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 (customer/client), are hiring me (Eight Deuce/Randy Johnson) to design and develop a website, for the total price we have agreed upon, as outlined in our previous correspondence and on the invoice.
Of course it’s a little more complicated, but I’ll get to that.
What do both parties agree to?
You: You have the authority to enter into this contract on behalf of yourself, your company, or your organization. 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 my work, provide feedback & 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.
Me: 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 do what it takes to meet every deadline that’s set and on top of that, I’ll maintain the confidentiality of everything you give me.
Getting down to the nitty gritty…
Design.
I create look-and-feel designs, and flexible layouts that adapt to the capabilities of many devices and screen sizes. I create user-friendly, responsive sites with WordPress and customize them predominantly with HTML and CSS. Using this approach keeps me from wasting time mocking up every template as a static visual. I may use visuals to indicate a creative direction (color, texture, white space, and typography).
You’ll have plenty of opportunities to review my work and provide feedback. I’ll send you a private link to the test/development site where you can see my progress, and we’ll have regular contact about the site.
If, at any stage, you change your mind about what you want to be delivered and are not happy with the direction my work is taking, you’ll pay me in full for the time I’ve spent working with you until that point and terminate this contract. This will be based on my hourly rate that we agreed upon. A new invoice can then be created for the next project.
Text content.
I will copy/paste your content from your old site or the content you send me. I can make edits as needed, if needed. I will also show you how to make basic changes like this after the site is live, so you’ll be able to handle text changes going forward.
Graphics and photographs.
You will supply all graphic files. You should supply photographs in a high-resolution digital format if possible. If you choose to buy stock photographs, I can suggest stock libraries. If you’d like me to search for photographs for you, I can provide a separate estimate for that. If you need a photographer to do a shoot for you (products, building, action shots, staff, etc), I can provide an estimate for this as well. Yup, I shoot photos too.
HTML, CSS, & JavaScript.
I deliver web page types developed from HTML markup, CSS stylesheets for styling, and unobtrusive JavaScript for feature detection and behaviors. If you need a custom application built, I can hire an excellent developer to assist. My main area of focus is starting with a framework that has the layout and functionality that you’re wanting, and then I use my design skills to give it the look and feel you’re going for.
Browser testing.
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.
I test my work in current versions of major desktop browsers including those made by Mozilla (Firefox), Google (Chrome), and Apple (iOS Safari). I won’t test in other/older browsers unless we agreed separately. In most cases, the site will work just fine in all browsers, but it’s impossible to build the perfect site that works in every possible scenario today, tomorrow, next week, and 5 years from now. If you ever notice something not displaying correctly in one place, but it looks fine elsewhere, let me know and I can address that for you.
Mobile browser testing.
I test all of my sites using whatever current mobile device I own. It will always be an Apple/iOS device, and currently it is an iPhone 6. If needed, I can also test with a Samsung/Android device. I will occasionally use my iPad to test as well.
I won’t test in Blackberry, Opera Mini/Mobile, or other mobile browsers unless we agreed separately. If there’s a reason that you need me to make sure the site is working perfecting in a browser/device like one of these less popular choices, let me know.
Technical support.
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 can send you an estimate for setting up an account at one of my preferred hosting providers. I can set up your site on a server, plus any statistics software such as Google Analytics and I can provide a separate estimate for all of that. Then, the updates to, and management of that server will be up to you. If there’s an issue with the hosting company, it’s usually something simple. I can always look into it, but most of the time, the best approach is contacting the hosting company through their live chat. That’s what I end up doing most of the time. You are paying for their support, and they do an excellent job at it.
Search engine optimization (SEO).
I don’t guarantee improvements to your website’s search engine ranking, but the web pages that I develop are accessible to search engines and usually they will start to rank higher with the new site I create for you. There are several things that can help increase your search position, and I can talk to you about those things.
Changes and revisions.
I don’t want to limit your ability to change your mind. The price on the estimate/invoice is based on the number of weeks that I estimate I’ll need to accomplish everything you’ve told me you want to achieve, but I’m happy to be flexible. If you want to change your mind or add anything new, that won’t be a problem as I’ll provide a separate estimate for those additional weeks.
Legal stuff.
I’ll carry out my work in accordance with good industry practice and at the standard expected from a suitably qualified person with relevant experience.
That said, 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.
Your liability to me will also be limited to the amount of fees payable under this contract and you won’t be liable to me or any third-party for damages, including lost profits, lost savings, or other incidental, consequential, or special damages, even if I’ve advised you 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.
Phew.
Intellectual property rights.
Just to be clear, “intellectual property rights” means all patents, rights to inventions, copyright (including rights in software) & related rights, trademarks, service marks, 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) & 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.
First, you guarantee that all elements of text, images, or other artwork you provide are either owned by you, or that you have permission to use them. When you provide text, images, or other artwork to me, you agree to protect me from any claim by a third party that I’m using their intellectual property.
I guarantee that all elements of the work I deliver to you are either owned by me or I’ve obtained permission to provide them to you. When I provide text, images, or other artwork to you, I 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, I’ll assign all intellectual property rights to you as follows:
You’ll own the website I design for you plus the visual elements that I create for it. I’ll give you source files and finished files and you should keep them somewhere safe as I’m not required to keep a copy. You own all intellectual property rights of text, images, site specification & data you provided, unless someone else owns them.
I’ll own any intellectual property rights I’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.
Displaying my work.
I love to show off my work, so I reserve the right to display all aspects of my creative work, including sketches, work-in-progress designs, and the completed project in my portfolio, and in articles on websites, in magazine articles, and in books.
Payment schedule.
I’m sure you understand how important it is as a small business that you pay the invoices that I send you promptly. As I’m also sure you’ll want to stay friends, you agree to stick tight to the following payment schedule.
I issue invoices electronically. All invoices are due upon receipt, unless otherwise noted/discussed. For website deposits, I must receive the deposit before I begin any work. Typically this is 20% of the total invoice. The remaining balance is due in full before making the new website live. You can make payments via my invoice link online with PayPal or credit card. You may also pay with check or cash. All estimates and invoices are in US dollars.
But where’s all the horrible small print?
Just like a parking ticket, neither of us can transfer this contract to anyone else without the other person’s permission.
We both agree that we’ll adhere to all relevant laws and regulations in relation to our activities under this contract and not cause the other to breach any relevant laws or regulations.
This contract stays in place and need not be renewed. If for some reason one part of this contract becomes invalid or unenforceable, the remaining parts of it remain in place.
Although the language is simple, the intentions are serious and this contract is a legal document under exclusive jurisdiction of US courts.
By sending the payment for a job or project (whether paying a deposit, paying in full, or paying on an hourly basis), you are adhering to these terms and agree to everything in this digital contract.
Thanks for this opportunity and I look forward to having you as a client! -Randy
[last updated: 3.6.17]