What a website contract should say before you sign

Scope: what you are actually buying

The contract should list the pages, features and revisions included, in words you understand. Phrases like a full website or all necessary pages invite argument later.

Ask what is not included. Photography, writing, forms, booking tools and extra revisions are the usual extras. This page is a general checklist and not legal advice.

A useful test is to read the scope aloud and ask whether a stranger could tell when the work is finished. If the answer is no, the wording is too loose to protect either side.

Price, payment and renewals

Look for the total price, the payment schedule and what triggers each payment. Then look for recurring charges: hosting, maintenance, the domain and any renewal that begins after the first term.

Auto-renewal clauses deserve a careful read. Find out how to cancel, how much notice is needed and what happens to the site if a renewal payment fails.

Ask what a price change would look like. A provider who can raise the monthly fee at any time, with little notice, has a very different offer from one who fixes the price for a stated term.

Schedule and what you must supply

A good contract names delivery dates and also what the provider needs from you, such as text, photos and approvals. Delays often come from a missing supply rather than from bad faith.

Check what happens if either side misses a date. A site that is half built and unpaid, with no clause covering it, serves nobody.

Written approvals also help. If you must approve the design or text before moving on, the contract should say how long you have and what happens when you say nothing.

Ownership and access, stated plainly

The contract should say who owns the domain registration, the site files, the design and the content. It should also say whether you receive logins and a full copy when the work ends.

Our page on website ownership and logins gives a checklist for the practical side. If the contract is silent on any of these, ask for a sentence that covers it.

Pay attention to anything that gives the provider the right to keep your files, logins or domain until a dispute is settled. That kind of clause can leave you without a site at the worst moment.

A checklist to take to the signing

Print the list below and tick each item against the draft. Anything you cannot find in the document should be added or explained before you sign.

• Pages, features and revisions listed by name
• Total price, payment dates and every recurring charge
• Delivery dates and what you must provide
• Who owns the domain, files, design and text
• A copy of the site and logins handed over at the end
• How either side cancels, and notice required
• Who maintains and fixes the site after launch

After launch and when things go wrong

Ask who fixes problems, how fast they respond and what is charged. A site with no maintenance plan quietly decays, and a contract that ends at launch leaves you alone with it.

Also ask about backups and what happens to the site if the provider closes. Our backups and versions page explains what to expect from a decent arrangement.

Ask for a plain description of how updates are handled. Some providers include small edits, some charge by the hour and some require a monthly plan, and each suits a different kind of owner.

Ask questions before the paper

Read the draft slowly, mark every term you do not follow and ask the provider to explain it in plain words. A provider who resents the questions is telling you something.

Our guide on what to ask a website provider lists useful questions. For a large or unusual agreement, a lawyer's review can be well worth the cost.

Take a day before you sign. Pressure to decide today is a reason to slow down, and a provider confident in the work will not mind the wait.