A senior partner for the life of your website
A website is not a launch event — it is a system that needs to keep working, keep improving, and keep up with the business behind it. A retainer gives you reserved access to senior expertise from someone who already knows your solution, without the commitment or cost of a full-time hire.
Mine is an unusual umbrella: one retainer can cover development and Umbraco maintenance, technical SEO upkeep, and email marketing operations — because I do all three myself. Fewer vendors, fewer handovers, one person accountable.
Most of my client relationships run for more than a year; the longest have run for over five. I take that as a sign the model works.
What a retainer can cover
Maintenance & upgrades
Umbraco and .NET version upgrades, security patches, package compatibility, backups and monitoring hygiene. With Umbraco 13 reaching end of life in late 2026, a maintained upgrade path is not optional — it is the core of responsible ownership.
Continuous development
New features, integrations and improvements delivered month by month from your backlog — without re-negotiating scope for every change. Ideas become deployments while the context is still fresh.
Emergency support
When production breaks, retainer clients go to the front of the queue. I stabilize first and root-cause after — and because I already know your system, the diagnosis starts at minute one, not after a day of onboarding.
SEO & email upkeep
The same retainer can hold the marketing machinery together: crawl health, Core Web Vitals and structured data on the SEO side, lifecycle flows, segmentation and campaign logic on the email side. Marketing systems decay quietly — maintenance is what keeps them earning.
Sites I did not build
Taking over an existing solution is normal, not an exception. A structured review and documentation pass first, then ongoing care — see how I take over Umbraco sites.
How retainers work
From 5 hours per month
Reserved senior time at a discounted rate compared to ad-hoc work — scheduled tasks, on-demand requests, or a mix. Scale up for larger months, and we agree terms that stay fair in both directions.
Direct and documented
You talk to the person doing the work. Decisions and changes are documented where they matter, so the solution never depends on memory — mine or yours.
An honest fit-check first
If your site genuinely needs only a few hours per year, ad-hoc work is cheaper for you and I will say so. Retainers earn their keep when there is a steady stream of maintenance, improvements or marketing operations — which, for most commercial websites, there is.
Frequently Asked Questions
Retainers start at 5 hours per month. I deliberately keep the terms flexible — the goal is an arrangement that stays fair for both sides, not a lock-in. Many clients start with a small retainer after a first fixed-scope project and grow it as trust builds.
Retainer clients get priority response. The order of operations is always: stabilize first, find the root cause after, and document what happened so it does not repeat. Because I already know your system, diagnosis starts immediately instead of after a day of code archaeology.
Yes — that is one of the most common ways a retainer starts. First a structured review of the code, infrastructure and content setup with a documentation pass, then ongoing care. No reflexive rebuild recommendations; the job is to make what you own work well.
Yes. The same hours can go to technical SEO upkeep, email and lifecycle flows, tracking, integrations or campaign-related development. That is the point of the umbrella: development and marketing operations from one person, one context, one invoice.
Predictability in both directions: you get reserved senior time at a discounted rate and faster response; I can plan capacity. Just as important, context accumulates — the tenth month of a retainer is far more productive than the tenth ad-hoc request. And when ad-hoc genuinely fits you better, I will tell you.
Core knowledge
Being a blend of an IT developer and a marketer, I believe it's my holistic approach to IT and business needs that sets me apart from most other developers. Given my programming skills, my jobs have always been quite heavy on the technical side, such as data mining, enrichment, and tons and tons of API implementations.
One notable advantage of my diverse skillset is my ability to seamlessly translate complex information between management, marketing, and IT teams. This dual proficiency streamlines communication and enhances collaboration across diverse teams.
A brief summary of my core knowledge:
Specializing in Microsoft technologies - C#.Net, MS SQL, etc
Strong technical knowledge
Retention marketing strategy, with a special focus on email marketing
Strong commercial understanding, weighing cost vs quality
Automation of marketing, processes, etc
Data integrations, data mining, and profiling
Brainstorming of new functionality as well as the implementation of such
Let’s discuss your project
Need help with web development, Umbraco CMS, SEO, performance, or technical improvements to an existing website? Send a message using the form below, and we can have a virtual coffee to discuss your needs and the best way forward.