Contracts: Why you should have one
Filed Under: Contracts
You should have a contract and detailed site specification done and signed by both the client and the designer/developer before any work is done.
You need to know what you are paying for and what is going to be done. There should be no hidden surprises.
A contract will protect you as you can enforce it. It also protects the designer/developer also from scope creep. Scope creep is when you plan for something at X price and pretty soon the client wants more and more.
An example would be a client I have. It was planned to be a 2 page web site. Soon the client was asking to have a page for each item. I went and figured out the additional cost, and the client decided against it.
Another example was a small 5 page site. The client had just a few items for sale. Not a problem. Well those items were actually categories. The project should have been scoped at $3,000 versus $500.
Maintenance Contracts
Filed Under: Contracts
A maintenace contract are used to provide maintenance on your web site. Not to create a new web site. A maintenance contract is used for after the launch of your web site, and most designers/developers state a specific time that you have to completely review your web site for errors. The time frame is generally a week.
If you think you can just send tons of changes to your developer and expect them to not charge you for the work then you are mistaken. I only mkae minor changes within that week period. If you want to completely change the content you are going to be charged for my time.
Tip1: Save your changes and send them all at once. It will cost you more money to send items piece meal.
Tip 2: If you have a signed maintenance contract you are somewhat protected from price increases. All designers change their rates from time to time.
