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Guide

The handover email, and the care plan after launch

Three emails after launch. The site is live, the logins are theirs, and then a care plan if they want one. The hook is a real page, not a promise to "keep an eye on it."

1. It is live

Send this the day you point the domain. Name the window for launch bugs, and say what is not in that window.

Subject: [Site] is live

Hi [Name],

[Site] is live at [URL].

You own the domain and the hosting account. The logins are in the next email, to this address only.

For the next [7] days I will fix launch bugs that are my mistake. A new page is a separate quote.

[Your name]

2. The logins

Separate email, so the launch note stays short. If you are the only person who can renew the domain, you do not have a handover yet.

Subject: Logins for [Site]

Hi [Name],

These accounts are yours:

- Domain registrar: [where]
- Host: [where]
- The email on both: [email]

I am not keeping the only copy. If you want me to stay on the accounts, say so, and we will write that into the care plan.

[Your name]

3. The care plan

Send this a few days later, not in the same hour as the invoice for the build. Link a sample of the page they would get. Price the tiers before you send it. The pricing calculator is the scratch pad. The proposal is the longer version, if they asked for a document.

Subject: Keeping [Site] after launch

Hi [Name],

Launch is done. The month that usually goes quiet is the one after.

I can keep the site on a care plan: small fixes inside a set of hours, and one page each month that says what I did and whether the site was up. A sample of that page, from a fictional studio, is here:

https://retainerproof.com/demo

Tiers I would use for you:

- [Care]: [price] a month, [hours]
- [Standard]: [price] a month, [hours]
- [Priority]: [price] a month, [hours]

Reply with the name if you want one. If you want to stop here, you already have the logins.

[Your name]

The sample in that email is /demo. Say it is fictional. Notes on each block are on the sample care report. When they pick a tier, send the agreement before the first care invoice.

Questions

When do I send the care plan email?

After they have the logins, and after the launch bugs you promised are done. Offering care in the same email as a broken form makes the plan sound like a patch.

What if they say no?

Stop. They have the site and the accounts. Do not keep a login you were not asked to keep.

Do I mention the tool I use?

Only if they ask how the page is made. The email is about the page they will open. Your plan for that tool is $9, $29, or $79 a month, and it is your bill.

Plans are Starter at $9/month for up to 5 sites, Studio at $29/month for up to 25 sites, and Agency at $79/month for up to 100 sites. Studio is the plan marked recommended. Starter, including a trial, keeps a small Powered by RetainerProof link on the client digest and the public status page. Studio and Agency remove that link. Prices are on the pricing page.

More resources

  • Resources
  • Pricing calculator
  • Downtime cost calculator
  • Downtime emails
  • Incident report
  • WordPress maintenance report
  • Sample care report
  • Proposal template
  • SLA template
  • SSL and domain dates
  • Client checklist
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