# Website maintenance scope worksheet

Use this worksheet to turn a care-plan promise into an operating scope when the client can also edit the website. Complete it with the client, attach the final version to your proposal or service schedule, and have appropriate legal counsel review contractual language for your business and jurisdiction.

This is an operational template, not legal advice.

## 1. Service record

- Client:
- Website and production origin:
- Effective date:
- Review date:
- Agency service owner:
- Client business owner:
- Support request channel:
- Coverage days, hours, and timezone:
- Platform and plan:
- Current release or baseline identifier:

## 2. System inventory

List every system needed for the website's critical journey. Do not put passwords, tokens, recovery codes, or other secret values in this worksheet.

| System | Account owner | Billing owner | Technical operator | Data or function protected | Recovery method | Included in service? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Domain and DNS |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| Website platform or runtime |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| Source or workspace history |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| Content database or CMS |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| Forms and delivery destination |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| Analytics and search tools |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| Email or messaging provider |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| Booking, checkout, CRM, or other integration |  |  |  |  |  |  |

## 3. Maintained baseline

Describe the state the plan is intended to preserve. A baseline is more useful than “keep the site working.”

- Included production pages, templates, and content types:
- Critical visitor journey:
- Critical forms or transactions and their approved destinations:
- Supported browsers and representative viewport checks:
- Required domain, certificate, redirect, and indexing state:
- Accessibility checks included:
- Search and sharing outputs included:
- Known issues accepted at the start:
- Evidence that identifies the approved baseline:

## 4. Four maintenance lanes

### Lane A: baseline care

Recurring work performed whether or not anyone requests an edit.

| Activity | Target | Cadence or trigger | Evidence | Exclusion or limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Availability check |  |  |  |  |
| Dependency or platform review |  |  |  |  |
| Backup status review |  |  |  |  |
| Restore test |  |  |  |  |
| Critical form or journey test |  |  |  |  |
| Search Console review |  |  |  |  |
| Broken-link or metadata review |  |  |  |  |
| Access review |  |  |  |  |

### Lane B: agency changes

- Included request types:
- Monthly allowance and unit:
- Minimum tracking increment, if any:
- Does unused allowance roll over?
- Maximum concurrent requests:
- Required inputs and approvals:
- What pauses the delivery clock?
- Change-order threshold:

### Lane C: client changes

| Change type | Client may draft? | Client may publish? | Required check | Fact approver | Escalation trigger |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Correct existing text |  |  |  |  |  |
| Replace an approved image |  |  |  |  |  |
| Add an item to an existing content type |  |  |  |  |  |
| Change a price, date, offer, or claim |  |  |  |  |  |
| Add or remove a page |  |  |  |  |  |
| Change navigation or page structure |  |  |  |  |  |
| Change a form or integration |  |  |  |  |  |

Client edit brief:

1. Location:
2. Exact outcome and approved source:
3. Elements to preserve:
4. Verification target:
5. Stop and escalate when:

### Lane D: recovery and remediation

- Triage included for:
- Included repair conditions:
- Conditions billed from the change allowance:
- Conditions requiring a separate estimate:
- Evidence used to identify the cause and affected version:
- Rollback or restore decision owner:
- External systems requiring separate recovery:
- Emergency vendor costs and approval rule:

## 5. Request classification matrix

Classify each request by impact before deciding whether it is included.

| Question | Low impact | Review required | New scope |
|---|---|---|---|
| Does it stay inside an approved content field or existing component? |  |  |  |
| Does it change a price, deadline, claim, legal term, or availability? |  |  |  |
| Does it change navigation, layout, metadata, a form, or an integration? |  |  |  |
| Does it require new design, code, data, permissions, or a vendor? |  |  |  |
| Can the existing acceptance checks prove it works? |  |  |  |

Classification rule:

> A change is included only when it fits an included change type, stays within its allowance, uses the existing system, has complete inputs, and can pass the agreed checks. Otherwise the agency sends an estimate or change order before implementation.

## 6. Priority and response table

State acknowledgement targets separately from investigation, workaround, and resolution.

| Priority | Observable condition | Request channel | Coverage window | Acknowledgement target | Next-update cadence | Resolution commitment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P1 | Critical visitor journey unavailable or unsafe |  |  |  |  | Estimate after triage unless explicitly guaranteed |
| P2 | Important function impaired with workaround |  |  |  |  | Estimate after triage unless explicitly guaranteed |
| P3 | Routine defect or bounded content issue |  |  |  |  | Scheduled under plan |
| P4 | Improvement or new request |  |  |  |  | Estimate or backlog decision |

Dependencies that pause the clock:

- Waiting for client facts, assets, access, approval, or reproduction details
- Waiting for a third-party vendor or platform
- A change freeze, security investigation, or unavailable test environment
- Another condition written here:

## 7. Backup and recovery definition

- Systems included:
- Systems excluded:
- Backup frequency or trigger:
- Retention:
- Storage location and owner:
- Encryption or access requirement:
- Last successful backup review:
- Restore-test cadence:
- Restore point objective, if promised:
- Recovery time objective, if promised:
- Who authorizes a destructive restore?
- What actions will a restore not reverse?

## 8. Verification evidence

For every agency change or reviewed client change, record only the checks relevant to its impact.

- [ ] Approved fact or asset source compared
- [ ] Change summary or diff inspected
- [ ] Affected page checked at representative phone width
- [ ] Affected page checked at representative desktop width
- [ ] Changed links or controls followed
- [ ] Relevant form or transaction confirmed at its destination
- [ ] Heading, alt text, label, keyboard, focus, and contrast impact checked
- [ ] Page title, metadata, canonical, structured data, and sharing impact checked
- [ ] Known limitations recorded
- [ ] Release or baseline identifier updated

## 9. Monthly service report

- Baseline-care activities completed:
- Agency changes released:
- Client changes reviewed or escalated:
- Incidents and remediation:
- Backup and recovery status:
- Platform usage or vendor issues:
- Known issues, owners, and due dates:
- Work proposed outside scope:
- Access changes:
- Next review date:

## 10. Exit and re-entry

- Client-owned assets and accounts:
- Agency-managed services that stop at termination:
- Export or transfer deliverables:
- Transfer timeframe:
- Access-removal process:
- Final backup or snapshot responsibility:
- Health check required after a service pause of:
- Re-entry work that is separately estimated:

## Final scope test

Before approving the service, both parties should be able to answer:

1. What exact operating state is the agency maintaining?
2. What may the client change without agency review?
3. What recurring care happens even when nobody requests an edit?
4. When is repair included, drawn from an allowance, or separately estimated?
5. Who acknowledges an incident, who approves a restore, and what is not recoverable?
6. What evidence shows the work was completed?