Website Design and Development Agreements
The development of a website is often a lengthy, multi-stage process requiring on-going communication and negotiation. Flexibility is an essential element of the process for website developers and designers in order to be able to accommodate the client’s needs (which will often change as the project progresses).
Applying the Website Development documentation in this subfolder throughout the project allows the parties to strike a balance between flexibility and certainty (which will be important for the developer and client alike). Documentation throughout the website development process allows for on-going communication and feedback between the parties in a prescribed manner allowing the process to move forward in an efficient and effective way.
Website Design and Development Agreements is part of Business . Just £38.50 + VAT provides unlimited downloads from Business for 1 year.
Frequently Asked Questions
I am paying a developer to build my website. Do I automatically own it? +
No. Under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 the developer who creates the code and design owns the copyright first, even though you commissioned and paid for it. To own the finished site you need a written assignment of the intellectual property in the development contract. Without one you may have only a licence to use it, which can limit your freedom to change developers or reuse the work. This sub-folder's agreements handle ownership.
How do I keep control when the website brief keeps changing? +
Use staged documentation and a change-control process. Website projects evolve, so recording the agreed specification and then handling each change through a written variation, with its own cost and timing, stops scope creep and disputes about what was agreed. Building in feedback and sign-off at each stage keeps the developer and you aligned as the project moves. The documents in this sub-folder are designed to run across the project in exactly this way.
What should a website development contract include? +
The essentials are the specification, milestones and timeline, acceptance testing and sign-off, the price and payment stages, a written assignment of intellectual property, warranties and any post-launch support. Acceptance testing and intellectual property are the two that most often cause trouble if left vague, so give them real attention. The agreements here are structured around these terms.
What happens if the finished site is not what I asked for? +
Your protection is the acceptance-testing clause. If the contract sets clear acceptance criteria you can test the site against the specification, reject work that fails and require the developer to put it right before final payment. A business developer must also carry out the work with reasonable care and skill under the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982. Tie payment stages to acceptance so you keep leverage until the site meets the brief.
Should I use one contract or separate documents for each stage of development? +
For anything beyond a very simple site, staged documentation works better. Recording the brief, design sign-off, development and acceptance as distinct steps gives both sides a clear record of what was agreed at each point and a controlled way to feed back and vary the work. That structure suits the back-and-forth nature of website builds far better than one static contract. This sub-folder provides documentation to use throughout the process.
