What support after launch should cover
A site is not finished on the day it goes live; that is the day real visitors start testing it. Website support after launch is what stands between a small problem and a stuck owner, so it is worth knowing exactly what you were promised.
Why is support needed at all?
Because no amount of testing matches real use. A customer orders with a device nobody tried. A form works but the email lands in spam. You try to add a product and are not sure which field does what. None of this means the site was badly built. It means the first weeks of real life reveal things, and someone who knows the site should be reachable when they do.
What should support cover?
Three things at least. Faults: anything that worked and stopped, or never worked as it should. Differences: anything that behaves in a way other than what was agreed. And guidance: your questions about how to edit and run the site. If an offer of support leaves out one of these, ask why. They are the three ways an owner actually needs help after launch.
What does support usually not cover?
New work. A new page, a new feature, a redesign of a section you have changed your mind about: these are additions, and it is fair for them to be quoted separately. Problems caused by changes someone else made to the code, or by a service outside the site such as hosting you manage yourself, may also fall outside. The line should be written down, not discovered during a disagreement.
How long should it last, and from when?
Long enough to pass through real situations: a busy season, a round of updates, a stretch of you editing content. Ask for the period as a number of days, and ask when the counting starts. Support counted from the day the project began can be partly used up before the site is even online. Counted from the day of launch, all of it falls where you need it.
How is support different from maintenance?
Support fixes and answers. Maintenance is ongoing care: updating the system and its plugins, taking backups, watching security. On a hosted platform much of that is done for you; on a self-hosted WordPress site somebody has to do it. Ask which of the two you are being offered, and who is responsible for updates and backups once the site is live, because the two words are often used as if they were one.
What should I get in writing?
The length of support and its starting day. What it covers and what it does not. How to ask for help and how quickly you can expect a reply. What happens when the period ends. A sentence such as "we are always here for our clients" is kind, but it cannot be relied on when something breaks on a busy day. A named period with a named scope can.
How I handle it
Every project I deliver comes with 180 days of support, counted from the day the site goes live. It covers anything that breaks, anything that behaves differently from what we agreed, and your questions about editing the site. You reach me by email or WhatsApp, and I reply within 24 hours. Tell me about your project, and you will have these terms in front of you before we start.
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