Could having a website retainer help your business?
As a Marketing Manager, your to-do list is endless: campaigns to launch, content to create, and, of course, a website to keep fresh and fully functional.
The challenge?
Balancing all of these demands while making sure your website stays fast, secure, engaging, and most importantly, online.
Enter the website retainer.
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Whether you need regular maintenance, a website overhaul, or help analysing and optimising, a website retainer gives you consistent, reliable support tailored to your business needs.
Ready to explore how it works?
Let’s dive in.
What is a Website Retainer?
A website retainer is an ongoing, contractual agreement between a web developer (or web agency) and a client, where the developer provides services at a fixed rate, for a specific number of hours per month.
Having a website retainer can be hugely beneficial for marketing teams.
The agreement gives you priority access to web development and website maintenance services, meaning that any updates or issues can be addressed efficiently.
This helps to avoid the more lengthy onboarding process of project-based web development, and means you always have a team on-hand to make sure your website is running smoothly.
Buying services through a retainer model can also simplify your budgeting. Month-to-month you will know exactly what your web development outgoings will be, and you can plan your marketing budget accordingly.
What’s Included in a Website Retainer?
The work that will be included within your website retainer is primarily down to your web development needs and the time restraints of your contract.
Let’s explore some of the tasks that can be included within the scope of a website retainer:
Custom Development Hours
As with any retainer contract, for a website retainer your agreement will outline a certain number of hours (typically per month) that the web developer will spend on your work.
These hours can be used for website development tasks such as building new features, improving functionality, or customising elements to meet your business’s needs.
Whether it’s tweaking a navigation menu or creating entirely new tools, these hours will give you the flexibility to keep your site at its best.
Project Management
Your web development agency will provide expertise to help manage the different website projects they are working on throughout the course of your website retainer.
Project management systems may be used to streamline communication and keep your projects on track. This will help to give you visibility into the progress of the web development team.
Website Maintenance and Technical Support
The great thing about having a website developer on retainer is that they can keep on top of updates and make sure the website remains functional and secure. You’ll have support on hand to fix any bugs, broken links or outdated features.
Should any critical updates be needed, or any web emergencies arise, you’ll have experts available to problem solve and make sure your website stays secure.
Analytics and Reporting
Having a web expert contracted means that you can get the most out of your website with regular performance reports and actionable insights.
Your chosen web development team will be able to integrate and manage analytics tools in order to track site performance and user behaviour, and make any updates or adjustments accordingly.
Performance and User Experience Optimisation
A website retainer allows for routine monitoring and optimisation of your website, which will keep things running smoothly and efficiently.
A web designer will be able to make sure your website has all the necessary features to provide a good user experience.
Speed, responsiveness, and overall performance can be reviewed and optimised. Ongoing improvements to your website will keep your site performing seamlessly, no matter where or how it’s accessed.
Content Management Support
With a website retainer, you know that you have a dedicated team to help with the management of your website’s content.
A retainer means you’ll be covered if you regularly have pages that need creating or updating. This includes assistance with uploading and editing content.
Regular updates to images and text can be aligned with your new campaigns so that your site always reflects your latest messaging and branding.
Why Choose a Website Retainer?
There are a number of reasons why website retainers could be an excellent choice for your business.
Having a web development team on retainer could be the difference between a secure, fast, user-friendly website and one that’s hard to navigate with issues that are hard to stay on top of.
Reliable Access to Support
Need a quick fix or a major update?
With a retainer, your web team is just a message away. Meaning no more scrambling to onboard developers at the last minute.
Should any issues arise, whether that’s with security, functionality, or speed, the team already has time blocked out in their schedule to work on your website, and can quickly solve any problems.
Consistency
A website retainer will help to unify your brand presence across all platforms, keeping your messaging and design cohesive.
Routine updates and monitoring mean your content, web design, and overall functionality remain aligned with your brand’s vision.
This brand consistency not only strengthens your professional image but also builds trust and recognition with your audience over time.
Predictable Costs
The predictability of a retainer fee can take the stress out of budget planning.
You’ll know month-to-month exactly what your web development costs are, and can plan around this accordingly. This makes prioritising your budget straightforward and helps to keep your finance team happy!
Benefits of Long-Term Collaboration
Consistently working with the same team allows them to fully understand your business and needs.
The nature of this long-term partnership and the web team’s familiarity with your brand will allow for more efficient and higher-quality results, without the need for extensive onboarding each time a new project arises.
How Does a Website Retainer Work?
So, you’re sold on the benefits of a website retainer, and you’ve got an agency in mind. What then? How does a website retainer work?
The process is fairly similar to the website design process, but let’s explore some of the steps:
Define Scope
The first step in the process of setting up your website retainer is to have a conversation with your web developer (or agency) to define the scope of the retainer.
They will need an understanding of what you require – whether that’s maintenance, technical support, performance monitoring, a full website rebuild, or all of the above.
Both parties should align expectations by specifying the expected frequency of tasks, key priorities, and any constraints.
A well-defined scope will mean that all work under the retainer is purposeful and tailored to your website’s evolving needs.
Set Hours
A key part of setting up your website retainer is determining the number of hours that will be required per month to work on your website. This is a really important step in making sure the retainer aligns with your business’s needs.
Begin by estimating the time required for tasks such as updates, maintenance, and new developments. Agree on the number of monthly hours that will cover routine work and allow flexibility for unexpected needs.
It’s also important to clarify how hours will be tracked, what happens if allocated time exceeds the agreement, and whether unused hours can roll over.
At this point, a contract can be finalised which clearly outlines the scope, hours, expectations, and terms of the retainer.
Request Submission and Workflow
The next step is to establish how tasks will be submitted and managed. It’s important to have a clear process for this to avoid any issues or delays with work for your website.
Tools such as emails, project management platforms and intake forms can all be helpful for streamlining this process.
At Canny, we use a project management software called Productive. This allows us to effectively track our projects and work seamlessly with our clients at each stage of the process, from initial submissions to revisions and approvals.
Making sure that there are clear lines of communication between your team and the agency will mean that tasks are prioritised correctly and completed on schedule. This structured workflow keeps projects running smoothly and makes sure that nothing falls through the cracks.
Approval and Delivery
Approval and delivery processes also need to be clearly defined. It’s essential to clarify how updates, changes or new features will be reviewed and approved before implementation.
Depending on the task, deliverables may be provided in different ways, be that updates applied directly to the live site or files delivered to you via a file-sharing platform.
Regular Reviews and Support
One of the benefits of having a retainer contract is that you have an on-going relationship with your web developer. This should be maintained through regular check-ins and reviews.
At Canny, we like to schedule a standing meeting with our clients which means we can discuss workload, new priorities, and any on-going support required on a regular basis.
Should you find that your agreement is offering too many or too little hours for your needs, you can make adjustments accordingly.
How Website Retainers Compare to Alternatives
Although a convenient solution, website retainers are not the only way to meet your web development needs. So how do the alternatives compare?
Let’s take a look at the main differences.
In-House Teams
If you need regular website maintenance and have the budget for it, you might consider an in-house team rather than outsourcing your web development. This option gives you immediate access to a web developer whenever the need arises.
The benefit of an in-house team is that their sole focus and responsibility will be your business’s website. They’ll know the ins and outs of the site and your brand, and will be able to align the website to your needs. Should any issues arise with the site, they’re always on-hand to problem solve.
However, web development is a specific area of expertise, and hiring an in-house team can be pricey, especially if the volume of work isn’t there to keep them busy.
Pair your website retainer with a design retainer and SEO retainer to give you a full suite of flexible marketing services without the overhead of a full-time hire.
Freelancers
Freelancers can be a great option for ad-hoc website help. They can be cost-effective for occasional, short-term support.
However, with multiple clients, freelancers may have limited availability, making it harder to fit your work into their schedule. Your dependence on one person may put the continuity of a project at risk – if they are unavailable, you may face delays or have to find a replacement.
Project Based Agreements
Working with a web design agency on a project basis can give you high-quality work for specific development projects. But it may mean that you lose out on ongoing web support and updates after the project has been completed, leaving room for potential maintenance gaps.
This is a great option, for large, one-off projects, but onboarding an agency each time you have a new project will result in longer turnaround times and higher costs that may be harder to plan for.
Website Retainers
Whilst opting for a retainer does mean committing to the regular monthly cost, with it you can get peace of mind knowing that you have ongoing web support and a developer that knows and understands your website and brand.
The set monthly fee makes it easier to budget for website-related expenses without unexpected costs. With a set amount of hours to work on your website per month, you’re guaranteed support on a regular basis.
Website Retainer Pricing
The cost of a website retainer varies depending on the agency you choose and the level of support your business needs.
More basic packages, with fewer hours covering essential maintenance and updates, will be lower in cost. Premium packages, which include advanced services and in-depth web development, will be priced higher.
At Canny, our retainer packages – which can cover design, web development and content – are designed to be flexible and scalable, providing expert support without the overhead of hiring in-house.
Our pricing is based on the number of hours required:
- 16 hours: £2160/month
- 40 hours: £3400/month
- 64 hours: £5120/month
For comparison, hiring a full-time developer could cost upwards of £30,000 – £40,000 per year, plus benefits.
With a website retainer, you get ongoing, cost-effective, expert support that can be easily adapted to your changing business needs.
Is a Website Retainer Right for You?
In order to understand whether a website retainer is the right choice for your business, you need to assess and understand your website needs.
Ask yourself some questions about the support you require for your website:
- Do you require regular website updates and maintenance?
- Do your marketing campaigns demand quick website adjustments?
- Would you benefit from support to frequently analyse and optimise your website?
- Are predictable monthly expenses beneficial for your financial planning?
If you’re answering yes to these questions, you may find that a retainer is the right choice for you. Having web experts on a retainer can alleviate the pressure of staying on top of regular website maintenance and having a functioning, streamlined website will allow your business to operate more effectively.
Building a Strong Relationship with Your Website Developer
Building and maintaining a strong relationship with your agency of choice is key to making the most of your retainer services.
Clear communication is crucial – set expectations for deliverables, timelines and priorities from the outset. Regular check-ins will provide opportunities to review progress, address concerns and maintain alignment with your business goals.
Mutual trust is essential; value your developer’s expertise and keep an open, constructive dialogue. Remain flexible and open to adjusting the agreement as your needs evolve, encouraging a partnership that supports long-term success.
Overcoming Misconceptions About Website Retainers
If you haven’t worked with an agency on a retainer basis before, there might be some misconceptions getting in the way of you taking the step.
Let’s address some common concerns:
“Retainers Are Only for Large Businesses”
Website retainers aren’t exclusive to large businesses.
One of the benefits of retainers is their flexibility – packages can be customised to fit the needs and budgets of small and medium-sized businesses.
“They’re Expensive”
Whilst it may seem costly to commit to the monthly expense of a retainer package, they deliver significant long-term value.
The predictable monthly fee simplifies budgeting and can reduce the risk of unexpected costs, keeping your website optimised and functional without surprise expenses.
“Retainers Lock You Into Long-Term Contracts”
Retainers contracts can run for different lengths of time, depending on your needs.
Many agreements are designed with flexibility in mind, and allow you to scale services, adjust terms, or even change the scope as your business needs evolve.
Website Retainers: FAQs
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What is a website retainer?
A website retainer is an ongoing agreement with an agency or freelancer that gives you access to web development and maintenance support for a fixed monthly fee.
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What does a website retainer include?
A website retainer can include ongoing maintenance, technical support, content updates, performance optimisation, analytics and website development.
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Is a website retainer worth it?
Yes, definitely! A website retainer can be incredibly worthwhile if you need regular website support, quick updates or ongoing maintenance without the cost of hiring an in-house developer.
Website Retainers: What Marketers Need to Know
A website retainer isn’t just a service, it’s a partnership.
By investing in a retainer, you’re securing consistent, reliable support that will keep your website up-to-date and optimised for your audience.
Whether it’s routine maintenance, analytics-driven improvements, or on-demand fixes, a website retainer can help your digital presence evolve alongside your business goals.
At Canny, we consider our retainer services to be an extension of your marketing team. Our retainer covers not just web development, but design and SEO as well. This streamlines your marketing efforts, and keeps your brand aligned across all areas.
With predictable costs, tailored solutions, and the opportunity to build a strong, collaborative relationship with your chosen agency, a retainer simplifies your workload and empowers your marketing efforts.
