Website design contract template

Website design contract

Starting text for counsel. Replace every bracket. Do not ask anyone to sign until a lawyer has adapted this text to the parties and to the law that will govern it.

This website design contract is made on [Effective date] between [Studio legal name], of [Studio address] ("Studio"), and [Client legal name], of [Client address] ("Client"). The Studio will design and build the pages listed below. Hosting, the domain, and advertising accounts stay with the Client unless a sentence below puts them in the fee.

1. Pages and content

The fee includes the pages or templates listed at [Page list]. A new page is a change. The Client writes the words and supplies the images, unless [Content duty] says the Studio will write or source them. The Studio does not invent claims about the Client's product. The Client is responsible for the truth of the words it approves. Stock licenses, if the Studio buys them, are listed at [Stock] and billed as stated there.

2. What the Client supplies

The Client delivers logos, copy, brand files, and access by [Materials date]. If the Client is late, the launch date moves by at least the same number of days. The Studio may pause if the missing material blocks the work. Access means the accounts named at [Access], shared in a way the Client can revoke. The Studio does not keep the only login.

3. Browsers and launch

The site is ready when it meets the checks at [Launch checks] in the browsers listed at [Browsers]. Launch is a decision the Client confirms in writing. The Studio uploads the site to the Client's host, or hands the files over, on [Launch date] or on the moved date. Search rankings, ad results, and traffic are not part of the fee. If the Client is paying for a specific accessibility check, that check is written at [Accessibility checks] and nowhere else.

4. Hosting is separate

The Client owns the domain and the host account, registered in the Client's name, unless [Hosting in fee] says the Studio will pay a named host for a named period. Even then, the Client is an admin. The Studio is not the registrar of last resort. Email accounts and analytics stay with the Client. After handover, the Client pays the host's invoices.

5. Handover and revisions

At the end the Studio delivers [Handover list], including the files and a short note on how to edit. The fee includes [Revision rounds] rounds of revision on the approved direction. A new direction is a change at [Extra rate]. On full payment the Client receives [Ownership grant] in the final design created for this contract. The Studio keeps preexisting tools listed at [Preexisting tools].

6. Fees and law

The Client pays [Fee] in [Currency], with [Deposit] before work starts and the balance [Balance timing]. The laws of [Governing law] govern this text. The parties name the courts of [Courts]. Either party may end the contract with [Notice days] days of notice, and the Client pays for work done through that date.

7. Tools and renewals

The Studio may use the tools listed at [Tools] to design and build. Fonts and stock stay under their own licenses. A component the Studio adds to the Client's site is named, with who pays the renewal, at [Renewals]. The Studio does not leave a paid tool charging the Client without saying so in that list. Analytics and advertising tags are added only if [Tags] lists them. The Client can remove a tag after handover.

8. Review meetings

The fee includes [Review meetings] review meetings. The Client sends one set of comments after each meeting. Comments that contradict the approved page list are a change at the extra rate. The Studio records what was approved at [Approval note]. Later work follows that note. A chat message does not replace it unless counsel writes that chat is enough. A meeting the Client misses still uses one included meeting if the Studio attended and sent the note.

9. Delay

If the Client is late with copy, images, or access, the launch date moves by at least the same number of days. The Studio gives one written notice of what is missing and may pause after that notice. Fees already earned are not refunded because a launch slipped for lack of Client materials. If the Studio is late for a reason other than the Client's delay or a signed change, counsel writes the Client's remedy at [Studio delay]. That remedy is not a promise of search rankings. The Studio may show the launched site after [Portfolio delay] days unless [Credit rule] forbids it. Rejected layouts stay private. The Studio does not promise that the Client's host will stay online.

Signatures

Studio

Name: [Studio signatory name]

Title: [Studio signatory title]

Signature: ______________________________

Date: [Studio signature date]

Client

Name: [Client signatory name]

Title: [Client signatory title]

Signature: ______________________________

Date: [Client signature date]