Is It Out of Scope? — SEO & marketing
Is adding dark mode support out of scope for an SEO retainer?
Yes. Theme design and implementation has no connection to search strategy.
A rare ask, occasionally showing up when a client bundles every website-related request to whoever they're already paying, regardless of what that team actually does.
Is it out of scope?
Yes. Designing and building a second theme is design and development work, with no connection to keyword strategy, content, or technical SEO.
Clause typically implicated
Clause typically implicated
Exclusions clause→ — Theme design and implementation is excluded work on an SEO retainer regardless of framing.
Example contract wording
Example contract wording (illustrative, not legal advice)
Adding dark mode is design and dev work, outside this retainer — I'd recommend looping in whoever handles your site's design and build.
How MarginFlow flags it
MarginFlow flags dark-mode requests outside_scope on SEO contracts, keeping retainer time on search deliverables rather than unrelated visual work.