Web Design Contract Template: 15 Clauses in Plain English

A web design contract template is a reusable agreement that fixes what you will build, what the client pays, who owns the result and how either side can leave. The one below has 15 clauses in plain language. Treat it as a starting point for your own lawyer.

Contract law differs from state to state. Have a lawyer licensed in your state review your version before a client signs it. This is not legal advice.

What clauses go in a web design contract template?

Fifteen, in five groups. Each group answers one question the client will ask at some point in the project.

Square brackets mark what you replace, and notes for your lawyer sit in brackets too. "We" is your agency and "you" is the client.

The work

Why this group matters. On a fixed-price project, an unclear line in the scope becomes unpaid work. These five clauses say what is in, what is out and what the client owes you besides money.

1. The parties and the project. This agreement is between [agency legal name] of [address] and [client legal name] of [address]. It covers the design and build of a website at [domain]. It starts on [date].
2. What we will build. We will deliver what is listed in the attached proposal dated [date]. That proposal is part of this agreement. Anything it does not list is outside this agreement.
3. What you will provide. You will send us [text, photos, logo files and logins] by [date]. [Name] approves work on your behalf. You will answer each review request within [number] working days.
4. Schedule. We plan to launch on [date]. If your materials or feedback arrive late, every later date moves by the same number of days. If we hear nothing for [number] days, we may pause the project and give you a new start date.
5. Changes. The price includes [number] rounds of changes on the design and [number] on the built site. Other changes, and any work outside clause 2, are quoted in writing at $[rate] an hour. That work starts when you approve the quote.

The money

Why this group matters. Payments tied to stages mean neither side carries the whole risk. You never build far ahead of what has been paid, and the client never pays far ahead of what has been built.

6. Price and payment. The price is $[total]. You pay [share] on signing, [share] when you approve the design and [share] before launch. Each stage starts when its payment arrives.
7. Late payment. Invoices are due within [number] days. If an invoice is more than [number] days overdue, we may pause work until it is paid. [A late fee, if your lawyer confirms one for your state.]
8. Costs from others. Hosting, domain names, stock photos, fonts and paid plugins are bought in your name or billed to you at cost. We ask before spending more than $[amount].

Ownership

Why this group matters. A client expects to own what they paid for. You expect to keep the tools you bring to every project. Clause 9 gives both of you that in writing.

9. Who owns what. When the final payment arrives, we transfer to you, in writing, ownership of the design and text we made for this site. Until then they stay ours. Our own tools and other people's software, fonts and photos stay with their owners. You get the right to keep using them on this site.
10. Your materials, privacy and our portfolio. You confirm you have the right to use the text, photos and logos you give us. Each of us keeps the other's private business information private. We may show the finished site in our portfolio unless you tell us otherwise in writing.

When things go wrong

Why this group matters. These clauses get read on the worst day of the project. Write them while both sides still like each other.

11. Fixes after launch. For [number] days after launch we fix, at no charge, anything that does not work as clause 2 describes. Problems caused by later changes, other people's software or your hosting are quoted as new work.
12. What we do not promise. We do not promise search rankings, visitor numbers, leads or sales. [Limit of liability wording from your lawyer.]
13. Ending the project. Either of us can end this agreement with [number] days' written notice. You pay for the work done up to that day. We hand over the work you have paid for.
14. Disputes. If we disagree, we talk first and then try [mediation or another step your lawyer names]. This agreement follows the law of [state]. [Your lawyer writes this clause.]

Signing

15. The whole agreement. This document and the attached proposal are the whole agreement. A change counts only when both of us agree to it in writing. Signed by [name, title and date] for each side.

Filled in. Five clauses for a made-up project. The client is Marlow Plumbing & Heating at marlowplumbing.example and the agency is Alder Web Studio. Both are invented, and so are the prices and dates.

2. What we will build. We will deliver what is listed in the attached proposal dated November 12, 2026. That proposal is part of this agreement. It lists 8 named pages, a 4-field service request form and a call button on every page. Hosting, logo changes and ongoing SEO are outside this agreement.

5. Changes. The price includes 2 rounds of changes on the design and 1 on the built site. Other changes, and any work outside clause 2, are quoted in writing at $95 an hour. That work starts when you approve the quote.

6. Price and payment. The price is $6,400. You pay $2,560 on signing, $1,920 when you approve the design and $1,920 before launch. Each stage starts when its payment arrives.

9. Who owns what. When the final payment of $1,920 arrives, Alder Web Studio transfers to Marlow Plumbing & Heating, in writing, ownership of the design and text made for marlowplumbing.example. Until then they stay with Alder Web Studio.

11. Fixes after launch. For 30 days after launch we fix, at no charge, anything that does not work as clause 2 describes.

How is a web design contract different from a proposal?

A web design contract governs the project and a proposal sells it. The proposal lists what you found, what you will build and the price. The contract is the signed agreement that says what happens when something changes, runs late or goes wrong. Some agencies call it a website design contract or a web design agreement. The job is the same.

Attach the proposal to the contract so the two cannot disagree. Clause 2 does that in one sentence, and our web design proposal template is written to be attached.

Who owns the website when the project ends?

Put the answer in the contract, in writing. The U.S. Copyright Office says the copyright in a work "initially belongs to the author(s) who created that work". It also says a transfer of ownership "generally must be made in writing and signed by the owner of the rights conveyed" (Circular 1, revised September 2021).

That is the reason clause 9 states what passes to the client and on which day.

Be careful with the phrase "work made for hire". The Copyright Office sets four criteria for a commissioned work. The first is that the work falls within one of nine listed categories, such as a translation, a compilation or an atlas (Circular 30, revised August 2024). The circular adds, "If a work fails to satisfy any of these requirements, it is not a work made for hire." Whether a client website fits one of the nine is a question for your lawyer.

A plain ownership clause splits the site into three parts.

This is not legal advice.

How do you write a scope nobody argues about?

Tie the scope to findings anyone can check, and write acceptance as tests. An opinion such as "a modern, fast website" cannot be passed or failed. A test can.

If your proposal opened with what you found on the client's old site, clause 2 inherits those findings. Each one becomes a test for launch day.

1. Name every page and feature. "8 pages" with the 8 names leaves less to argue about than "up to 10 pages".
2. Write one test per finding. For a slow site, the test is that the home page shows its main content within 2.5 seconds on a phone, measured in PageSpeed Insights on launch day. Google counts 2.5 seconds or less as good (web.dev).
3. Say what is out. Hosting, new photography and ongoing SEO are common examples.

Promise only what you can test on launch day. A load time is yours to deliver. A ranking belongs to Google and a lead belongs to the client's customers, which is why clause 12 exists.

Leadodo is not contract software and does not write or send agreements. It works at the start of the sale. Twip, the AI inside Leadodo, scores every website in a search out of 100 across 10 domains. Once you have checked those findings yourself, they are raw material for the tests in clause 2. Our website audit template shows how to record them by hand.

What should you change before you use this template?

Everything in square brackets, plus whatever your lawyer flags. A template cannot know your state, your client or your project.

• Clauses 7, 12 and 14. Late fees, liability limits and dispute steps are the parts to leave to a lawyer who knows your state. Ask them to write those three.
• The names. Use the legal name of each business. It can differ from the name on the sign.
• The numbers. Set the rounds of changes, the review days, the hourly rate and the fix period once, then keep them the same for every client. Our guide on how much to charge for a website covers the price.
• The scope. Attach the signed proposal to every contract. The answers from your web design questionnaire fill clause 3.
• Extra clauses. A site that takes payments, stores customer data or must meet an accessibility standard may need more than these 15 clauses. Ask your lawyer what to add.
• What comes after. Clause 11 ends after a set number of days. Ongoing updates belong in a separate website maintenance plan.

Pay for one review, then reuse the reviewed version.

Questions

Do you need a contract for a small website project?

Use one for every paid project. A small job can go wrong in the same ways as a large one, through an unpaid invoice, extra requests or a disagreement about who owns the files. A web design contract can stay short. The 15 clauses in this template run to about 560 words before the brackets are filled, which is roughly two pages.

Who owns a website after it is built, the designer or the client?

Put the answer in the contract. The U.S. Copyright Office says copyright initially belongs to the author who created the work, and that a transfer generally has to be in writing and signed. A clause that passes ownership to the client on final payment puts the answer on paper. Ask your lawyer to confirm the wording. This is not legal advice.

Can you use a free contract template without a lawyer?

Treat a template as a starting point. It was written for no state and no client in particular, and contract law differs by state. Have a lawyer licensed in your state review your version once, then reuse it. This is not legal advice.

What happens if the client goes quiet in the middle of the project?

The schedule clause moves every later date by the days you waited. It also lets you pause the project after a set number of days of silence and restart it on a new date. Under the payment clause, each stage started only when its payment arrived, so you are not working unpaid while you wait.

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Next step. A scope built on findings starts with knowing what is wrong with a site before the first call. See how Leadodo finds and scores websites.