Legal Contract for Web Design
 Custom Search This is a true story about failure to have a legal contract for web design reviewed by an attorney that knows internet based businesses. This is about a website was designed by a web site building company. Our Legal Resource for situations like this can be found at the bottom. If you cannot wait...Website Development Agreement (Executed) This is an attorney prepared agreement. The attorney specializes in website based law. His prices are very reasonable. Even more so when you read the story below and find the cost of not having one. The Cost of Not Knowing What You Do Not Know Failure to have a properly designed legal contract for web design could cost you more than the initial legal costs. A whole lot more. Consider the true story about a colleague named Sue (not her real name). She, like me is an artist. We showed at the same gallery. Before sharing the story, consider the background. Assist2web.com recommends that business owners should build their own web sites. There are numerous reasons for encouraging this. However, in the end, it is just for some to build their own. Why Have an Attorney Made Legal Contract For Web Design There are numerous web design legal issues that can be protected by an attorney consultation. They could be legal internet issues, website legalities or the need for simple internet legal documents. Sue is an artist and has a gallery studio. Her art website was built by a group of website geeks who had a thriving business in the same building. Since they were thriving and the sties they built looked great, what did she have to lose? They seemed like good guys after all. The answer, She stood to lose thousands of dollars. Note: Could you lose thousands of dollars too? Sue and her husband are both very savvy business people. They are also very successful business owners. Sue did not know what she did not know. The reason for the potential to lose lots of money was quite simple. She never owned the website. When she paid the few thousand dollars for the website, she assumed she was buying a website. In reality, the builders never sold the site. They only sold their labor charges. In the end, she was basically renting her website. On top of the labor to build the site, she had to pay for hosting (which is normal depending on the arrangement you choose). Only thing, the cost for hosting was a lot more than the industry standard. A way lot more. As Sue became more knowledgeable, she discovered that nobody was visiting her site unless she sent them. Turns out that there were only about 4-9 people a day going to her site. No problem, she just went to her web master who was charging the outrageous fees. Note that Art web sites are hard to get traffic as there is so much competition. I only get between 100-150 a day unique organic visitors to my art site as of January 2010. Note: She had about 200 or so people visit the studio gallery a month so her website traffic was most likely those who visited her studio and not necessarily those who found her on the web. Sue went to her web developer / webmaster / web host and asked why there was no organic traffic (people finding her on the web). "It is really quite simple," answered the computer wiz, "All you need is a SEO package. It will take care of that." Sue asked where she could order this package, wondering if it would come via UPS or Snail Mail. Caveat Emptor: Let the Buyer Beware "No, no, no need to worry, "computer wiz responded, "we will take care of you. It is what we do." Instantly alarms went off in Sues head. She was already realizing that she had been take care of. Actually, she had been taken care of all the way to the cleaners. So she asked how much. The answer took her breath away, which on recovery she said, "How many thoooousand dollars did you say? Note: I did not think to ask if it was a one time fee or if it was annual. It did not matter. She was getting more and more upset as she was explaining what had happened next. Note that she did have a legal contract for web design. Only thing, she did not have an internet savvy attorney review it. "I think it would be best..." Sue taking a deep breath and continuing,"if I take my business elsewhere." Note: Normally when someone is cutting their losses, there would be a sense of relief in their voice. Sue was getting more and more upset. You will see why in what she was told next. "You can do what ever you want," computer wiz said, the only thing, as per our agreement, the site design belongs to me. As such, it can only be hosted by me and webmasterd by me." Sue explained that she had paid thousands of dollars for the web site and she did not even own it. Basically, she had a the equivalent of a lease agreement for her website. It was like she was renting rather than owning her web real-estate, even though she had paid enough to own it. Now she has paid several thousand dollars and had nothing to show for it. This could have been avoided if she had paid less than a the cost of dinner for two at a cheap restaurant to have an internet / web knowledgeable attorney review the contract. More than a contract, she needed a legal contract for web design reviewed by her attorney. This is not to suggest that anytime you buy a product you need to consult a lawyer. However, if contracts and thousands of dollars are involved, what would the cost verses benefit ratio be for an attorney review of your legal contract for web design. More importantly, a web savvy internet attorney who specializes in website related law should be doing this. For that matter, a legal contract for web design is essential any time there is any serious amounts of money changing hands. It is really quite simple. If you have a general need, you go to a professional with general knowledge. If you need specialized help, you go to a specialist. You would not go to your mechanic for a second opinion on your need for brain surgery. You would not even go to an orthopedic surgeon. You would go to a brain surgeon. If you have legal needs related to your website, why not go to an attorney that knows the internet and websites? Does this make sense to you? After searching high and low, we have found one. An attorney who specializes in the internet. I have interviewed him personally and can say he gets it. Note: I work with attorneys. You should know that I work with and for several attorneys. I occasionally work as a Legal Nurse Consultant (they come to me as an expert in my specialty) and in issues related to death and dying. Even with the free advice I could get, I will still take my legal needs to our number one internet attorney recommendation. He is that good and especially when it comes to Legal Contract for Web Design. Website Development Agreement (Executed) This is an attorney prepared agreement. The attorney specializes in website based law. What are Other Website Legalities? The main web legalities page. Trademark Research Is your domain name already a trademark. This is a free tool to help you Do It Yourself. What do I Need to Know About Website Copyright? Assist2web.com Home: The Legal Contract for Web Design Resource |