Retainer value for a web agency instead of project famine

3 days ago
3 min read

Updated: 2 days ago

Introduction

Project-based web work has a structural problem: every completed project ends the revenue. An agency that builds sites is permanently selling, permanently between projects, and permanently exposed to a quiet quarter that no amount of past work protects against.

Retainers solve the revenue problem and create a new one. A retainer sold as a block of hours becomes a support desk the client uses unpredictably, and the agency ends up doing whatever arrives rather than the work that produces results. The revenue is smoother and the margin is worse.

The retainers that work have defined deliverables and a stated outcome, and they are priced against the value of that outcome rather than against the hours.

1. Retainer value for a web agency depends on defining the deliverable

Hours are the wrong unit for both sides.

Sell outcomes, not availability

Monthly reporting, a set number of improvements, conversion work, content updates against a plan. Say what the client receives each month. Put it in a numbered list in the agreement.

Never sell an undefined block of hours

An open retainer becomes a helpdesk. The client feels they must use it and you end up doing low-value tasks to justify the fee. Nobody is satisfied with that arrangement.

2. Build the retainer out of the work that recurs

Some web work genuinely repeats and clients cannot do it themselves.

Include the things that must happen anyway

Hosting, updates, backups, security patching, uptime monitoring. These are obligatory, ongoing and easy to justify. They also protect you from being blamed for a hack.

Add the work that compounds

Conversion improvements, content, internal linking, page speed. Continuous small changes outperform an occasional redesign. Keep a running list of what to do next.

3. Price against the client's revenue, not your hours

The value of a conversion improvement has nothing to do with how long it took.

Anchor to what the site earns

A site producing enquiries worth thousands a month supports a retainer sized accordingly. Say what the work is worth to them. Use their figures, not industry averages.

Use three tiers and expect the middle

Maintenance only, maintenance plus improvement, and a full growth retainer. Most clients choose the middle when the three are clear. Build the middle as the one you want to deliver.

4. Report in a way that justifies renewal

Retainers are lost quietly at review time.

Send a short monthly report

What was done, what changed, what is next. One page. Silence is the commonest reason a retainer gets cancelled. Send it on the same date every month.

Report on the client's numbers

Enquiries and revenue, not sessions and bounce rate. A client who cannot see commercial results will stop paying regardless of how much you did. Ask them what number they care about.

5. Protect the relationship and the margin

Retainers decay in both directions.

Review scope every six months

Work creeps in and never leaves. A scheduled review resets it without a confrontation. Put the date in the agreement.

Raise prices on a stated cycle

An annual review date in the agreement prevents years of static fees against rising costs. Set it once.

Conclusion

Sell a defined monthly deliverable rather than a block of hours, because an open retainer becomes a helpdesk where you do low-value tasks to justify the fee and the client uses it unpredictably.

Build it from the work that must happen anyway — hosting, updates, patching, monitoring — plus the work that compounds, like conversion improvements and content. Price against what the site earns the client rather than against your hours, offer three tiers and expect the middle to sell, send a one-page monthly report using the client's own commercial numbers because silence is what kills retainers, and review both scope and price on dates set in the agreement.