Web Design and Development ContractsWebsites come in all shapes and sizes, from one page pure HTML/CSS brochure sites that can be produced and published in minutes, to hugely complex software and database driven web applications that may take years to plan, develop and implement.
All commercial web design and development projects should be the subject of some form of written agreement. The agreement that you choose should reflect the complexity of the project and the amount of money and risk involved, as well as business models of the developer and customer.
A typical web design and development agreement will cover some or all of the following issues. - The design and development process: how is the website specified? Will the developer be required to meet a specific timetable and completion date? Will flexibility be built into the process, taking account of specification changes and/or unforeseen technical challenges? Will agile development methodologies be employed? Can the developer sub-contract any of the development work?
- The customer's obligations: must the customer provide any content or indeed code for the website? If so, precisely what must be provided and when? Is the customer free to provide additional content for incorporation into the website? Will the supply of additional content entail the payment of additional charges? Where the performance of the developer's obligations is dependant upon the customer providing materials or co-operation in a timely fashion, what happens if the materials or co-operation is not so provided.
- Delivery and acceptance: in what form will the website be delivered to the customer? For example, will the source code for all software elements of the site be provided to the customer? Will the developer fully test the website before delivery to the customer? Must the customer then perform its own acceptance tests on the website? What are the consequences of a failure to pass the acceptance tests? What are the consequences of success?
- Intellectual property rights: how will the copyright and other intellectual property rights in the website be treated? Will they be assigned to the customer? Will they be licensed to the customer? Could there be a mixed assignment and licence? And what about third party rights (including rights under open source licences)?
- Warranties: will the developer given any warranties that the website will not infringe others' intellectual property rights? Will any guarantees be given concerning the operation of the site and the presence of defects? Who will be responsible for ensuring the site is legally compliant? And what limitations will be placed upon the scope of the warranties?
These are just some of the issues that need to be a dealt with in a typical web development and design agreement.
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