Performance Retainer

Defined scope. Monthly rhythm. The work stays done.

After an overhaul, a store is clean. Six months later there are 18 apps again — not because anyone made a bad decision, but because there was no checkpoint. The performance retainer is the checkpoint.

Let's talk about a retainer →

FROM $1,000/MONTH — Rate scoped after the baseline audit. Confirmed before work begins.

What the retainer covers.

Ongoing work, defined scope. Every engagement month includes the following.

  • Monthly app stack reviewWhat's accumulating, what can go, and what's creating performance risk.
  • Core Web Vitals monitoring and regression alertsLCP, TBT, and CLS tracked monthly. I flag regressions before they affect revenue.
  • Native architecture support — Liquid, Metaobjects, FunctionsOngoing builds and replacements using Shopify’s own platform features, not new subscriptions.
  • Priority access for urgent interventionsWhen something breaks or a deadline moves, your work goes to the front of the queue.
  • AI-generated code reviewShopify’s own tools generate sections fast without architectural context. I audit what they added each quarter before it compounds.

How the engagement runs.

Every retainer begins with a baseline measurement. What happens after is consistent and predictable.

  1. Month 1

    Baseline audit

    Script inventory, app map, LCP trace confirmed. Starting measurement locked in before any changes are made.

  2. Months 2–3

    Removal and replacement

    Ghost code elimination. Native replacements for the highest-value apps. Performance re-measured after each change.

  3. Quarterly

    Monitoring, maintenance, and AI code review

    Findings report. Regression alerts. Priority queue for new interventions. Core Web Vitals tracked every month. AI-generated code audited every quarter.

Verified result
BEFORE 37.3s
AFTER 1.5s

Ghost scripts from 5 uninstalled apps removed. 194 HTTP requests eliminated. Fully loaded time: 37.3s → 1.5s. GTmetrix verified, April–June 2020. This is what the retainer prevents from recurring.

SideTrak.com — DTC accessories, Shopify Plus

The cleanup holds when there’s a checkpoint.

If your store has been through a cleanup or migration and you want to keep the performance from drifting, this is the conversation to have. The retainer is scoped per store — I won't propose a rate until I know what's actually in the stack.

Let’s talk about a retainer →