CMS Development Guide 2026
🤝 Client Handoff
The maintenance retainer (the real upsell)
Recurring revenue beats one-off projects
After launch, offer a monthly retainer:
- Plugin / theme updates
- Content updates (X changes per month)
- Backup monitoring
- Speed and uptime monitoring
- Priority support
operator note
even $100–$250/month per client adds up fast. Five retainer clients is $500–$1,250/month in recurring revenue before you've done a single new project.