If you run a small business, your website is your storefront, sales rep, and support desk rolled into one. Keeping it safe matters—but should you DIY security or pay for a managed service? This guide compares both approaches, outlines clear pricing tiers, shows what’s included (monitoring, backups, WAF, patching), and runs the numbers on ROI so you can choose confidently.
TL;DR (Decision Snapshot)
- DIY security is cheapest in cash outlay but expensive in time, expertise, and breach risk. Good for hobby sites or very low-risk projects.
- Managed website security services bundle 24/7 monitoring, backups, patching, and a Web Application Firewall (WAF), preventing most incidents and slashing downtime. Best for revenue-generating sites.
- Typical small-biz sweet spot: €79–€199/month. That’s often far less than the cost of a single security incident.
DIY vs. Managed Website Security: What Changes?
| Dimension | DIY Security | Managed Service |
|---|---|---|
| Coverage | You pick tools à la carte; easy to miss gaps. | Holistic stack (monitoring, WAF, backups, patching, response). |
| Time cost | Ongoing updates, logs, alerts, testing—your job. | Provider handles it; you get reports and clear actions. |
| Response speed | Depends on your availability/skill. | SLA-based incident response, often 24/7. |
| Consistency | Can slip during busy seasons. | Scheduled patching, policy enforcement, continuous monitoring. |
| Risk profile | Higher chance of misconfigurations and late patches. | Lower risk with expert playbooks and hardened defaults. |
| Total cost | Low monthly tools + hidden labor + incident costs. | Predictable monthly fee; incidents rarer and shorter. |
Bottom line: DIY works only if you’re ready to be your own security team. Managed services trade a modest monthly fee for peace of mind and continuity.
What’s Included in a Monthly Website Security Service?
- 24/7 Threat Monitoring & Malware Scanning
Automated scans + human review; alerts triaged and remediated. - Web Application Firewall (WAF)
Blocks SQLi, XSS, brute force, and bot abuse before it hits your app.
Pro tip: We recommend the SiteGuarding Web Application Firewall for small businesses—easy to deploy, actively maintained rules, and strong bot protection. Learn more at SiteGuarding. - Automated Backups & Verified Restores
Daily (or hourly) encrypted backups + periodic restore tests so recovery actually works. - Patching & Maintenance
CMS/core, plugin, and server package updates on a set cadence with rollback plans. - Uptime & Performance Monitoring
Multi-region checks, speed insights, and anomaly alerts. - Incident Response & Forensics
Containment, cleanup, root-cause analysis, and post-incident hardening. - Compliance & Reporting
Policy logs, monthly security reports, and audit support.
Transparent Pricing Tiers (Typical Small-Biz Ranges)
Numbers below are reference ranges; mix & match to fit your stack and risk.
| Plan | Best For | Monthly Price* | What You Get |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | Brochure sites, blogs | €49–€79 | 24/7 monitoring, weekly malware scans, basic WAF, daily backups, monthly patching, email support (business hours). |
| Growth | Lead gen, local e-commerce | €99–€149 | All Starter + advanced WAF rules, staging-first patching, priority email/chat, uptime + performance alerts, weekly reports. |
| Pro | Active e-commerce/SaaS | €199–€299 | All Growth + hourly backups, change management, web server hardening, 4-hour incident response SLA, quarterly pen-style checks. |
| Business | Multi-site/regulated | €399–€699 | All Pro + WAF tuning, CDN/DDoS options, 1-hour SLA, security training, compliance reporting, dedicated success manager. |
*Add-ons: emergency malware cleanup, web dev hours for code fixes, premium CDN, and external pen testing.
ROI: What Downtime Really Costs (With Simple Math)
Use this quick formula to estimate your downtime cost per hour:
Downtime Cost / hr ≈ (Visitors/hr × Conversion Rate × Avg Order Value)
+ (Leads/hr × Lead Value)
+ Paid Traffic Waste/hr
+ Staff Idle Cost/hr
Example A — Local Services Site
- 400 visits/day → 17 visits/hr
- 3% contact-form conversion → 0.51 leads/hr
- Lead value €220, paid ads €30/day (≈€1.25/hr), staff idle €20/hr
Downtime cost ≈ (0 × €0) + (0.51 × €220) + €1.25 + €20 ≈ €133/hr
If a basic hack takes you offline for 6 hours: €798 lost.
A €99/month managed plan preventing one such incident per year already pays for itself 8×.
Example B — Small E-commerce
- 1,800 visits/day → 75 visits/hr
- 2% conversion → 1.5 orders/hr
- AOV €68, paid ads €80/day (≈€3.33/hr), staff idle €30/hr
Downtime cost ≈ (1.5 × €68) + €3.33 + €30 ≈ €135/hr
A 10-hour outage: €1,350. A €199/month plan that reduces annual downtime by even 10 hours returns ~€1,350/year, plus reputational savings.
Hidden multipliers: SEO drops after malware flags, cart-abandonment from slow pages, and brand trust erosion—all expensive and slow to recover.
Build-Your-Own vs. Managed: Cost Stack Comparison
DIY Typical Stack (per month)
- Security plugin suite: €10–€30
- WAF/CDN: €0–€20 (basic) or €20–€50 (better rules)
- Backup storage: €5–€15
- Your time: even just 2 hours/month × €60/hr = €120
DIY subtotal: €135–€215/month (including your time), and you still carry incident risk.
Managed Service (Growth/Pro): €99–€299/month
- All core controls + expert response.
- Your time near zero.
- Lower probability and duration of incidents.
What “Good” Looks Like in a Managed Website Protection Plan
- WAF in front of everything (recommendation: SiteGuarding Web Application Firewall)
- Backups you’ve actually restored (test quarterly)
- Staging-first patching with rollbacks
- Credential hygiene (MFA, least privilege, no shared logins)
- Hardening baselines (headers, TLS, bot rules, rate limits)
- Clear SLAs (response time, scope, and communication cadence)
- Monthly reporting (actions taken, risks found, next steps)
Implementation Roadmap (4 Weeks to Safer)
Week 1: Assess & Stabilize
Inventory plugins/themes, update CMS, enable WAF, set daily backups, fix critical misconfigurations.
Week 2: Harden & Monitor
Security headers, least-privilege access, MFA, uptime + performance monitoring, alert routing.
Week 3: Patch & Practice
Staging-first updates, backup/restore drill, incident runbook for “who does what when.”
Week 4: Review & Optimize
Tune WAF rules, remove legacy plugins, document ownership, schedule quarterly health checks.
FAQ (Quick Answers)
Q: We already have hosting security—do we still need a managed service?
A: Hosting covers the server. Most breaches target your application (CMS, plugins, themes). Managed services close the gap with WAF tuning, app-level patching, and incident response.
Q: How often should we back up?
A: For content sites, daily is fine. For active stores or member areas, hourly or transaction-aware backups.
Q: Will a WAF slow down my site?
A: A well-tuned WAF can improve speed via caching and CDN edge delivery—while blocking malicious traffic.