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An Agreement With a Web Designer:
What Should it Look Like?

Updated Feb 2006
Whether you're spending a few hundred dollars or ten thousand dollars on your website, you should have a written agreement with your web designer. A written agreement achieves two main objectives:

• it makes the obligations of both parties clear
• it gives you a yardstick against which to measure the finished product

Asking for a written agreement doesn't imply that you think a web designer is dishonest. Busy designers can have several sites in development, so it's easy for them to forget what they have promised each client. A written agreement helps keep both you and the designer on track.

Here are some points that a written web design agreement should cover. The larger the site, the more detail should be recorded for each point.


CONTENT

General Description of the Site
How many pages will the site have and what will be on them? If you and your designer aren't on the same basic wavelength with regard to the site size and content, a lot can go wrong.

Who will supply the graphics?
Graphic design is time-consuming, and therefore expensive. If you're under the impression that the designer's price includes the creation of logos and other graphics, but the designer is assuming that you will supply these items, you're headed for trouble. Be clear up front on what graphics will be on the site and who will be supplying them.

Who will supply the text?
Many web designers ask you to provide the text for your site. (This is unfortunate, because the way your text is organized and written plays a large part in determining how well you'll rank in searches. Unless you're an expert in writing for the web, writing your own text will virtually ensure that no one will find your site. If you can't find a designer willing or able to write for good search rankings, then hire a writer who specializes in this kind of work.)

No matter who writes the text, make note of it in your agreement with your web designer.


SITE APPEARANCE & PERFORMANCE

These points are concerned with how the site will look and work. Major issues include:

Download Times
Studies show that users start leaving a site when download times exceed 8-10 seconds. Many Internet users, especially those located outside major centres, are still connecting with modems over a telephone line. It is not unreasonable to specify that all your pages will download over a 56K modem in 10-12 seconds maximum. (Note that download speeds vary depending on how busy the Internet is; your goal should be for your site to meet your speed targets most of the time.)

The Technologies Used
If you want to avoid graphics-heavy animated sites, put it in writing. You should also make it clear that you don't want a site designed as one large "Flash" file or a site designed using frames. Both these technologies lead to poor search rankings. Your designer is familiar with these terms. Just say you don't want these things, and the designer will know what you mean.

Color Scheme and Tone
Do you want a contemporary, upbeat site, or something quiet and traditional? Red? Blue? Not blue? Make any preferences known up front.


PROJECT EXECUTION

These points are concerned with how things get done:

Timeline for Delivering Materials
If you're supplying text or graphics, your agreement should specify the date by which you will deliver these materials to the designer. Once you've delivered the materials, get a dated, written acknowledgement from the designer that you've done your part.

In the event that the designer does not complete the site on time, this written proof can protect you from claims that the delay was your fault. (Remember, a designer can have several projects going on at once. It's easy for the designer to genuinely forget that you did your part on time.)

Search Rankings
Having a website designed without paying attention to search rankings is like throwing money down a hole. Get some written details about how your designer plans to boost your search rankings.

Will there be review stages? At what point?
If the project is large, you may want to set up review stages. For example, you may want to see a rough presentation of the site "look" before the designer starts the actual coding. This gives you the opportunity to give feedback if you don't like the basic design concept.

At a minimum, you should see and approve the basic site structure and navigation before the designer spends a lot of time putting in content. Don't just approve a paper diagram of how the site will look. Ask to see the developing site and take note of how quickly pages load, how easy it is to find information, and so on. Correct any problems early; it's much less expensive.

When will the site be ready?
Agree on a completion date and write it down. Otherwise, you may find yourself waiting indefinitely. If a designer will not commit to a specific date, look elsewhere.

It's also a good idea to set out in writing what will happen if the site is not ready as guaranteed.

Revisions
What kind of fine tuning is included in the price? Specify what will happen if you want changes made.

Payment Schedule
Record the total price of the site, plus details on the amount and date of each disbursement. If the site is very large, you may want to negotiate a 5-10% holdback, to be paid when all revisions are complete.


IN SUMMARY

Having a detailed agreement for your web development project will help both you and your web designer. One easy way to get a suitable agreement is to hand the designer a copy of this article and ask for a quote/agreement contract that covers all the points.

It is reasonable for the designer to ask for a deposit or other fee in exchange for a detailed quote or work plan. Nearly every designer has had the experience of being "tire-kicked"—induced to provide a free detailed workplan, which was them turned over to another party who offered to do the same work for a slightly lower price.

Since a good designer's knowledge and planning ability are part of his/her value package, it's reasonable not to hand over that knowledge for free. You may want to negotiate an agreement that if you proceed with the project, the designer will credit the quote fee against your total project cost.

In summary, having a writen agreement wih your web designer can help to ensure that you get the website you want, in a timely fashion.