When you’re a web or brand designer, your creativity IS your business. And while that is absolutely amazing (like seriously how cool that you truly get to do the thing you love so much and earn a living while doing it?!), without the right legal protections in place, that creativity can get taken advantage of.

Whether it’s clients ghosting on payments, scope creep taking over your life, or confusion over who owns the final design files, there’s a whole list of things that can make you start to question if your creative gig is really even worth it. 

And honestly, that’s one of the MAJOR reasons that I do what I do here at The Boutique Lawyer. The last thing that I want is for creative service providers to grow to resent the thing that they once loved so much. 

In a world where you can do anything for a career, I think it’s so cool when people get to use their creative abilities as their job and I don’t want anything coming in the way of that, especially when it can be resolved with something as simple as a legal agreement. 

And I know that the words “legal agreement” often feels like the ultimate snoozefest for creatives – I get it, I really do!

But if you want to keep doing your creative work WITHOUT having to deal with the headaches that can sometimes come with the entrepreneurship side of things, legal agreements are 100% necessary and that’s what this blog post is all about. 

Keep reading to learn exactly what to include in your Web or Brand Design Agreement so you don’t get burned in the process of your work!

5 Questions Your Web or Brand Design Agreement Should Answer

1. Who owns what?

One of the biggest pain points for brand and web designers is intellectual property.

Clients often assume they automatically own everything you create the moment they receive their designs from you, but that’s not always the case.

A well-drafted brand and web designer contract should spell out exactly who owns what!

Brand and web designers specifically need to make sure their contract addresses the differences between:

• Template IP → This covers your pre-existing frameworks, style guides, and reusable assets. Generally speaking, these remain yours, always!
• Custom Work → This covers the actual custom designs that you create for a client, like logos, color palettes, and web layouts. Typically. clients receive rights to use these only after they’ve made their final payment.
• Portfolio Rights → As a brand and web designer, your portfolio is incredibly important to showcase your skills, so you want to ensure that your IP clause states that you have the right to use your client’s custom work in your portfolio and on your website and socials.

2. When can I expect to receive my designs?

Timelines are another place where, as a brand and web designer, your client projects can quickly start to slip off the rails if you aren’t careful. 

Many times, clients are eager to receive their designs and they might get antsy throughout the project timeline and start bombarding you with messages like…

“Hey! How are things coming along?”

“Can I see a preview of the designs this week?”

“I really want to get the designs soon so I can launch my website.”

While often well intended, these are all examples of clients not being clear on the project timeline. 

Your brand and web design agreement should outline when deliverables are due and what happens if either party causes delays!

This includes setting expectations around client responsibilities, such as providing feedback, content, or images on time. It’s also smart to build in a pause clause, which allows you to hit pause if the client disappears instead of letting the project drag on indefinitely.

Laying all of these details out in your contract helps protect the workflow and help projects stay on track!

3. How can I contact you?

Every brand and web designer knows the chaos of clients trying to reach you through email, texts, Instagram DMs, and Slack messages… often all at once. 😅

Your contract is where you get to set your communication boundaries, by stating your business hours, your typical response time, and the platforms you use to communicate (and those you don’t).

This ensures clients know exactly how to get in touch with you and when to expect a response, while also protecting your time and mental space.

It’s also wise to clarify how clients will access their design files or platforms and that full access doesn’t transfer until final payment is made.

Laying out these boundaries up front makes the project feel more professional for both sides!

4. What if I have revision requests?

One of the unique aspects of a brand and web design project is that you often have to factor in revisions. While in an ideal world, you’d be met with “OMG LOVE, NO NOTES!!!”, every time you deliver designs to a client, we both know that’s pretty unrealistic. 

It’s extremely normal for clients to have feedback or revision requests for a brand and web design project, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t put some boundaries and parameters in place to protect your time as a designer. 

A revision clause makes it clear how many rounds of edits are included in the scope of work and what happens if the client wants additional revisions beyond that.

It also draws a line between what counts as a revision (small adjustments or tweaks) versus an entirely new deliverable, which should come at an additional cost.

This way, you’re not stuck in an endless loop of changes, and clients know exactly what’s included before the project even begins!

5. How much does this project cost?

Let’s be honest… money conversations can feel uncomfortable, especially as a creative! 💸

Typically, you’re just excited to do the work you love and talking about how much it costs to do that work can make you want to crawl in a hole, which is why having everything written out in black and white makes everything SO. MUCH. EASIER. 

Your web or brand design agreement should outline the total cost of the project, what that cost covers, and what it doesn’t.

It’s also helpful to detail any available payment structures, such as deposits or installment plans, and the due dates for each. And don’t you dare skip refund and cancellation policies!

Life happens, and if a project ends early, your contract should explain what payments are refundable (if any) and what you keep for work already completed.

By including all of this in your contract, you make sure clients understand exactly how and when payment is expected, keeping things clear and drama-free. 

Why You Can’t Afford to DIY Your Brand and Web Design Agreement

As a creative service provider, it’s easy for contracts to just feel like paperwork, but in reality they are THE thing that protects you, your business, and your creative works when you implement them properly. 

Without one, you’re leaving yourself vulnerable to client ghosting, endless revisions, and ownership disputes.

Which is why I’m just going to be straight up with you here… DIYing your brand and web designer contract is not the move. 🙅🏼♀️

While I appreciate the effort (and sure, having something might be better than nothing), when you choose to DIY a contract, you’ll often miss crucial protections, like intellectual property clauses or payment structures mentioned above.

Generic templates that you find on Google might seem tempting, but oftentimes they don’t reflect the unique needs of your business.

Your brand and web design business deserves a contract built by a lawyer who understands the unique aspect of running an online business AND understands the creative industry. Oh hiiii, it’s me! 👋

Customizable Brand and Web Designer Contract Templates 

Our customizable brand and web designer contract templates have been built specifically for web and brand designers and ensures you’ve got everything covered, from ownership rights to payment terms.

➡️ Brand Designer Services Agreement

➡️ Web Designer Services Agreement

Each template has been specifically tailored to include the language and clauses that you need for your specific design business, clearly answering the 5 questions above PLUS some!

When you purchase any contract template from TBL, you’ll get an attorney walkthrough video from yours truly, Word and Google Doc versions (so you can easily edit in whichever platform you love best), a customization guide that you can follow step by step, AND future updates included if the legal landscape ever shifts!

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If you like what you just read and want more cool lawyer things in your life, here’s a few ways to stay connected:

Let’s be pen pals! Subscribe to my email list to receive all of my best biz tips and behind the scenes goodies to keep your business bringing in sales (legally of course).

Binge the blog to get all of the legal information you need about running a business in a way that actually makes sense to your non-legal brain.

Come hang with me on the ‘gram! I often do AMA’s on stories, so you can submit your specific questions when they come up.

And if you’re in need of legal resources that you can ACTUALLY understand? Here’s a few ways I can help:

Step into TBL’s free library of legal resources for creative entrepreneurs where we throw open the doors and spill the tea on what works and what doesn't when it comes to legal protection, systems and sales.

Browse the contract template shop to find what’s missing in your biz and easily implement it with a plug and play template!

Need something else? Send me a DM! Always happy to lend a legal hand when I can.