“The app is done and it works. Why should I pay anything more?” It’s a perfectly fair question. The short answer: your app doesn’t change, but the world around it changes all the time.

To be clear about what you pay for and why, it’s worth separating two things that are often confused: the warranty and maintenance.

Warranty and maintenance aren’t the same thing

The warranty covers what was delivered: if a feature in the project doesn’t work as agreed, the developer fixes it, at no cost, throughout the warranty period. It’s the promise that you got what you paid for.

Maintenance covers what changes around the app: new browser and operating system versions, security updates, external services changing their rules, plus the daily care of the server, backups and monitoring. It’s what keeps it running for years.

What we compare Warranty Maintenance
What it covers defects in what was delivered adapting to change and day-to-day operation
Whose “fault” the developer’s nobody’s: the world changes
How long the period in the contract as long as you use the app
Cost included in the project separate, usually monthly or yearly

Why “finished” software needs updates

An app doesn’t live on its own. It depends on dozens of things that change without asking you:

  • Browsers. Since September 2026, Chrome has been shipping a new major version to users every two weeks1. Most changes break nothing, but every now and then one does.
  • Phone operating systems. iOS and Android get new versions every year. Google Play requires new apps and updates to be built for recent Android versions; currently Android 16 or higher2. To publish any update, even a small bug fix, the app first has to be brought up to date.
  • Languages and platforms. Every version has an end date. For PHP, for example, the minimum version we consider safe today is 8.33.
  • Libraries and plugins. New vulnerabilities are found every day. In the WordPress ecosystem alone there were over 11,000 in 20254.
  • Security certificates. The maximum lifetime of SSL certificates is shrinking step by step, from 2026 to 2029, from 398 days to just 475. Without automatic, monitored renewal, the website starts showing warnings.
  • External services. Payment processors, couriers, invoicing software and e-invoicing systems change their versions and rules periodically. When an integration breaks, orders or invoices stop.
  • Legislation. New invoicing, data protection or accessibility requirements reach the app sooner or later.

What maintenance usually includes

  1. Security updates for the server, language, platform and dependencies.
  2. Backups, automatic, kept elsewhere and tested: a backup you have never tried restoring isn’t a guarantee.
  3. Monitoring: we find out something is wrong before a customer calls.
  4. Renewals: domain, certificates, licenses.
  5. Compatibility with new browser, iOS and Android versions.
  6. Integrations: adapting to changes from payment processors, couriers, invoicing.
  7. Support and small changes: a text, a new field, a report.

What happens if you ignore it

Nothing, for a while. Then, usually, all at once:

  • the website gets hacked. Known vulnerabilities are scanned for automatically; the most targeted ones are mass-exploited within hours of being disclosed4;
  • the app disappears for new users on Google Play or can no longer be updated;
  • payments or invoices stop, because an external service changed something;
  • data is lost, and the backup is missing or a year old.

An emergency fix almost always costs more than maintenance. And if it’s left too long, the app becomes an abandoned project, which we wrote about here.

Ask before signing

Ask how long the warranty lasts, exactly what it covers, what maintenance costs after the warranty ends and who provides it. A clear answer now saves you surprises a year from now.

How we work

Every project comes with a warranty of at least one year, and complex projects two years or more; the exact terms are in each project’s contract. After launch, we can take care of hosting and maintenance: updates, backups, monitoring, compatibility and further development, in stages.

The goal is simple: the app you pay for once should work for years, not just on launch day.

Talk to us about maintenance

  1. Chrome for Developers, Get features faster with Chrome's two-week release cycle, March 2026: the two-week cycle starts with Chrome 153, on 8 September 2026. ↩

  2. Google Play, Target API level requirements, the requirement from 31 August 2026. ↩

  3. PHP, Supported Versions. ↩

  4. Patchstack, State of WordPress Security in 2026. ↩ ↩

  5. CA/Browser Forum, Ballot SC-081v3, April 2025. ↩

Cover image: NeONBRAND, Wikimedia Commons (CC0)