What should a website design contract include?
A website design contract should pin down the scope (which pages and features), how many revision rounds are included, who supplies the text and photos and by when, who owns the design and files once the work is paid for, which accounts are opened in your business's name, what you receive at handover, and what happens if the project stalls on either side. If ownership is missing from the draft, ask for it before signing.
Scope and revisions
List the pages and features by name, not "a website". Say how many rounds of revisions are included and what counts as extra work, so neither side is surprised later. A deadline for the designer is only fair when it is paired with dates for what you will deliver.
Content and access
Builds often stall waiting on the owner, not the designer, so the contract should say who supplies the text, the photos and the logins to anything the designer needs, and by when. The related answer on how long it takes to build a website covers why this is usually the slow part.
Ownership of the design and files
Under U.S. Copyright Office guidance, an outside designer who is not your employee ordinarily keeps the copyright in what they create; a written agreement assigning it to your business settles that, and paying the invoice is not enough on its own. The contract should assign the design, code and images to your business on final payment. The related answer on who owns the website a designer built explains the default rule. This is a plain summary, not legal advice.
The domain, the hosting and any website platform account should be opened in your business's name from day one, with the designer added as a user, not the other way around.
Handover, and what happens if it stalls
- What you receive at the end: the finished files or a full export, and every account handed over with its login.
- What each side can do if the other goes quiet: a way to pause, and your right to take the work finished so far.
- How the agreement ends: the notice required, and confirmation that nothing on the site works only while you remain a client.
Warning signs
Walk away from a contract that keeps the copyright or the domain with the designer, or that only licenses the site to you while you stay on a monthly plan. A designer who expects to be judged on the work does not need to hold the site itself. The related answer on what an SEO proposal should include covers the same test for marketing work.
Sources
Related answers
- Who owns the website a designer built for you?
- What should a good SEO proposal include?
- How long does it take to build or upgrade a small business website?
Websites, upgraded or built
Most businesses do not need a new website. They need the one they have to load fast, say clearly what they do and ask the visitor to take one step.