Prepare the same package for every client site
Each job here assumes a staging copy, a baseline of how the site should behave and a named person who can apply changes live. For each client site keep a short record: WordPress, PHP and theme versions; the plugin list as text; where staging lives and who refreshes it; the five pages and two forms that matter; and the host. With that, most of the first questions are already answered and a quote can be firm.
- Keep a before screenshot set of key pages.
- Know whether the site is a single site or a network.
Be explicit about access and who talks to whom
Client work does not run under a personal account. The agency should say who holds the hosting and admin accounts, who will grant staging access and through which company-controlled route, and who applies the change to the live site. Whether the client hears from us directly, and under whose name any report is written, is something to agree in writing before work starts; do not assume either way. No logins or customer data go in a first enquiry.
- Decide the contract party and the accountable site holder up front.
- Agree whether reports are addressed to the agency or the client.
Choose the smallest job that proves the result
A single failing feature, one plugin that blocks a PHP upgrade, a form that needs authenticated sending or an old theme with edits in it each have a bounded job with named acceptance checks. For several client sites with similar needs, a standing service per site (updates tried on staging first, or monthly form checks) is available, and a managed lane is quoted for a site that needs steady small care without emergency cover; it has no backups, uptime monitoring, out-of-hours cover or live application. All prices are untested proposals and payment follows the agreed checks and sign-off.
- Ask for the exclusions as well as the inclusions.
- Multisite networks are quoted separately.
What this is not
It is not a white-label promise, an emergency line or a guarantee about client outcomes. Services are new and have no client record to show. Delivery is agreed per scope after the enquiry, with human review points stated, and nothing starts or is charged from an enquiry.
- Do not forward a client's credentials or recovery links.
Sources and limits
- WordPress plugin handbook: roles and capabilities Checked 2026-10-11.
- WordPress has default roles including Administrator, and roles and their capabilities are stored in the database.
- WordPress documentation: Manage Plugins Checked 2026-10-11.
- A current backup should exist before updating plugins.