This is your handover document. It walks you through what you’ve now got and how to keep it ticking over. Nothing technical assumed — if you can fill in a contact form, you can do everything in here. If anything’s unclear at any point, email me at nick@neobookworm.uk and I’ll talk it through with you. Even after handover, you’re never on your own with it.
The short version
Your site is live and everything has been transferred to your own free Netlify account, so you’re now your own host. Your web address is in your name. There’s nothing else to do day to day — log in to Netlify once or twice a year, pay the web address renewal once a year, and that’s it.
If you need a change later, you can either do it yourself or email me to do it for you at £25 an hour. No contract, no monthly fee, no catch.
What you’ve got
A five-page website — Home, About, Services, Gallery and Contact — designed for your trade rather than dropped out of a template. Your phone number is front and centre so people on a phone on a job site can tap it and call you. There’s a contact box so customers can message you straight from the site. Google has been told you exist, what you do, and where you work.
It looks right on phones, tablets and computers, because most people who find you will be on a phone.
What’s been handed over to you
Three things changed hands when you took over:
- Your Netlify account. This is the company that keeps your website live on the internet. Your site has been transferred from my account to yours. The basic plan is free for a site like yours, so there’s nothing to pay.
- Your web address. This has always been registered in your name, not mine. Nothing changes here — you keep it as long as you renew it once a year.
- The site files. Every page, every image, every line of code is on your Netlify account and backed up in a zip sent to you. You own all of it outright.
What it costs to run, year to year
Honestly? Almost nothing.
- Hosting — free on Netlify’s basic Starter plan for a straightforward site like yours.
- Your web address renewal — once a year, paid direct to your registrar. Usually somewhere between £8 and £15 depending on the ending (.co.uk, .uk, .com).
That’s the lot. The only time it costs more is if you ask me to make a change for you later — and that’s only when you want me to, at £25 an hour, with a price agreed before I start.
What you need to keep on top of
Renew your web address once a year. You’ll get an email from your registrar about a month before it’s due. Pay it and you’re sorted for another year. If you can’t find the login details, email me and I’ll help you track them down. This is the one thing that matters: if the renewal lapses, you lose the address and someone else can buy it.
Most registrars let you switch on auto-renew — the card just gets charged each year and you never have to think about it. Worth doing.
Log in to Netlify once or twice a year just to check your account is still on the free Starter plan and nothing has changed. You don’t need to do anything else — Netlify will email you if there’s ever a problem.
When you need something changed
Option A — Ask me to do it. Email nick@neobookworm.uk with what you want changed (as specific as you can be), any new text or photos, and whether there’s a deadline. I’ll always agree a price before I start — no surprise invoices. Most small changes take 15–30 minutes. Payment is by a secure Stripe link once the work is done.
| Type of change | Typical time | Typical cost |
|---|---|---|
| Updating text — prices, services, hours | 15–20 mins | £12.50 |
| Swapping or adding photos | 15–30 mins | £12.50 |
| Adding a section to an existing page | 30–45 mins | £12.50–18.75 |
| Adding a new page | 45–60 mins | £18.75–25.00 |
| Changing layout or design of a section | 60–90 mins | £25–37.50 |
The first time you want me to make a change you’ll need to add me as a collaborator on your Netlify account — it takes about two minutes and you can remove me again any time. The full step-by-step is in the technical handover guide.
Option B — Do it yourself. Netlify has a built-in tool for editing simple things. If I set up a content-editing login as part of your build, you can use that — it works a bit like editing a Word document. Ask me if you want a walkthrough.
Things that are yours, not mine
- Your web address is registered in your name. Not mine. It’s been that way from day one.
- The site itself is yours. You paid the one-off fee. You own every page, every image, every line of code outright.
- Your Netlify account is yours. I have no access to it unless you specifically add me as a collaborator for a one-off change, which you can remove immediately afterwards.
If you ever want to use a different web designer down the line, the whole site is in standard code anyone can read. I’ll help the next builder pick up where I left off.
What to do in your first week
I’ve put together a full first-week checklist on the website — it covers sharing your link, setting up your Google Business profile, and getting your first reviews. It doesn't take long and makes the difference between a site that just sits there and one that starts bringing in jobs.
Read the first-week checklist →
If you ever change your mind
If running it yourself turns out to be more hassle than you fancy, you can move onto the £9.99/month care plan any time — I take over the hosting, keep the security up to date, handle your web address renewal, and include one content change a month. Just email me.
— Nick, NeoBookworm — websites, done properly
Email me and I’ll answer it straight.