Which Web Design Agreement?These web design agreements are suitable for use by web designers whose work does not involve significant amounts of software or database development. (See our web development agreements template range for contracts involving software/database development.)
Each of these three documents is in traditional agreement form: the parties names are at the top and they sign the agreement at the bottom. If you are looking for a terms and conditions type template, see: web design terms and conditions.
The three different web design agreements are very similar in substance. The differences lies in the bias of the documents. The balanced document is even-handed between the interests of the parties, while the pro-designer and pro-customer documents favour one party over the other. The balanced document is the most flexible of the three.
If you are looking for a document that will cover other web-related services, in addition to design and development, then please see our web services agreements.
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Web Design Agreements: Key ClausesThe Services
The services clause of the web design agreements briefly outlines the services that will be supplied by the designer to the customer. In addition to designing, creating and delivering the website, the designer may have obligations to incorporate content into the website, consult with the customer or keep the customer informed of progress, and provide the customer with some form of access to the website during the course of the design project.
One question that will need to be answered is whether the designer is committed to delivering the website to the customer by a specified date.
Customer obligations
Most web design projects involve at least some input from the customer between the agreement of the design specification and the delivery of the website to the customer.
The web design agreements include general obligations upon the customer to co-operate with the designer and to provide such documentation and information as may be need by the designer to complete the project. Another customer obligation that you may wish to include in your agreement is making the customer responsible for securing any third party co-operation that is required during the project (e.g. from the customer's third party hosting company or marketing agency).
Delivery and acceptance
The delivery and acceptance section governs such issues as the date by which the website must be delivered to the customer, the necessity (or otherwise) of the customer carrying out acceptance tests to determine whether the website operates as it should, the procedure to follow in the event that the website passes the acceptance tests, and the procedure to follow in the event that it does not.
Where the website fails the acceptance tests, the clause may include a remedial period during which the designer must fix the problems.
Third Party Works
Few websites are entirely the work of a single designer. Even the simplest website might include elements - such as stock photographs and contact form scripts - the copyright in which is owned neither by the designer nor the customer.
The web design agreement should establish the basis upon which such third party works are to be used by the customer. The designer cannot assign the rights in those works to the customer (the designer does not own the rights) but may be able to secure a direct licence for the customer to use the works, or alternatively may be able to sub-license the customer to use the works.
Intellectual Property Rights
You will need to decide whether the rights in the website are to be assigned or licensed to the customer. The different web design agreements take different approaches to this question. See the individual product descriptions for more information.
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