Web Design & Development Retainer Agreement

Once you have become a customer of David Horn Design, it is likely we’ll suggest you taking out a retainer agreement with us. A retainer ensures you have access to our expertise, advice, know-how and – importantly – hands-on development time.

By default, the retainer covers maintenance, technical support, updates, bug fixes, as well as further development of your website. It will cover everything you need to keep your website running smoothly and ensure it evolves alongside your changing business requirements.

New projects can be undertaken as part of a retainer, but most often these will require a separate agreement due to their likely scale. We can discuss whenever that happens.

For now, please have a look through the ‘how it all works’ information below, as well as the options available. And certainly, schedule a call if you have any questions at all.

What does it mean to work on a retainer?

  • It means you’ll simplify your working relationship with us. One invoice per month for a set amount.
  • You’ll get the same level of expertise applied to site maintenance and upkeep as went into building your site.
  • You get to skip the queue. Most of the time, our schedule is booked up two months in advance. Being on retainer means always having access to us.
  • You get peace of mind. You know who you’re working with, you know what we’ve been able to do for you in the past. Rather than outsourcing to a freelancer, you’re in trusted hands.
  • You get much simpler budgeting. For most of us business owners, bookkeeping is a necessary nuisance. Simplifying it can be such a relief – with a retainer you know exactly what’s going out each month and can budget accordingly.

How it works ... overages & roll overs

Of course, sometimes you’ll have more work for us than you have budgeted for. If we go over the allotted time for each month, work is charged at an hourly rate. You will be notified as you approach the end of your monthly allocation. If you consistently require more time, we can both review the terms of the retainer after the initial 3 month commitment.

Then … other times, you may not use all the hours you have. If that’s the case, then we can roll over up to 25% of the total monthly hours into the next month. They expire after that initial roll over. This allows us to give all our retainer clients great levels of support and maintain all our commitments. It means that no one client can make demands on our time that could otherwise impact availability for other clients. It also means we’re proactive in making sure you use all the time available to you.

If you consistently do not use your hours, we can look to reduce the level of your retainer commitment.

Essentials:
One day per month

 

  • 8 hours work, spread out over a month – but we’ll batch tasks and carry out the work in the most efficient manner for you
  • Best for when you have occasional tasks, need the occasional chat to discuss strategy, or for planning future projects.
  • £420 per month

Consultancy
2 days per month

 

  • 16 hours work, spread out over the month. Work will be batched and you’ll be able to incorporate mini projects here – such as development of landing pages, integrations with third party tools, etc.
  • Best for when you need all the basic work doing – the maintenance, the updates, and so on – but also want a bit more time to develop your site more proactively and need to tap into our strategic brains.
  • £800 per month

Consultany Plus
Three days per month

 

  • 24 hours work per month. You’ll be able to plan out projects and development plans safe in the knowledge that you have access to our team at all times through the month.
  • Best for when you have a constantly evolving site and need our support & expertise on tap.
  • £1150 per month

All work done via our retainers is organised through our project management system (we use Asana if you’re interested) and daily communication is through Slack and our dedicated support email address.

If you think that a retainer is too much commitment for you and you just want us to look after your website, then a WordPress care plan might be more appropriate.

Web Development Retainer Agreement

To get started, fill out the details in the form below – the second page of the form will take payment and once you sign up we’ll be right on it.

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The not so small print ...

All retainers are 3 month initial agreements, and will continue until cancelled. We have no interest in keeping you in something that no longer suits you, so after that initial 3 months you can cancel your retainer without notice. Just let us know and we’ll take care of it straight away. No hard feelings.

Payment is for the month in advance – and you will be issued invoices each month. It is up to you how you use the hours you have, but I do recommend at least 1 hour long phone call or meeting to discuss work or upcoming projects – and two hours for retainers of 2 or more days per month – allowing us both to be proactive in planning the time ahead.