Based on Contract Killer, an open-source contract for web developers.
I’ll always do my best to fulfill your needs and meet your expectations, but it’s important to have things written down so that we both know what’s what, who should do what and when, and what will happen if something goes wrong. In this contract you won’t find any complicated legal terms or long passages of unreadable text. I have no desire to trick you into signing something that you might later regret. What I do want is what’s best for both parties, now and in the future.
So in short;
You ([CLIENT COMPANY]), located at [CLIENT ADDRESS] are hiring me ([DEVELOPER]) located at [DEVELOPER ADDRESS] to design and develop a web site for the estimated total price of [QUOTE] as outlined in our previous correspondence.
You: You have the authority to enter into this contract on behalf of yourself, your company or your organisation. You’ll give me the assets and information I tell you I need to complete the project. You’ll do this when I ask and provide it in the formats I ask for. You’ll review mo work, provide feedback and approval in a timely manner too. Deadlines work two ways, so you’ll also be bound by dates we set together. You also agree to stick to the payment schedule set out at the end of this contract.
Us: I have the experience and ability to do everything I’ve agreed with you and I’ll do it all in a professional and timely manner. I’ll endeavour to meet every deadline that’s set and on top of that I'll maintain the confidentiality of everything you give me.
I create and maintain websites with flexible layouts that adapt to the capabilities of many devices and screen sizes. I strive to use open source software, standing on the shoulders of giants rather than reinventing the wheel. The code that I write adheres to modern best practices, is readable, maintainable, and has lots of comments so that other developers should be able to jump right in.
During development, if you need, I can create a testing version of your site, hidden from search engines, so you can see the site as it comes together.
Being in contact is very important. We both agree to reply to each other's communications in a timely manner, and we also agree to respect each other's time and adhere to basic email etiquette.
You’ll have plenty of opportunities to review my work and provide feedback. I'll post frequent updates via git and/or chosen project management system and we will engage in regular, possible daily contact.
I'm not responsible for writing or inputting any text into the site. It is outside the scope of this agreement.
You should supply graphic files in an editable, vector digital format. You should supply photographs in a high resolution digital format. If you choose to buy stock photographs, I can suggest stock libraries. I can search for photographs for you create new graphics, or even take photos for you, but it is outside the scope of this agreement and we would need to discuss it first.
Browser testing no longer means attempting to make a website look the same in browsers of different capabilities or on devices with different size screens. It does mean ensuring that a person’s experience of a design should be appropriate to the capabilities of a browser or device.
This means that your site will work in older browsers, but it certainly won't look the same as it does on an iPad or a modern web browser.
I test my work in current versions of major desktop browsers including those made by Apple (Safari), Google (Chrome), Microsoft (Internet Explorer), and Mozilla (Firefox). We’ll also test to ensure Microsoft Internet Explorer 11 for Windows users get an appropriate, possibly different, experience.
I won’t test in other older browsers unless you specify otherwise. I can provide an enhanced design for an older browser, but it is outside the scope of this agreement and we would need to discuss it first.
Testing popular small-screen devices is essential in ensuring that a person’s experience of a design is appropriate to the capabilities of the device they’re using. I test my work in: iOS: Safari, Google Chrome. I do not own an Android testing device.
I currently don’t test Android, Blackberry, Opera Mini/Mobile, Windows Phone or other mobile browsers. I can test using these, but it is outside the scope of this agreement and we would need to discuss it first.
While I welcome suggestion and input, I must approve the inclusion of other developers, graphic designers, graphic artists, writers, SEO specialists, or anyone else involved in the project and may choose to include others at my discretion. In addition I have the freedom to choose which development products and services are used in the creation of the website.
I'm not a website hosting company so I don’t offer support for website hosting, email or other services relating to hosting. You may already have professional hosting and you might even manage that hosting in-house; if you do, great. If you don’t, I will recommend one of my preferred hosting providers. I can set up your site on a server, plus any statistics software such as Google Analytics and will provide a separate estimate for that. Then, the updates to, and management of that server will be up to you.
Often times in the course of development I will need to use some software isn't free. If I need to purchase software for use on your site, you can either purchase it yourself and send me the software and license key. Or I can purchase it, add it to your invoice, and send you the license key for your records. It's up to you.
Just to be clear, “Intellectual property rights” means all patents, rights to inventions, copyright (including rights in software) and related rights, trademarks, service marks, get up and trade names, internet domain names, rights to goodwill or to sue for passing off, rights in designs, database rights, rights in confidential information (including know-how) and any other intellectual property rights, in each case whether registered or unregistered and including all applications (or rights to apply) for, and renewals or extensions of, such rights and all similar or equivalent rights or forms of protection which subsist or shall subsist now or in the future in any part of the world.
Phew.
First, you guarantee that all elements of text, images or other artwork you provide are either owned by your good selves, or that you’ve permission to use them. When you provide text, images or other artwork to us, you agree to protect us from any claim by a third party that we’re using their intellectual property.
We guarantee that all elements of the work we deliver to you are either owned by us or we’ve obtained permission to provide them to you. When we provide text, images or other artwork to you, we agree to protect you from any claim by a third party that you’re using their intellectual property. Provided you’ve paid for the work and that this contract hasn’t been terminated, we’ll assign all intellectual property rights to you as follows:
You’ll own the website we design for you plus the visual elements that we create for it. We’ll give you source files and finished files and you should keep them somewhere safe as we’re not required to keep a copy. You own all intellectual property rights of text, images, site specification and data you provided, unless someone else owns them.
I’ll own any intellectual property rights we’ve developed prior to, or developed separately from this project and not paid for by you. I’ll own the unique combination of these elements that constitutes a complete design and I’ll license its use to you, exclusively and in perpetuity for this project only, unless we agree otherwise.
I'm sure you understand how important it is that you promptly pay the invoices that I send. Invoices are due 15 days after receipt. You agree to stick to the following payment schedule:
- 50% of estimate paid before work starts
- Remainder of estimate paid after the project is considered 'feature-complete'
You agree to pay a monthly late payment fee equal to 15% of the unpaid balance for invoices that are over 30 days late.
If, at any stage, you’re not happy with the direction my work is taking, all you need to do is submit notice via email and I will consider this contract to be cancelled.
If I decide that I'm no longer able to work on this project, I'll provide you with everything I've created up to that point.
Any unpaid work that I've completed will be my own loss, but you won't be entitled to a refund on payments you've already made.
Just like a parking ticket, you can’t transfer this contract to anyone else without my permission. This contract stays in place and need not be renewed.
I can’t guarantee that my work will be error-free and so I can’t be liable to you or any third-party for damages, including lost profits, lost savings or other incidental, consequential or special damages, even if you’ve advised me of them.
Finally, if any provision of this contract shall be unlawful, void, or for any reason unenforceable, then that provision shall be deemed severable from this contract and shall not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining provisions.
Although the language is simple, the intentions are serious and this contract is a legal document under exclusive jurisdiction of California courts in the United States of America.
Signed by and on behalf of [DEVELOPER] ……………………………………………………
Signed by and on behalf of [CUSTOMER NAME] ……………………………………………………
Date [date]
Everyone should sign above and keep a copy for their records.