Website Design Contract

Whether you are a designer or client hiring one, agreeing to terms in writing is a must to avoid confusion and problems. This means entering a website design contract for the project.

A website design contract is a written document that sets out the terms of the agreement between the designer and customer. That sounds like a rather obvious statement, but the devil is in the details. The real value of these contracts is in setting forth an outline of the project so both parties know what they are expected to do at what time and how payments will be handled. 

The classic element of the contract is the milestone. A milestone sets forth what must be accomplished by what time, how it will be judged and the amount of payment that will be made at that time. Let's assume I hire you to design a site for me that consist of a home page, an information section and a store full of my products. The first milestone might call for the basic design of a page of the site with graphics to be completed in 14 days. I would then have two days to review the design and request any changes. The designer would then have three days to make the changes. Once made, I would have a day to approve. If I did, then a certain payment amount would be made to the designer and things would proceed to the second milestone. 

This process works well because it keeps projects moving along and tends to nip any problems in the bud. Obviously, the terms in the example above are all negotiable. 

Designers are often hesitant to enter website design contracts. There seems to be a fear that they are committing to something that could harm them. In fact, designers should love these agreements. Why? The answer is simple – money. If you are a designer, how hard is it to get paid on your jobs? While you may have plenty of good customers, you undoubtedly have some very bad ones. By setting up payments at milestones, your customers don't get the chance to get behind. If they don't pay, you stop working until they do.

The website design contract is a must for customers hiring designers. Why? One of the biggest complaints with website projects is how long it takes designers to finish the job. There are professional companies out there that do it on time, but there are plenty that take their sweet time. Such delays can be a disaster for business trying to get their sites up and running. By including items like milestones in these contracts, you quickly find out how quickly the designer can really do the work versus what they say when trying to get your business. Put another way, this is an effective way to weed out the flakes. 

Whether you are a designer or business looking for one, the website design contract is must in any project you enter into. Contact me today to learn more and obtain representation in negotiating yours.