A small business launches its new website. It looks great. Three months later, the owner wants to change the opening hours, a plugin needs updating, and the contact form stops working. The owner emails the designer, who replies that changes are chargeable because the client did not take a care plan. The owner is surprised. Nobody explained.
Hosting and maintenance questions are inevitable after launch. Answering them clearly prevents frustration.
Why these questions come up
Many clients think of a website as a one-off purchase. They do not realise that sites need hosting, security updates, backups and occasional changes. When something goes wrong, they expect the designer to fix it. Quote requests at the start are covered in website quote requests without a brief.
What clients ask
Clients usually want to know who hosts their site and what it costs, what happens if something breaks, how they can make small changes themselves, whether security updates are included, what a care plan covers, what happens if they do not take a care plan and how to request changes.
Example conversations
These scripts use information a studio might publish. Your answers should come from your own pages.
Client: My contact form has stopped working. Can you fix it? Assistant: I'll pass this to the support team straight away. The care plans page explains that fixes are included for clients on a care plan. Could you share your website address and when you noticed the problem?
Client: What does a care plan include? Assistant: The care plans page lists what's included in each plan, such as hosting, updates, backups, security monitoring and a set number of small changes each month.
Client: Can I update the text myself? Assistant: Yes, the help page explains how to edit text and images through the website's editor. For bigger changes, the team can help.
Care plans as a service
Care plans bring recurring revenue and keep clients close. Explaining them clearly at the start of a project, not after launch, avoids surprises. Updating a website assistant when a site or service changes is covered in updating your assistant for a new service.
Domains and ownership
Clients often ask who owns their domain name and website. Being clear that the client owns their domain and content, and explaining how access is handed over if they leave, builds trust. Unclear ownership is one of the most common sources of disputes between clients and designers, and one of the easiest to prevent with a sentence on the care plans page.
Security and backups
Clients worry about their site being hacked or losing content. Explaining how backups and security updates work reassures them and shows the value of a care plan.
Partners and resellers
Some studios work with hosting partners or resell services. Enquiries about partnerships should be separated from client support, as described in partner and reseller enquiries from your website.
Landing pages for campaigns
Clients running campaigns often ask for new landing pages. Adding a way to answer questions on those pages is covered in how to launch a chatbot on a landing page.
Answering at any hour
SpideyChat for web design studios answers hosting, care plan and change request questions from your own pages at any hour and captures support requests for the team.
A care plans page
Publish a clear care plans page covering what is included, prices and how to request changes, and explain it before launch. Try SpideyChat on your own site, or read about capture on the features page.