A retainer should give you confidence: that your website is being properly supported, and that progress is happening without constant stop-start quoting. If the value isn’t obvious, it’s usually a structure and reporting issue, not a lack of work.
Retainers can have a bad reputation, and it’s usually not because they’re a bad idea. Most of the time, it’s because they’re unclear.
You pay a monthly fee to an agency, things seem fine, nothing is obviously broken, but over time it becomes harder to answer a simple question: what are we actually paying for each month? If you’re not technical, that question can feel even more uncomfortable, because you may not know what you should expect to see.
That’s usually when doubts start to creep in. Are we using this retainer properly? Is the agency doing much in the background? Would we notice if we stopped? Are we getting good enough results? Are our requests actually being responded to quickly enough?
A good retainer should never leave you wondering.
A retainer is all about support
A website, platform, dashboard, piece of software etc needs looking after. It needs someone keeping an eye on it, fixing the small issues before they become bigger ones, and making sure it stays secure, stable, and fit for purpose. A retainer is simply the arrangement that makes that support consistent and reliable, rather than reactive and ad hoc.
At its best, a retainer gives you confidence. This is confidence that your website is being actively looked after, not just checked when something breaks. Confidence that problems are being spotted early, before they become expensive or disruptive. And confidence that useful improvements can keep moving without needing to pause for a quote every time you want to adjust something small. That kind of momentum matters, because most websites don’t fail due to one big disaster. They fail slowly, through neglect, delays, and small issues that compound over time.
A good retainer should also reduce friction internally. You should feel like you can ask questions, get answers, and make progress without everything turning into a negotiation. You’re paying for a team to take responsibility for keeping a vital part of your business running smoothly.
Responsiveness is a crucial part of any retainer. One of the main reasons organisations choose ongoing support is so they’re not starting from scratch every time something needs attention. You’re paying for time to be set aside and for a team that already understands your setup. That means requests should be acknowledged quickly, work should be picked up promptly, and you should feel confident that things are being dealt with without unnecessary delays.
Why retainers often feel vague
One of the biggest problems with retainers is that a lot of the most important work is invisible. Security updates, monitoring, backups, and preventative fixes are all designed to stop things going wrong. When they’re done well, nothing dramatic happens, which is exactly the point. But that also makes it harder to see the value if it’s not communicated properly.
Over time, many retainers also grow without being redefined. What started as basic maintenance slowly becomes the place where small fixes, content changes, quick questions, and improvements all land. Without clear boundaries, it becomes difficult for both sides to explain what the retainer really covers.
Reporting is often the final weak link. When it’s treated as an admin task rather than part of the service, it either becomes overly technical, overly vague, is time-consuming, or is something that nobody really reads.
What you should always know about your retainer
If you’re paying for ongoing support, you should always be able to explain, in simple terms, what’s included, what isn’t, what’s been done recently, and what’s coming next. You shouldn’t have to dig through emails or ask repeatedly to get that information.
You should also have an easy way to see where time is going. Not in a micro-managed way, but enough to understand what’s been prioritised and why. If those answers aren’t obvious, it doesn’t mean the agency isn’t doing their job. Often the work is happening, but the structure and communication around it has drifted. That’s when reporting needs to do more of the heavy lifting, making the support visible and keeping everyone aligned on what the retainer is actually there to achieve.
What good reporting actually looks like
Good reporting isn’t about showing off or proving how busy an agency has been. It’s about clarity and context.
A useful report can be read in a couple of minutes and gives you a clear picture of what’s happened, where time or budget has gone, whether anything needs attention, and what’s planned next. It explains why work matters, not just what was done. Furthermore, it shouldn’t take up significant time each month – that is time that could be put into more support.
If you finish reading a report and still feel unsure about it or have any questions about what was done or why, the report hasn’t done its job.
Why clarity matters for both sides
When a retainer is structured, clear and well reported, everyone benefits. Clients feel reassured that they will be prioritised and also feel informed and confident, rather than hesitant to ask questions. Agencies can plan properly, prioritise work, and spend less time reacting to ad hoc requests.
It also creates a healthier rhythm. Planned improvements don’t get swallowed up by reactive support, and decisions are made with a shared understanding of trade-offs and priorities.
A retainer works best when it’s treated as a shared plan, not just a monthly invoice.
A simple test
There’s a very simple way to sense-check a retainer.
If the retainer stopped tomorrow, would you feel confident that you would know what would no longer be happening?
If the answer is no, then that needs to be addressed.
Our approach to retainers
We feel quite strongly about retainers because we’ve seen how quickly they can become unclear, and how frustration can build, sometimes leading to resentment. We’ve taken over websites from other agencies where distrust has built to the point of fear that an agency could retaliate for the client simply deciding to move on.
Sometimes there is a natural end to a relationship and this happens. However, it’s important to be open, amicable and professional.
For us, ongoing support should always feel transparent. Clients should know what they’re paying for, be able to see what’s been done, and understand what’s coming next without needing to chase or guess.
That’s the standard we work to, and it’s what we encourage clients to expect from any agency they work with.
If you’re on a retainer that feels fuzzy or hard to measure, it’s worth revisiting. You should never feel uncomfortable asking what you’re getting from something you’re paying for every month.
