This question causes more confusion and frustration between paving company owners and web agencies than almost anything else. The misalignment of expectations on this one topic has led to countless websites that sit neglected, underperforming, and quietly losing rankings and leads.
Here's the honest answer: it depends entirely on what you agreed to — and if you haven't had a clear conversation about this, you're already in a gray zone that needs to get resolved.
What Most Web Agencies Actually Deliver
When a web agency builds and launches your paving company website, the typical engagement ends at launch. The agency delivered what was scoped — a built and launched website — and their job is done. What happens to that website after launch is your responsibility unless you've specifically purchased an ongoing maintenance or support package.
This is not a dirty secret. It's just how project-based web development works. Many paving company owners don't realize this is the model until they email their web developer three months after launch asking why their gallery isn't updated and get told that updates aren't included in what they paid for.
The confusion comes from how the relationship feels. You work closely with an agency or developer during the build process, there's a lot of communication, and it can feel like an ongoing partnership. Then the site launches, the communication naturally slows down, and the ownership of the site's continued performance becomes ambiguous.
What a Maintenance Agreement Should Cover
If you want ongoing support from your agency after launch — which most paving company owners need, because running a business doesn't leave much time for managing a website — you need a maintenance agreement. This is a separate, recurring contract that defines exactly what's included.
A proper maintenance agreement for a paving company website should cover technical maintenance: software and plugin updates if applicable, security monitoring, uptime monitoring with alerts if the site goes down, and regular backups. These are the things that keep your website secure and functional, and they need to happen consistently regardless of whether you're updating content.
Content updates are a separate discussion. Do you want the agency to add your project photos every month? Update your service descriptions when services change? Write and publish location-specific content? These content tasks are labor-intensive and will typically cost more than pure technical maintenance. Clarify specifically what level of content support is included and at what cost.
SEO management — monitoring your rankings, adjusting your content strategy, building citations and links — is usually offered as a separate ongoing service from both maintenance and content updates. This is the most impactful ongoing activity for your website's long-term lead generation, and it requires expertise and consistent attention.
The Responsibilities That Are Always Yours
Regardless of what your agency does or doesn't handle, there are aspects of your website's performance that only you can provide.
Project photos from real jobs. Your agency can't photograph your completed work. They don't know which jobs are your best examples, which locations you want to highlight, or what your crew does differently that would make for a compelling photo. You — or someone on your team — need to be capturing job site photos and getting them to whoever handles your website updates.
Customer reviews. No agency can collect reviews on your behalf. The review request has to come from you or your team, in your voice, from the direct relationship you have with your customer. Your agency might provide you a template or a system — but the ask itself has to be genuine and personal.
Accurate business information. If you add a new service, expand your service area, change your phone number, or update your hours, that information needs to get to your website immediately. Outdated business information on a website is a conversion killer and a trust signal in the wrong direction.
How to Structure the Relationship Going Forward
If you've just launched your website or are planning to, have an explicit conversation with your agency about post-launch responsibilities before the project closes. Ask specifically: what is covered after launch and for how long? What does it cost to add a new page? What does it cost to add a batch of photos? What does a monthly maintenance retainer include?
Get the answers in writing as part of your agreement.
If you want the agency to handle ongoing maintenance and updates, make sure that service is scoped, priced, and documented separately from the build fee. Monthly retainers for paving company website maintenance typically range from $150 to $500 per month for technical maintenance, and $500 to $1,500+ per month if active SEO and content management are included.
If you'd rather handle updates yourself, make sure during the build process that the website is built in a way that lets you do that. A good custom website should have a content management system or at minimum a simple way for you to update photos and text without needing developer access every time.
The Practical Division That Works Best for Most Paving Companies
The model that works well for most Florida paving and outdoor living companies is a clear division of responsibilities.
The agency handles: technical maintenance, security, hosting management, backups, and any development changes — adding new pages, fixing bugs, updating functionality.
The business owner handles: providing project photos, collecting and requesting reviews, and communicating any information changes — new services, updated hours, expanded service areas.
The agency receives and implements those assets and information changes as part of a content maintenance retainer or on a per-request billing basis.
This division keeps the agency focused on what they're actually specialized to do, and keeps you in the driver's seat on the content that only you can provide. When both sides understand their role and it's documented, your website stays current, performs well, and produces leads continuously — instead of launching strong and slowly fading into irrelevance because nobody was clearly responsible for keeping it alive.