Running Umbraco 13? Security support ends 14 December. Fixed-price upgrade to 17: £8,999 + VAT See how it works →
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Hosting, performance and support

What does an Umbraco retainer include?

The short answer

A reserved amount of Umbraco specialist time every month, plus the guarantees around it. Essentials at £500 a month reserves one day, Growth at £950 reserves two, Partner at £1,800 reserves four. The days are yours to direct: fixes, improvements, new features, content help, advice. Around the days sit the commitments that make it a retainer rather than a discount card: your work is prioritised, with the typical first fix inside 18 hours; security patches are applied within 48 hours of release; and the same team works on your site month after month, so knowledge accumulates instead of resetting with every ticket. Once a year we review your usage and move you down a tier if you are paying for more than you use.

Retainer means different things at different agencies, ranging from genuine partnership to a prepaid ticket queue. Here is precisely what ours includes, so you can compare like with like.

The reserved time

Each tier reserves days of specialist time monthly: one day on Essentials (£500), two on Growth (£950), four on Partner (£1,800). You direct the time. Some clients run a steady improvement backlog, some bank it for fast turnaround when marketing needs something, most do a mix. This is real development time from people who work in Umbraco all day, not account management hours dressed up as delivery.

The commitments around the time

What sits outside a retainer

Genuinely large projects, a redesign, a major integration, a version upgrade, are scoped and priced separately so they do not silently consume your support cover. The fixed price Umbraco 13 to 17 upgrade at £8,999 plus VAT is the clearest example. Hosting is also its own line, from £99 a month managed, though many clients bundle both with us so one supplier is accountable for everything. Full tier details are on the retainers and support page.

Find your retainer tier →