Working with 4Site
Retainer Services
4Site support retainers provide ongoing access to strategy, design, and development teams under a single, predictable engagement. Retainers are 4Site's preferred way to partner with nonprofits because they create continuity, reduce overhead, and allow for rapid response as priorities shift.
Included Services
Support retainers cover both planned work and the day-to-day needs that come with running complex digital systems. This includes:
- Dedicated Project Manager and Strategist who oversee planning, coordination, and delivery
- Monthly planning and check-in calls to review progress, priorities, and upcoming work
- Weekly written updates summarizing work completed, in progress, and planned — including visibility into hours used
- Regular recurring tasks such as CMS updates, CRM maintenance, and design or performance reviews
- Website and CRM uptime monitoring
- Real-time CRM error monitoring and reporting
- Monthly ENgrid core updates — pulling in the latest upstream ENgrid Scripts changes, staging for your QA, and deploying approved updates
- Bug fixes and issue resolution for your ENgrid pages and integrations
- Content editor support for questions about the page builder, helper classes, and ENgrid features
- Minor enhancements and feature requests delivered within your retainer hours
Retainer Benefits
Retainers are structured to give you flexibility while ensuring consistent access to a senior team that knows your system.
- Priority scheduling — Retainer clients receive first priority for scheduling work
- Discounted hourly rate — Retainers include the most discounted hourly rate available, and that same rate applies to any additional project work contracted while under a retainer
- Free or reduced-cost access to select 4Site-built Engaging Networks services and WordPress plugins
- Flexible use of hours within each quarter — unused hours can be banked and used at any point within the same calendar quarter
- Floater hours to absorb unexpected or time-sensitive needs without renegotiation
- Team continuity — Your dedicated team builds institutional knowledge of your setup, goals, and workflows over time
Retainer Structure
To balance flexibility with accountability, retainers are structured with the following guardrails:
Check-ins
One to two scheduled monthly check-ins to review progress, align on priorities, and adjust plans as needed.
Flexible Hours
A set number of hours are reserved each month. Unused hours may be banked and used at any point within the same calendar quarter.
Floater Hours
Ten percent of the annual hours are reserved as floater hours that can be used at any time during the year for unplanned or urgent needs — no renegotiation required.
Urgent Work
Work flagged as urgent with immediate turnaround draws against retainer hours at a premium rate. This ensures fast response when you need it most while maintaining fair resource allocation.
What Retainers Cover
Retainers provide access to all of 4Site's services across strategy, design, and development. Common retainer activities include:
| Category | Examples |
|---|---|
| Strategy | Conversion optimization recommendations, A/B test planning, campaign strategy |
| Design | Page template design updates, new campaign page designs, email template design |
| Development | ENgrid theme updates, custom feature development, bug fixes, integration work |
| Analytics | GTM/GA4 setup, custom reporting, troubleshooting, GDPR compliance |
| Training | Staff onboarding, feature walkthroughs, documentation |
| Operations | CRM monitoring, uptime monitoring, CMS updates |
Getting Started
If you are interested in learning more about retainer engagements or would like to discuss a retainer tailored to your organization's needs, contact 4Site Studios.
Already on a retainer?
If you are an existing retainer client, reach out to your dedicated project manager with any questions about your retainer scope or hours.