||||||||||||||||||||#| || || |#||||||||||||||||||||||#| || # .#||||||||||||||||||||||||#| # # .#||||||||||||||||||||||||#| # # .#||||||||||||||||||||||||#| # || ....|||#||||||##|#|||#|#||##||||....|. || || ....|||#||||||##|#|||#|#||##||||....|. || || ....|||#||||||##|#|||#|#||##||||....|. || #. . ....|# ....#||| ||| .#||| ....#. .# #. . ....|# ....#||| ||| .#||| ....#. .# #. . ....|# ....#||| ||| .#||| ....#. .# # . ||||#| .#####|| . .#| .#||| ||||# #. # . ||||#| .#####|| . .#| .#||| ||||# #. # . ||||#| .#####|| . .#| .#||| ||||# #. .| ||||| #. |#|||||. || #. |#||. .||||| || .| ||||| #. |#|||||. || #. |#||. .||||| || .| ||||| #. |#|||||. || #. |#||. .||||| || || |.... #. ....|#. |. ...|. ....|| || || |.... #. ....|#. |. ...|. ....|| || || |.... #. ....|#. |. ...|. ....|| || #. .||||||##||||||##||####|||||||#||||||#| .# #. .||||||##||||||##||####|||||||#||||||#| .# #. .||||||##||||||##||####|||||||#||||||#| .# # .||####|###########################|. # # .||####|###########################|. # # .||####|###########################|. # # .#||||||.#.|| # |. ..# #| #|||||#| # # .#||||||.#.|| # |. ..# #| #|||||#| # # .#||||||.#.|| # |. ..# #| #|||||#| # # .#|||||| .. |# ## |#| ...#|#|||#| # # .#|||||| .. |# ## |#| ...#|#|||#| # # .#|||||| .. |# ## |#| ...#|#|||#| # # .#|||#|# .# .#| #| ##|.#..#|||||#| # # .#|||#|# .# .#| #| ##|.#..#|||||#| # # .#|||#|# .# .#| #| ##|.#..#|||||#| # # .#||||||############|######|||||#| # # .#||||||############|######|||||#| # # .#||||||############|######|||||#| # # |...||#||||||#||||#|#||||||#|||||#||| |.| # # |...||#||||||#||||#|#||||||#|||||#||| |.| # # |...||#||||||#||||#|#||||||#|||||#||| |.| # #. .. ||||# .|||##|. |#| .|| || .|||#. #| # .# #. .. ||||# .|||##|. |#| .|| || .|||#. #| # .# #. .. ||||# .|||##|. |#| .|| || .|||#. #| # .# || | ...|| ...##| | #| .|. |. ##### .. .| || || | ...|| ...##| | #| .|. |. ##### .. .| || || | ...|| ...##| | #| .|. |. ##### .. .| || || ||||| || ||||#| . |. |. |#. ||||| |#| || || || ||||| || ||||#| . |. |. |#. ||||| |#| || || || ||||| || ||||#| . |. |. |#. ||||| |#| || || .# |.....#|....|#.||||.|||##.|#|....||.#||.#. #. .# |.....#|....|#.||||.|||##.|#|....||.#||.#. #. .# |.....#|....|#.||||.|||##.|#|....||.#||.#. #. #.|||||||#############################| ||| .# #.|||||||#############################| ||| .# #.|||||||#############################| ||| .# || ##||#||#||||||#||#||#||#||##. || || ##||#||#||||||#||#||#||#||##. || || ##||#||#||||||#||#||#||#||##. || # .#|||||||||#||#|||||||||||#| # # .#|||||||||#||#|||||||||||#| # # .#|||||||||#||#|||||||||||#| # || |#||||||||||||||||||||||#| || || |#||||||||||||||||||||||#| || || |#||||||||||||||||||||||#| || .# |#||||||||||||||||||||#| #. .# |#||||||||||||||||||||#| #. .# |#||||||||||||||||||||#| #. || |#||||||||||||||||||#| || || |#||||||||||||||||||#| || || |#||||||||||||||||||#| || #. .######|#|#########| .# #. .######|#|#########| .# #. .######|#|#########| .# .#. |#####||||#####| .#. .#. |#####||||#####| .#. .#. |#####||||#####| .#. |# ||########|| #. |# ||########|| #. |# ||########|| #. |# ...... #| |# ...... #| |# ...... #| |#. .#| |#. .#| |#. .#| |#. .#. |#. .#. |#. .#. .#| |#. .#| |#. .#| |#. |#| |#| |#| |#| |#| |#| .|#|. .|#|. .|#|. .|#|. .|#|. .|#|. |##||. .||##| |##||. .||##| |##||. .||##| .||########||. .||########||. .||########||. 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