Small web agencies — two to ten people, a handful of developers, a mix of project and retainer work — have a specific relationship with tooling. You can't afford to spend a month evaluating and configuring a complex system. You need something that works on day one, doesn't require a dedicated administrator, and doesn't add overhead that eats into margins you're already managing carefully.
Bug tracking is one of those things that's clearly needed but often handled badly — email inboxes, Notion databases, shared spreadsheets — because the proper solution feels like overkill for a small team.
It doesn't have to be.
The Small Agency Bug Problem
At two to five people, everyone wears multiple hats. The developer who fixes bugs is often the same person managing client relationships, reviewing invoices, and handling support emails. Context switching is constant, and anything that adds to the administrative overhead is a genuine problem.
Small agencies typically see:
- Bugs arriving inconsistently — email, Slack, WhatsApp, occasionally a phone call — from different contacts at each client
- No central tracking — you know about bugs because they're in your head, not because there's a system
- Clients who don't hear back fast enough — not because you're ignoring them, but because email chains are hard to prioritise
- Things falling through the cracks at busy periods — a bug reported on a Friday before a project deadline that gets buried
The goal isn't an enterprise support desk. It's a simple system that means nothing gets lost, clients feel heard, and bugs arrive with enough context to fix quickly.
What Small Agencies Actually Need
The right bug tracking setup for a small agency is:
- Clients can submit without friction — no accounts, no training, no new tool to explain
- Reports arrive with context — browser, device, URL, and ideally a video — so you're not emailing back for clarification
- One view across all clients — not an inbox or a pile of Notion cards
- Clients can check status themselves — without emailing you to ask
That's it. You don't need SLA dashboards, enterprise SSO, or a dedicated support agent workflow.
How Lantern Works for Small Web Agencies
Simple setup. Add your clients, share their portal link, optionally install the widget in their CMS. Takes about five minutes per client. No training sessions required.
Widget in the WordPress or Umbraco admin. If your clients use WordPress or Umbraco, the WordPress plugin or Umbraco NuGet package adds a bug report button directly inside their admin — visible only to logged-in users. Clients find bugs in their CMS and report them without leaving.
Loom video instead of text descriptions. Clients record a short screen walkthrough. You see exactly what's wrong. No follow-up questions, no clarification back-and-forth.
All clients, one dashboard. Every open issue across every client in one view. Filter by urgency or client. See what's been open too long.
Clients see status. Each client has a portal showing their issues and current status. They stop emailing to ask if you've seen their report.
Which Plan?
Up to 5 clients: The Individual plan at £12.50/month with a 14-day free trial and no credit card required. Right for solo developers and very small agencies just starting to formalise their bug process.
More than 5 clients: The Team plan at £30/month for unlimited clients and team members. Flat fee — the price doesn't grow as your client list does.
No credit card required on the Individual plan.
Related: Bug tracking for freelancers · Bug tracking for website maintenance agencies
Simple bug tracking for agencies. No credit card required.