What You Need to Know About Web Design Contracts from an Actual Attorney

There’s not much that strikes more fear into the hearts of freelance web designers than the need for having good web design contracts.

I’ve known web designers who wouldn’t even get started freelancing because they were so afraid of getting sued. OR, they feared messing up a contract in such a way that they end up landing in hot water.

There are so many questions to answer:

• Should I use a free contract template as a web designer?
• What kinds of things should I include in the contract?
• What kinds of things should I leave out?
• Will I scare a client if I give them a contract to sign?
• How can I know that my contracts will hold up in court?

But, as scary as it may seem, understanding how legal contracts work as a web designer is well worth the effort. AND, it’s not as complicated of a subject as it might seem.

Advice From a Lawyer on Web Design Contracts

This week on the Self-Made Web Designer podcast we are talking about all things web design contracts with an actual lawyer, Paige Griffith of The Legal Paige.

Paige was a freelancer herself. For years she ran a photography business and saw the fears and struggles freelancers faced with legal issues. So, she began The Legal Paige and started helping people with their legal questions with her background as a lawyer.

Paige is answering those burning questions we all have about web design contracts in this episode so you can stop being afraid and feel empowered to get busy doing what you do best as a web designer.

Spell Everything Out in Your Web Design Contracts

One of the important takeaways from this episode is that you need to make sure you cover absolutely everything in your web design contract.

You should address exactly what you’ll be doing for the client and exactly what you need from them. You also need to talk about things like timelines AND how long a client has to give you feedback before it’s considered automatically approved.

That way you’re not waiting in client purgatory for them to get back to you while you twiddle your thumbs.

The Heart Behind Web Design Contracts

The goal of a web design contract isn’t to screw over your client or just to protect yourself. It’s also to make sure everyone knows what the expectations are with the project AND to keep things moving forward.

So, as much as web design contracts are a scary subject, they are actually just another way you can serve your client and set you and them up for success.

From This Episode You’ll Learn

• What you need to do to set up your business as a web designer
• Whether you should set up your business as a sole proprietorship or LLC
• The general things you need to include in all contracts
• The right length of a contract for web designers
• How not to scare off web design clients with a legal contract
• The importance of two sided contracts for clients
• How to make sure your web design contracts hold up in court
• The danger of using free web design contracts

Resources

• Paige’s Website
• Paige’s Web Design Contracts

Use “CHRIS” in the coupon code to get 10% off all products on The Legal Paige site.

These are affiliate links and will help Self-Made Web Designer do what it does: helping freelancers build successful freelance businesses or careers as web designers.

Related Articles

• Getting Started with a Web Design Project the Right Way
• How to Overcome Fear and Just Get Started

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