5 things you must include in your Webflow client contract

As a Webflow freelancer, one of the most important things you can do to protect yourself and your business is to use contracts and legal agreements. While it can be tempting to skip this step and rely on verbal agreements or handshake deals, the truth is that having a written contract in place can help you avoid costly disputes and ensure that everyone involved is on the same page.

In this article, we'll provide an overview of the key considerations and best practices for creating contracts that protect both you the freelancer and your clients.

What is the purpose of a contract?

If we break it down, a contract is a legally binding agreement between two or more parties. It outlines the terms of a project or engagement, including the scope of work, timeline, payment terms, and other important details.

In the context of freelancing, contracts can be used for a variety of purposes, such as outlining the scope of a project, setting expectations for deliverables, and establishing payment terms. They can also be used to protect the freelancer's intellectual property, establish confidentiality agreements, and outline how to handle potential disputes.

Key elements of a web design freelancer contract

While the specifics of a contract will vary depending on your business and client, there are a few essential elements that every contract should include;

1. Scope of work

The scope of work is perhaps the most important element of any freelance contract, as it defines what the freelancer will be doing and what deliverables are expected. The scope of work should be as specific as possible, and should include details such as objectives, deliverables, timeline, revisions, assumptions and exclusions, and project management.

2. Timeline

Defining a timeline is crucial for any freelance project, as it helps ensure that both the freelancer and the client are on the same page about when deliverables are due. 

When setting your timeline, it's important to be realistic about how long each task will take, and to build in some flexibility for unexpected delays, client feedback, or roadblocks. It's also a good idea to establish key milestones or deadlines, as this can help keep the project on track and ensure that everyone is aware of upcoming deadlines.

3. Payment terms

Establishing clear payment terms is is incredibly important to ensure you get paid when you’re supposed to. Including clauses for specific dates when you get paid is also good practice as stating “paid on project completion” could be literally anytime if the project gets delayed.

So good practice is to be very specific about how much you’re owed, when they’re due, and especially what happens if payments are delayed. Expectations and consequences. This could include things like a late fee for payments that are more than 30 days past due, or a penalty for cancelled projects. 

4. Intellectual property right

Determine who owns the intellectual property created during the project, and what rights the client has to use that intellectual property. For example, contracts should generally state that the client owns all content produced after the project is completed and invoices are paid. 

Likewise, it’s also important to protect the client from any potential wrong doings of you the freelancer. If you use copyrighted material, any potential issues arising from that should never fall on the client.

5. Indemnification

Indemnification means that the client agrees to defend (indemnify) and hold the freelancer harmless from any losses, claims, or damages that may result from the project. 

This can include things like copyright infringement, breach of contract, or any other legal claims that may arise. However, it's important to note that an indemnification clause is not a substitute for liability insurance or legal advice, and you should still protect yourself and your business.

How to create a web design freelancer contract

If there’s anything you should take away from this article it’s this: Keep it simple and easy to understand with plain language. The contract should clearly outline what you the freelancer will be providing, when you will be doing it, and how much you will be paid.

The same thing goes for the client’s responsibilities, such as providing necessary materials or resources.

Negotiating and signing contracts

Once the contract has been created, it's you should always be open to input from the client. They may want to change or have questions about the project timeline or scope of work.

Generally speaking, if the contract is fair on all parties the client has no issue signing it right away. However in some cases, you could include specific terms or clauses in the contract to meet your client’s expectations.

Use our free web design contract template

Writing contracts can feel tricky and daunting, but with the right tools and clear communication you most likely will never have to actually enforce it. However it is of course important to have one in place for those odd moments where issues arise in your web design project.

To make this even easier for you we’ve drafted this web design contract template available to download completely free. Click here to download it and feel free to adjust it to better suit your specific situation.