What hosting and support covers
Hosting and support is the work that keeps a website or system running after launch. It covers hosting in accounts the client owns, monitoring, backups, security updates and small changes, on a monthly retainer that can be cancelled. We provide it for the UK businesses whose sites and systems we build.
What the retainer covers
- Hosting set up in accounts in your name, with us added as a user.
- Monitoring that alerts us when the site or system stops responding.
- Scheduled database backups, with a restore tested from time to time so we know they work.
- Security updates to the framework and its packages, tested before they go live.
- Domain and certificate renewals watched so they don't lapse.
- Small changes: a new field, a wording fix, a report tweak.
Your accounts, your name
The hosting, the domain, the database and the code repository all sit in accounts registered to your business. The provider bills you directly. We have access as a user, and you can remove it.
This matters most on the day you want to leave. Nothing has to be transferred out of our name, because nothing was ever in it.
What happens when something goes wrong
We're a small studio, so we don't publish service levels we couldn't staff around the clock. This is how issues are handled in practice.
| Issue | How it reaches us | What we do |
|---|---|---|
| The site or system is down | Monitoring alerts us, often before you notice | Look first, then tell you what broke and when it's back |
| Something is broken for users | You email or call | Fix it ahead of any planned work |
| A small change | You email | Agree it, then ship it with the next batch of changes |
| A bigger feature | You email | Scope it as a separate fixed-price phase |
You may not need a retainer
Some sites barely change after launch. Paying monthly for them is a poor use of money.
When a retainer is worth it
- The system runs part of the business, and downtime stops work.
- It holds customer or payment data that needs patching and backing up.
- You expect a steady trickle of small changes.
- Nobody in-house can read the logs or apply an update.
Managed hosting and ad hoc help
A simple brochure site on managed hosting, with automatic updates, can run for a long time untouched. Keep the handover notes, and call us or any other developer when something needs changing.
Handover, so anyone could take over
Every project ends with a handover pack, whether or not you keep us on.
The code
In a repository you own, with a readme that explains how to run it locally and how it deploys.
The accounts
A list of every service the system uses, which account it sits in, and what it is for.
The decisions
Short notes on why things were built the way they were, so another developer doesn't undo something on purpose.
Questions about hosting and support
Can we cancel the support retainer?
Yes. The retainer runs month to month and can be cancelled. The hosting stays in your accounts, so the system keeps running, and the handover notes let another developer pick it up.
Who owns the hosting and the code?
You do. Hosting, domain, database and code repository are all set up in accounts registered to your business, and the providers bill you directly. We have access as a user.
How quickly do you respond to problems?
Outages come first. Monitoring often tells us before you do, and we look straight away during working hours. We don't publish a formal response time, because a small studio can't honestly staff one around the clock.
Can another developer take over from you?
Yes. The code is in your repository, the accounts are in your name, and the handover notes explain how it runs and deploys. A competent developer could pick it up without us.
Ask what support would look like for your system
On a free call, tell us what the system does and how often it changes. If managed hosting and the occasional call would cover it, we'll suggest that.