How long should I maintain my client's sites?

I'm starting to get customers who want me to build sites for them in my local community but they are also asking me to post their weekly specials and stuff like that. So my question is; do web design and development companies offer support like this to their customers? Or do they just build the sites and let the clients deal with them. Also I'm building all the sites with wordpress so it's not like it would be hard for them to update themselves. What are your suggestions? Should I make them pay for maintaining their sites? A monthly fee or per change charge? Or should I just build the site and let them figure out how to maintain it.

Thanks in advance!

 

You should charce a mounthly fee for maintaining the sites. And if there are clients that do many updates you should consider establishing a price/update. I don`t know with the big firms but if this is a way to get some earning go for it.

 

Thanks School Games, that was pretty much what I was thinking but some ask for a ton of updates whereas another asks for maybe 1 every other month. I think maybe I'll go with something like $5 per update or a flat $50 per month, but I'm still not entirely certain.

 

I think you should provide customer-being support for your customers' sites.

 

Charge monthly ...
I usualy avoid charging monthly my clients ... but i do SEO and it's not like eassy to UPDATE ...

 

I agree with School Games. I wouldn't update for free, and monthly makes the most sense if they expect you to maintain their site for them.

 

You could do either of the options you suggested. If you enjoy maintaing the sites & would like to continue doing that, I'd just charge a monthly fee. If you're updating the site, doing 2-5 blogposts/wk, posting specials, etc, I'd probably charge about $800/mo for those services. Normally, you'd hire an SEO company to do this for you, so you can make good money doing that. I'd also charge more for in-depth topics that would require more research on your part before you write blogposts.

 

Wow, $800 per month? And I thought $50 was too much. These sites are all built on wordpress and they're for small companies, like little restaurants, is that the sort of sites you maintain for $800/month?

 

All the advise here is good, but I would charge the companies annual maintenance fees. Companies want to spend money when they have it... Plus, you won't have to worry about collecting every month.

 

You could set up different rates. Have like a basic maintenance plan, and charge extra for anything above that. If a client is requesting a ton of updates, they should appropriately be paying more.

 

Usually they just make the site I believe.
You could charge monthly/yearly.

IF you have to maintain much as well as posting their stuff. You can charge. Just know that it's your time. You should know how much your time is worth.

 

You should charge per update to be fair such as $1/updates.

Or if you don't have the time,I would suggest you to outsourced to third party.

 

Wow ... so many experts on how to charge customers ... even 1$ per update huh

Since all of the "suggestions" are to take the money from your potential customers either on a monthly basis daily or even per update which is incredibly stupid, i would like to point you to the right direction before you make a big mistake.
And that is ... Why on earth would they want to pay you even more money after their website is done? Whats the use of the website if its not to increase their business, is it just to pay you more money so that you can post updates and become their writer or something?
In other words ... Whats in it for them?

Sure you can charge them as you wish but if there is nothing in return for them, very soon you'll find yourself in a very awkward position receiving calls from them to cancel your service and asking for their money back.

Your service must be valuable to them and it must brings more business and customers, you are not selling pretzels or donuts you are the guy that will increase their business.
Thats all they are looking for, they dont need the website or any more services if they are only expenses to them.

Instead of thinking how much you should charge them, think how will they benefit from using and paying for your services. Also if you wish to stay in business and be successful the only way to do it is to be very valuable to them and you should always charge them on a monthly basis.

Best of luck and lots of success

 

If the initial work is completed, there's no obligation to stick around. The "value" is the additional effort it takes to maintain and update the service.

 

Thanks everybody for your suggestions but is there anybody who actually runs a web development company and has to deal with this? I'd like to know how other people approach the problem, not how they would theoretically approach the problem.

@biggunn That's definitely true, thanks for the tip.

@Mentos $1/update? Did I mention I live in America?

@GoshM I didn't need an econ 101 course but thanks for your input.

 

I don't but I've seen some that offer 3-6 months of bug free warranty, which means they'll fix anything wrong with the site within that time. That seems to be the norm from a customer perspective.

 

You totally missed my point.
I have no courses whatsoever to sell you, i was little bit pissed when i saw "experts" all over the place.

You are probably in a good position right now but because of your business model eventually you'll end up as a very frustrated guy.

I like the fact that they came to you and that they found you so it puts you in a much better position. If you was the one chasing them to build websites for them they would be on their skeptical guards about everything you say.

But ... how do i know this??
I was in a similar position... I was offering all kinds of services from webdesign to TV commercials and in spite of the good skills that my small lucrative team had, i was doing it all wrong. I took advices from "experts" like these that knew nothing about clients.
They cant tell the difference between clients and customers.

Anyway, i was perceived as another web guy or another adverting seller no better than the Yellow pages reps. I'd get few people here and there paying me for web design, SEO, videos etc and make few bucks, but i was very frustrated because i knew i can do better.

I was also reselling hosting and putting them on a monthly fee as you plan to do. My package was webdesign + monthly hosting and maintainable fee. They also got free 1 & 1 full support via phone, live presentations and instructions by a real human, unlike any other hosting company offering just Q & A's on their website or useless live chats writing to a guy called Jack with a strong indian accent noticeable even while he types.

When i look back now the service that i offered for the money i was charging its still unbeatable even today, and yet i had complains and "customers" wanting their money back.

Now i know the problem (which i told you earlier) but back then i was stuck doing all kinds of things, working my butt off and yet people were still unsatisfied.

Aaaaaanyway just wanted to say that, you'll eventually see it on your own what i'm babbling about but again i wish you a lot of success!

 

I can see why GoshM's point based on his experience, but he's not seeing the whole picture here as well. I don't think you should charge per update of a website, but rather per service that you offer on top of building a website. Maintenance and updating a site should be a flat monthly rate based on how much work it takes to update the site. It can be $1 a month if it's a simple process which adds up when you have multiple customers. Hosting speaks for itself. The real work you should be charging extra for is marketing and seo.

Don't be greedy and charge for every little thing since you'll want them to come back for more business. But, don't sell yourself short either. You don't want to be maintaining their site for free.

 

So GoshM, did you just fail at your business or did you figure out a solution? Can you answer the original question about how to maintain client's sites?

@Potatomoto, that's an interesting solution, thanks

 

Thank you for painting the whole picture for me potato, however from your post i can tell only one thing.. and that is that you have no clue what the subject is simply about.
To give you a Polaroid sharp picture on what i mean (an to the rest of the "dudes"):
- I have no clue how to play a guitar so if someone asks for an advice on how to improve their guitar playing, only a guitar player can tell the newbie person how to do it.

In this case guineapirate asked for an advise how to charge his potential customers (they are not yet customers) and none of the "dudes" that posted here have experience with such thing.
So how do i know that? Simply by not telling how they are charging their customers and why they are being charged in first place.

They assume that guineapirate's potential customers will be ok if he decides to whip their credit cards even for a 1$ per post.
Thats the dumbest think i've ever read on a marketing forum so far.

Also he'll be creating websites for local businesses, which to them doesnt mean a single thing. Its just another way to throw more money on things that they have no clue if they'll work equals (=) bringing them more business.
Thats all a local business wants ... More people walking in the local store