The verdict in three sentences
A website support retainer is judged on three numbers: the monthly price, the guaranteed response time (SLA) and the number of development hours included. For a UK SME in 2026, the order of magnitude runs from 45 to 130 GBP a month for corrective support and 170 to 700 GBP a month for an evolutive retainer, with a day rate of 400 to 600 GBP beyond the allowance. A finance director renewing a contract should mainly check the service credits when the SLA is missed, backup frequency and the exit clause.
Corrective, preventive, evolutive: what you are really paying for
Most contracts mix three kinds of work. Corrective support fixes what breaks (a stuck form, an error page). Preventive work updates the CMS, plugins and certificates before they break. Evolutive work adds features or changes content. A 80 GBP a month contract with no updates and no verified backups is not a saving: one unpatched vulnerability often costs 1,700 to 4,300 GBP to clean up.
| Package observed in 2026 | Monthly price ex VAT | Response time | Development hours included | Backups |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Corrective only | 45 to 130 GBP | 2 business days | 0 | Weekly |
| Corrective and preventive | 130 to 260 GBP | 1 business day | 0 to 1 h | Daily |
| Standard evolutive | 260 to 430 GBP | 8 business hours | 2 to 4 h | Daily, 30 days |
| Premium evolutive | 430 to 700 GBP | 4 business hours | 5 to 8 h | Daily, 90 days |
| Time and materials | 400 to 600 GBP per day | Subject to availability | On demand | Not included |
| Kolonell Basic, Standard, Premium | 50, 110 or 180 EUR (35,000, 75,000 or 120,000 FCFA) | Per package | Per package | Included |
The SLA clauses to demand before signing
An SLA without service credits is an intention, not a commitment. These are the clauses that separate a serious contract from a cosmetic one, with reasonable thresholds for a 20 to 100 person SME.
| Clause | Reasonable 2026 threshold | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Response time, critical incident | 4 business hours | A broken quote form loses leads every hour |
| Resolution time, critical incident | 1 business day | Separate response from resolution |
| Guaranteed uptime | 99.5 to 99.9% | 99.5% allows about 3 h 40 min of downtime a month |
| Service credits | 5 to 10% of the monthly fee per breach | Without credits, the SLA protects nothing |
| Backups | Daily, kept 30 days minimum, quarterly restore test | An untested backup is an assumption |
| Rollover of unused hours | 1 to 3 months | Avoids paying for lost hours |
| Exit clause | Handover of access and code within 10 days | Lets you switch provider |
| Term and notice | 12 months, 1 to 3 months' notice | Avoid 36-month auto-renewal |
How to compare two proposals
Bring each offer back to a cost per useful hour. Add up the annual fee, estimate the development hours actually used last year, then add out-of-scope hours billed at the day rate. A 390 GBP a month offer with 4 hours included works out at about 98 GBP an hour if you use them, against 65 to 80 GBP an hour on pure time and materials at a 520 GBP day rate. The value of the retainer then lies in the SLA and preventive work, not the hourly price. Also ask for a sample monthly report: updates done, incidents, actual response times.
Mini case study
Illustrative scenario: James, finance director of a 40-person medical equipment distributor in Leeds, pays 560 GBP ex VAT a month for an evolutive retainer with 5 hours included, or 6,720 GBP a year. He finds the team used only 22 of 60 hours last year. By switching to a corrective and preventive package at 215 GBP a month (2,580 GBP a year) and buying the 22 hours at a 520 GBP day rate (about 1,430 GBP for 2.75 days), he spends 4,010 GBP a year. The saving reaches 2,710 GBP ex VAT, or 40%, provided he demands a 4 business hour response on critical incidents and tested daily backups.
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FAQ
How much does website support cost for a UK SME?
Between 45 and 130 GBP ex VAT a month for corrective support and 170 to 700 GBP for an evolutive retainer, as a 2026 order of magnitude. Kolonell packages are 35,000, 75,000 or 120,000 FCFA a month, or 50, 110 or 180 EUR.
What response time should we demand?
For a site that generates quote requests, 4 business hours to respond and 1 business day to resolve a critical incident. Two days is enough for a purely corporate site.
Should backups be included?
Yes, daily and kept for at least 30 days. Demand a restore test at least once a quarter, recorded in the monthly report.
What happens to unused development hours?
Negotiate a 1 to 3 month rollover. If you use under 50% of hours over a year, a corrective package plus time and materials is often cheaper.
Can we exit a support contract early?
It depends on the clauses: aim for a 12-month maximum term with 1 to 3 months' notice, and an exit clause requiring handover of access and code within 10 days.
Let's scope your project. Send us your current contract and your real needs (incidents, changes, expected response time): we will price a package at 50, 110 or 180 EUR a month with a clear SLA. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
