Hand off the site and set support boundaries
How do I hand off a finished website to a client and define ongoing support?
Deliver access, a short guide and a written support scope, agree how change requests arrive and get priced, and confirm who owns what.
What you will be able to do
Hand over a finished site with clear ownership, a short guide and a written support scope, and end the project cleanly instead of drifting into free favours.
Before you start
- A site that is live and tested, as in Publish with a domain, DNS and HTTPS.
- The Client handoff checklist.
- The Maintenance scope template if you offer ongoing care.
Why this matters
Projects go wrong at the end, when nobody said where the work stops. "One quick change" a week for six months, each reasonable on its own, and you are working for free without ever agreeing to it.
Make ownership clear before they sign, not when they cancel. The domain is theirs. The website itself (design, build, code and files) is your work and runs under the care plan. To own it and take it with them, they pay a one time buyout fee you set upfront in the care agreement. Without it, the site comes down at the end of the paid term and the domain stays theirs.
Step by step
Tick each step as you do it. Your ticks are saved in this browser.
Confirm final approval in writing
A short email is enough: "Confirming the site at this address is approved and complete as per our agreement."
Transfer or confirm ownership of every account
- Domain: in the client's own registrar account, with you added as a user if you manage it.
- Hosting: usually in your agency account under the care plan.
- Repository: you keep it. Write down that the client can own the code by paying the one time buyout fee, and that you then hand over a copy.
- Form service, analytics, CMS and email services: client owned accounts wherever possible.
- Assets: the client gets back the original logo files, photos and copy they supplied.
Hand over credentials safely
Never send passwords in plain email or chat. Use a password manager's sharing feature or have the client create accounts and invite you. Turn on two factor authentication for domain and hosting.
Write a one page client guide
The live address, how to edit what they can edit (with screenshots), where form submissions go, what to do if the site looks broken, and how to request changes. If they have a CMS, record a short video of the two or three edits they will actually make.
Define what support includes, in writing
Use the Maintenance scope template. Be concrete: renewals managed, security and dependency updates, a monthly form delivery check, small content edits up to an agreed limit, a response time on business days. List what is not included: new pages, redesigns, new features, copywriting, and anything caused by the client's own changes.
Set the change request process
One channel, such as one email address or a simple form, not texts and voice notes. Tell them what a good request includes (page, what should change, a screenshot) and how quickly you respond. Anything outside scope gets a short written quote before you start.
Decide your answer to out of scope requests now
Write a reusable reply: warm, says the request is outside the current scope, gives a price or a range, and asks for a yes before starting.
Agree pricing for ongoing care if you offer it
Put the price, what it covers and the renewal date in writing. As an example only: around $2,500 upfront plus $1,000 a year for agreed maintenance.
Run the handoff checklist and send the handoff email
Go through the Client handoff checklist. Then send one email with the guide, the accounts and who owns each, the support scope, the request process and your contact details. This email officially ends the build.
Book a short check in after launch
Put a 15 minute call in the calendar a few weeks out. Ask if submissions are arriving, if anything confused them, and whether they want anything next.
Example
A handoff email for the fictional Austin dental clinic.
Subject: Your website is live: everything you need in one place
Hi Dr. Patel,
The new site is live at https://www.austinfamilydental.example and
approved as of your email on the 12th.
What you own and where things live
* Domain: in your registrar account. I am added as a user.
* Hosting: we run it under your care plan.
* Website code: kept by us. If you ever want to own the site and take
it with you, the one time buyout fee in your agreement applies.
* Booking form service and analytics: in your accounts.
* Logo, photos and copy: attached as a zip.
How to update things yourself
* Opening hours: see the 2 minute video in the attached guide.
Where bookings go
* [email protected]. If they stop, call me.
Your care plan (as agreed)
* Included: hosting and domain renewal management, security updates,
a monthly test of the booking form, and up to 6 small text or photo
changes a year, handled within 2 business days.
* Not included: new pages, redesigns, new features or copywriting.
I quote these in writing first.
How to ask for changes
* Email [email protected] with the page and the change.
I reply within 1 business day.
I will check in on the 30th to see how bookings are coming through.
And a reusable reply for an out of scope request.
Hi Dr. Patel,
Happy to help with the new "Teeth whitening" page. That one is outside
the care plan, since it is a new page with new copy. It would be a
fixed $X, done within a week of your go ahead. Want me to start?
Common mistakes
- Keeping the domain in your own account. The client owns their domain.
- "Support" with no written scope. Without limits, every request feels included.
- Saying yes to everything to be nice. Free work teaches the client your time is free.
- A twenty page manual.
Try it yourself
For your practice site or a recent project, fill in the Client handoff checklist and a Maintenance scope template. Then write the handoff email, using the example as a pattern, and a reusable out of scope reply.
Time: about 30 minutes.
Deliverable: the completed checklist, the support scope and both emails, ready to send.
Resources
- Client handoff checklist every item to cover at handoff
- Maintenance scope template define what support includes
- Scoping a maintenance plan deeper look at scoping care plans
- Setup fees and recurring care how setup fees and yearly care fit together
- Explaining recurring care to clients talking to clients about ongoing care
Finished this lesson?
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Last reviewed October 18, 2026. Prices, laws and tool terms change, so check current terms before you rely on any figure.