After a web design project has been built. Is it standard practice to offer a monthly retainer to support the software you have built?
Such as £100 per month that gives the client a maximum of 3 hours per month work and then anything over that would be say £40 an hour?
Does this happen in the industry?
It depends on the type of client and project.
For example, an individual contracting you to create a website for his side project will likely not be interested in (let alone be able to afford) a monthly retainer.
However, a medium sized business that contracts you for a brand face lift and a redesign of their online shop very well may be interested in a monthly retainer—since they may need weekly email promotions, seasonal design updates and even help with social media.
Retainers are certainly offered, but their acceptance and scope vary greatly depending on the type of client. In my experience post-launch retainer works best with larger client who need reliable access to web designer and developer who originally built the site and are willing to allocate budgets for support contract a year in advance. For smaller clients, and judging by the amounts you’re referencing that is the target audience, ongoing retainer might be a tough sell even with framework sites such as WordPress that require constant core and module updates.
