What is a fair asking price for website maintenance?

I was recently asked by a friend how much it would cost to maintain a site. I am NOT an expert web designer - http://mountpleasantmaple.com is the site I built. The whole project is a learning experience, but I would like to make money at the same time. What is a fair price to ask for the service of maintaining his website? If you are a web designer, would you mind including a link to your portfolio?

You have a few options that I would recommend:

• Make a plan of everything you need to do, calculate how much you would charge someone you didn't know for it, and take ~30% off of that. Personally, I would charge more for graphic design and code creation than I would for changing things around (css, text, prices, etc.). For example, I would charge $100-$500 for redesign (basic CSS vs image design and JS), $10/hr on text changes, $50/hr on coding (php, etc. - although this doesn't seem necessary with what you are doing).
• Just charge a flat fee of, say, $10-$20/hr.
• Do it for free, with royalties (15% of online income). This way you get experience and a portfolio example, and can have long-term income from it.

Just checked the site, no offensive but your skill is still far from making serious money by developing sites.

If you are serious at development for living you still need learning. One friend client can't make you rich. Don't charge your friend for that site. Also don't work on maintenance of that site, no matter free or charging, unless your friend needs some functions badly. Save time on learning more.

Add to answer new question in comment The design/technology/business sense shown in the site is not mature yet for showcasing and charging in my opinion.

Every designer/developer has some free works at beginning, either for friends, non-profit, or for himself.

It's a good opportunity your friend has a real business site for your playing around at the beginning. If you could make it nice, the site could be part of your portfolio to gain more business. But charging for your work in learning stage seems not professional.

Charge by the hour.

This method would suit your situation quite well; since you are new to the industry (both by profession and technical).

Most of the time you will be unsure how long to fulfill a client's request. Going by an hourly rate allows you to bridge the communication gap between developer (you), and client (them).

I did review the content and site you mentioned and I would offer a flat fee given that it will not change much and that you will give it a major upgrade.

Our company offers a similar service to SMEs we charge around $49-$99 / month service fee depending on what kind of information needs to be updated. That includes updating software, adding new apps, maintaining the platform, as well as setting up and maintaining the content about the business.

Before worrying about what is a good asking price, ask yourself if this is going to be a core business for you, or just for some friends and price accordingly.

Tough to make a general assumption - each owner has different needs depending on their online presence. Content / ecommerce / fufillment tasks (and the time they take) vary widely.

Also - there is the cost difference between local and offshore support - complete with the overhead associated with keeping the communication paths clear.

Ask him whether he would like to use your service on a monthly basis. If Yes, you both should come to a price where, you can help him increase his business and in return he pay you for that.

Anyways, I checked the design. You should charge him according to his giving potential. A fair charge for what you did would be based on pages, and dedication. I take 3 hours to built a website but still, charge a client around $400-$500.