Builder Platform Exit and Client Portability Drill (Retention)

Builder Platform Exit and Client Portability Drill (Retention)

1. 01

   Inventory every client site against the builder it currently lives on

   Record platform, plan tier, custom domain registrar, DNS host, and whether the site uses platform-locked CMS collections or e-commerce catalogs. Flag any site where the client, not the agency, holds the billing account.

2. 02

   Test one full export on a low-risk client site before renewal season

   Pull the static export or CMS content dump and confirm images, fonts, and form logic survive. A builder that exports clean HTML but drops form handlers is a delivery liability at handoff.

3. 03

   Document what cannot leave the platform

   List locked assets such as native scheduling widgets, membership gates, or AI-generated copy stored only in the editor. Price the rebuild cost for each so the retainer conversation is grounded in numbers, not reassurance.

4. 04

   Confirm who controls the meter, the gate, and the dispute path

   Forrester's November 2026 research flags vendors that set usage limits, control feature access, and arbitrate their own disputes. Map that overlap for each builder in the stack and note which relationships carry renewal risk.

5. 05

   Run a portability clause into the next retainer renewal

   State that the agency owns exported content and design files, and that migration support is a billable line item rather than an implied favor. Clients who plan to self-serve eventually will respect a clear boundary more than a vague promise.

6. 06

   Rehearse the bypass scenario with the client's own team

   Walk the client through what a self-built site would cost them in time and quality. The category's core risk is clients using the same drag-and-drop tools directly, so name it before they discover it on their own.

7. 07

   Schedule a quarterly portability review on the account calendar

   Tie it to the same cadence as reporting so migration readiness is treated as account hygiene, not a crisis response. Rotate the review across the portfolio so no single site goes more than one quarter unchecked.