Growth and Design retainers explained

Once a site is live, the work rarely stops. Retainers are how we keep a senior team working with you month after month, without scoping a new project for every request. This guide explains our two retainers, the Growth Retainer and the Design Retainer, and shows how they compare with our care plan and Fractional Plus.

Which ongoing option fits?

If you need…	Consider
The site kept secure, updated, fast and monitored	The Boring Stuff care plan
Steady improvement of the site and brand against quarterly goals	Growth Retainer
A reliable flow of design work: campaigns, banners, decks, newsletters	Design Retainer
A senior executive owning tech, growth or brand, plus a team	Fractional Plus

A care plan keeps what you have healthy. It doesn't include new features or design work, which is where a retainer or a project comes in. See What our care plan covers.

The Growth Retainer

What it's for: steady, compounding progress instead of one-off projects. One team owns your branding, UX, build and conversion work month over month, against goals you set.

Who it's for: growing businesses with a live site and a roadmap of work ahead, who want a senior partner on retainer rather than a rotating cast of freelancers.

What it covers:

Branding: identity and messaging upkeep as you evolve.
Strategy and leadership: goals, KPIs and a plan for the quarter.
UX and design: ongoing improvement of the experience.
Development: features, fixes and integrations.
Conversion optimization: testing that lifts the numbers.
Security: kept current and monitored.

It supports WordPress and WooCommerce, Shopify, Magento and Webflow, and most analytics, e-commerce, newsletter, automation and funnel tools connected to them.

Terms described on the Growth Retainer page:

Three tiers, Growth, Scale and Accelerate, sized to how much monthly support you need.
Payment monthly or yearly, quarterly on request. Three-month engagements can be paid monthly.
Each cycle's scope is fresh. Unused capacity doesn't carry over.
Cancellation needs written notice at least 20 days before renewal.
Work beyond scope is quoted separately as a fixed scope.

The Design Retainer

What it's for: a reliable design pipeline at a predictable cost. Think of it as an in-house design department without the in-house overhead.

Who it's for: teams with steady, varied design needs, such as campaigns, e-commerce banners, decks, newsletters and brand assets, who are tired of estimating, contracting and invoicing each job separately.

How it works:

Pick a tier sized to your monthly volume.

Send your to-do list. We queue it by priority.

Review previews and give feedback.

Receive final deliverables in the format you need.

Terms described on the Design Retainer page:

Scheduling priority, quick turnaround and locked-in pricing.
Three-month minimum, with custom and one-month options on request.
Work beyond your tier is quoted separately as a fixed scope.
Printing and stock photography are passed through at cost, always with your approval first.

	Growth Retainer	Design Retainer
What it's for	Steady progress on your site and brand against goals you set	A reliable design pipeline at a predictable cost
Covers	Branding, strategy, UX and design, development, conversion, security	Campaigns, banners, decks, newsletters and brand assets
Commitment	Cancel with written notice at least 20 days before renewal	Three-month minimum, custom and one-month options on request

Getting the most from any retainer

Set goals for the quarter. A retainer with no direction drifts into small requests. Agree two or three priorities up front.
Use one request channel. See How to request new work or changes.
Batch feedback. One consolidated round from the decision-maker beats five separate emails. See How to give feedback that gets results.
Use the capacity. Each cycle's scope is fresh, so keep a running backlog and send work steadily.
Review regularly. Check what shipped against the goals and adjust the tier if your needs have changed.

Pricing and payment

The retainer pages describe tiers but say pricing is confirmed on a call, so we don't quote it here. Our general payment terms, including that retainers are paid in full in advance (monthly, quarterly or yearly), are on Our services and pricing. Your contract governs the specific terms.

Frequently asked questions

Can I combine a retainer with a care plan?

Yes. They do different jobs: the care plan keeps the site healthy, the retainer moves it forward. Tell us what you need and we'll suggest the simplest combination.

Can I change tier?

Ask us. The tiers are sized to monthly needs, so if yours have changed, raise it before your next renewal.

Where can I read about these online?

All our current engagements are listed on the offers page.