A good website agreement answers a handful of questions in writing: what will be built, who owns it, who runs it afterwards, how and when you pay, and what happens if something goes wrong. This article is general information, not legal advice. For anything beyond a small project, have a lawyer review the agreement before you sign.
Scope: what exactly will you receive?
Vague scope is the main source of disputes. A useful scope section lists:
- Pages and templates, with a sitemap attached.
- Features and integrations, such as forms, booking tools, payment gateways and analytics.
- Who supplies content, images and copywriting.
- What is explicitly excluded.
- Browser and device coverage, and accessibility expectations. The WCAG 2.2 standard from the W3C is the current accessibility benchmark, so agree which conformance level the site should aim for.
If a feature is not in the scope, assume it costs extra. Writing a good brief first makes this section easier, and the same detail helps you compare quotes fairly. Our guide to what makes a business website convert can help you decide which features are worth scoping.
Ownership and intellectual property
Copyright law has default rules, but they are not what most clients assume. The Australian Copyright Council explains that the creator is usually the first owner of copyright unless they have assigned it, and that employer ownership does not cover freelancers. If a developer or studio creates your site, ownership is therefore a matter for the agreement, not an automatic result of paying the invoice.
Check these points:
- Who owns the finished website, and from when: on payment of the final invoice, or on delivery?
- Whether ownership is assigned or licensed. The Council notes that owners may assign or license rights, with limits on type of use, period and payment, and recommends recording a licence in writing.
- Third-party material, such as stock photos, fonts, plugins and themes, which are usually licensed, not owned. The licence terms and any renewal costs should be disclosed.
- The developer’s pre-existing tools and code, which they may keep while granting you a licence to use them in your site.
- Your own content, and confirmation that you have the right to supply it.
- Portfolio use, if the studio wants to show your project publicly.
Small Business Development Corporation guidance in Western Australia says to confirm in the contract that you own the copyright to the entire website, excluding stock photos or graphics. Treat that as a prompt to ask, and get advice on the wording.
Domain, hosting and access
- Domain name: registered in your name, with you as the registrant contact.
- Hosting: who provides it, who pays, and what is included such as backups and security updates.
- Access: administrator logins for the CMS, hosting, domain registrar, analytics and any third-party accounts handed over at launch.
- Exit: how you can move the site elsewhere, and whether any fee or notice applies.
Payments and timeline
- Milestone-based instalments tied to deliverables, rather than a single large upfront payment.
- Clear dates for stages, with your responsibilities (supplying content, giving feedback) listed too, since delays often come from the client side.
- What happens if either side is late.
- Fixed price or time-based, and how scope changes are priced and approved.
Revisions, testing and acceptance
Define how many rounds of changes are included and what counts as a change of scope. Write down acceptance criteria: what “finished” means, who tests, and how long you have to report defects. Ask for a staging site so you can review before it goes live. If you are replacing an existing site, add search protection to the scope: URL mapping and redirects belong in the agreement, not in a hopeful conversation.
After launch: support and maintenance
Agree what happens in the first weeks (a warranty or defect period), and separately what ongoing care covers: updates, backups, security, small content changes, response times. Platform choice affects this workload, as explained in Astro versus WordPress.
Other clauses to ask about
| Clause | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Confidentiality | Protects business information shared during the project |
| Privacy and data | Who handles personal data collected by forms and analytics |
| Warranties | Statements about the work and third-party material |
| Liability limits | How far each side’s responsibility extends |
| Termination | How either side can end the project and what is owed |
| Dispute process | How disagreements are raised and resolved |
| Governing law | Which state’s or country’s law applies, especially with overseas studios |
Australian Consumer Law and other legislation may affect some of these terms, so a lawyer should confirm what applies to you.
Pre-signing checklist
- Scope and exclusions written, with a sitemap.
- Ownership of site, content, code and domain stated clearly.
- Third-party licences listed.
- Payment milestones and dates agreed.
- Revisions and acceptance defined.
- Hosting, backups and access arranged.
- Support after launch described.
- Termination and handover terms understood.
- Legal review completed.
Where Radiance Impact fits
Radiance Impact’s Technology division works on business websites, redesigns, landing pages and maintenance and care. If you are preparing a project and want to discuss what to put in a brief, see Technology or contact us.
Sources
- Ownership of copyright, Australian Copyright Council
- Assigning and licensing, Australian Copyright Council
- Choosing a website professional, Small Business Development Corporation (Western Australia)
- Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Overview, W3C Web Accessibility Initiative
