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Website Design & Development Agreement

Hire a web developer. Define specifications, acceptance timing, source files, ownership, and optional maintenance.

Drafted by a Harvard Law entertainment attorney.

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Is this the right contract for your website project?

Use this agreement for a defined website design and development engagement. The profile-specific Section 1.6 covers milestones and acceptance, client-supplied content and access, source-file choice, account control, and whether maintenance is included.

Good fit for

Businesses hiring a developer for a defined website
Web professionals setting milestones and acceptance criteria
Parties agreeing who controls domains, hosting, and production accounts

You may also need

Graphic Design Agreement - for separate graphic design work
Photography Services Agreement - for commissioned site photography
Non-Disclosure Agreement - before sharing credentials or confidential business information

What's Inside This Contract

Scope of Services

Section 1 establishes the website services, deliverables, revisions, and approval.

Website deliverables and acceptance

The added Section 1.6 sets milestones and criteria, client responsibilities, a written review period, and corrections for material departures. Silence is not acceptance.

Ownership and Intellectual Property

Section 2 follows the selected ownership model; third-party software remains subject to its license and fees.

Accounts and maintenance

The profile-specific terms state that the client controls its domain, hosting, and production accounts. Ongoing hosting and maintenance are excluded unless selected and described.

Not sure what a section means? Every contract you create includes a built-in "Explain Sections" view with a plain-English note for each part of the document.

Before you start

It helps to have these details on hand before you create your contract:

Milestones, deliverables, and acceptance criteria
Who supplies content, decisions, and account access
Review window for material departures from specifications
Whether maintenance is included and its scope
Who owns or controls domain, hosting, and production accounts

Points Worth Negotiating

Milestones, deliverables, and objective acceptance criteria
Review period and how material departures are corrected
Maintenance scope, duration, and price if selected
Third-party software costs and account ownership

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the agreement include ongoing hosting or maintenance?

Only if the parties select and describe maintenance. Hosting, ongoing maintenance, security monitoring, and future feature work are otherwise excluded unless separately agreed.

Does silence mean the website is accepted?

No. The profile-specific acceptance term gives the client a review period to identify material departures in writing and expressly says silence is not acceptance.

Who should control domain and production accounts?

The added terms say the client owns or controls its domain, hosting, and production accounts. Third-party software remains under its own license and fees.

What are common warning signs in a website design & development agreement?

These are common issues to watch for in any website design & development agreement:

The scope makes completion impossible to assess
Silence is treated as acceptance
Ongoing hosting or security work is assumed but not included
Control of domain or production accounts is unclear

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