Your designer charges for every small change
Being billed for every text change is one of the most common frustrations with an agency-built website. Here's what's actually reasonable, and the routes out.
Quick answer
Charging for changes isn't unreasonable in itself — someone's time is being used. What's unreasonable is a site you structurally cannot edit yourself. Ask for editor access to your own site first; many builds have a content editor the client was never shown. If there genuinely isn't one, that's a decision that was made for you, and rebuilding on something self-editable usually pays for itself within a year.
Step-by-step
- 1
Ask for editor access before assuming the worst
Many sites built on WordPress, Webflow, or Squarespace have a perfectly good content editor that the client was simply never given a login to. Ask directly for an editor or contributor account. Sometimes the answer is a five-minute fix and the charges stop.
- 2
Work out what you're actually paying per year
Add up twelve months of change requests. Businesses are routinely surprised: six small edits at £50 is £300 a year, on top of hosting and maintenance, for a site they can't touch. That number is what any alternative should be compared against — not the original build cost, which is already spent.
- 3
Separate reasonable from unreasonable
Paying for design work, new pages, or genuine development is normal and fair. Paying to change a phone number, update opening hours, or swap a photo is a sign the site was built in a way that serves the builder rather than you. The distinction matters when you raise it.
- 4
Renegotiate before you rebuild
Ask for a small monthly retainer covering minor content edits, or for training and access so you can make them yourself. Plenty of designers will agree — routine text changes are low-value work they'd rather not do either. Put whatever you agree in writing.
- 5
If nothing changes, rebuild on something you control
Make sure you own the domain first, then build a replacement on a platform where you can edit the text yourself. Modern builders let you change copy in plain language without touching design. Keep the old site live until the new one is ready, then point the domain across.
Tips & best practices
- ▸Before signing anything in future, ask one question: 'can I change the text myself, and can you show me?'
- ▸Twelve months of edit charges is the honest number to judge any alternative against.
- ▸Own the domain and you always have the option to move; without it you don't.
- ▸Being charged for design and development is fair — being charged to fix a typo is a structural problem.
Common questions
Is it normal for a web designer to charge for small changes?
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Charging for their time is normal. Building a site the client structurally cannot edit is the part worth questioning. Most modern platforms have a content editor suitable for non-technical owners — if yours doesn't, that was a choice, and it's reasonable to ask why.
How much should a small website change cost?
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Genuine design or development work is typically billed at an hourly rate. A text change taking two minutes shouldn't attract a meaningful fee, and if it does consistently, ask for editor access or a small retainer that covers routine edits instead.
Can I edit my own website?
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Almost certainly, if you're given access. WordPress, Squarespace, Webflow and every mainstream builder have editors designed for non-technical users. Ask for a login before concluding you can't — many clients are never offered one.
Should I rebuild my website to avoid these fees?
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Compare a year of change charges against the cost of rebuilding on something self-editable. For many businesses the rebuild pays for itself inside twelve months and removes the friction that stops them keeping the site current — which quietly costs more than the fees do.