Web design contract, Fern and Thistle website build

Web design contract template with milestones and revision rounds

Website projects rarely fail on design. They stall because the content never arrives and nobody wrote down what happens next. This contract dates every milestone on both sides, deems a stage approved if the client goes quiet, and moves the launch by a day for every day the copy is late.

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SK
Studio Kite
Level 1, 44 Blackwood Street · hello@studiokite.example · studiokite.example
Web design contract · Fern and Thistle · SK-2026-118Page 1 of 4
Web design contract · Fern and Thistle · SK-2026-118Page 2 of 4
Web design contract · Fern and Thistle · SK-2026-118Page 3 of 4
Web design contract · Fern and Thistle · SK-2026-118Page 4 of 4
Web design contract

This contract is made on 9 November 2026 between Studio Kite, of Level 1, 44 Blackwood Street, called the Studio, and Fern and Thistle Florist, of 21 Cardigan Street, called the Client. It covers the design and build of a new website and online order form.

$6,800
Fixed fee
3
Payments
5 Feb 2027
Launch
2 a stage
Revision rounds
1. What is being built
1.1
Scope
A seven page website: home, about, weddings, corporate, a gallery, contact and an order enquiry page, built on a content management system the Client can edit. It includes a mobile layout, an enquiry form that emails the shop, a Google Business embed, basic on page search settings and a 301 map from the old URLs.
1.2
What is not included
Photography, copywriting beyond light editing of the Client's text, online payments and a shopping cart, stock and delivery integration, a booking system, ongoing hosting after handover, advertising, and any page beyond the seven listed. Each can be quoted separately.
1.3
Browsers and devices
The site is built and tested on the current and previous version of Chrome, Safari, Firefox and Edge, on a phone, a tablet and a desktop. It is not tested on browsers older than that, and a fix for one of them is a variation.
2. Milestones
2.1
The programme
The table is the plan. Each Client approval date assumes the Studio delivered on time; if a Studio delivery slips, every later date moves by the same number of business days, and the same is true in reverse.
Stage
What is delivered
Studio by
Client by
1. Discovery and sitemap
Sitemap, page outlines, content list
20 Nov
25 Nov
2. Design
Home and one inner page, desktop and mobile
9 Dec
16 Dec
3. Build
All seven pages on a staging URL
20 Jan
27 Jan
4. Content and testing
Content loaded, forms tested, redirects set
2 Feb
4 Feb
5. Launch
Live site, handover pack, training session
5 Feb
2.2
Approval and silence
An approval is given in writing. If the Client does not respond by its date in the table, the Studio writes once more and the stage is treated as approved five business days later, so the project does not stall without anyone deciding to stall it.
3. Revisions
3.1
Two rounds per stage
Each stage includes two rounds of revisions. A round is one consolidated set of comments from the Client, collected from everyone who has a view, sent in a single message. Two people sending contradictory comments separately is two rounds, which is why the contract asks for one list.
3.2
Beyond the two rounds
A third round, or a change that reopens a stage already approved, is charged at $120 an hour, estimated in writing before it starts. A change of direction after design approval, such as a new colour scheme or a different home page layout, is quoted as a new stage.
4. Content and materials
4.1
The content deadline
The Client supplies all text, images, the logo in vector form, product descriptions and the staff biographies by 15 December 2026. Content that arrives after that date moves the launch by one business day for every business day it is late, and the Studio tells the Client in writing when that starts happening.
4.2
Rights in what the Client supplies
The Client confirms it owns or is licensed to use every image, logo and piece of text it supplies, and it carries the risk if that turns out to be wrong. The Studio does not use an image it cannot see a licence for, including one pulled from a search result.
5. Fees
5.1
The fee
The fixed fee is $6,800 for the scope in clause 1. It is invoiced in three parts, each payable within seven days. Work on a stage does not begin until the invoice for the previous stage is paid.
Payment
Due
Share
Amount
On signing, to book the dates
13 Nov 2026
30%
$2,040.00
On design approval
16 Dec 2026
40%
$2,720.00
On launch
5 Feb 2027
30%
$2,040.00
Fixed fee
$6,800.00
5.2
Third party costs
The domain, the hosting plan, the content management licence and any stock image or font licence are paid by the Client directly to the supplier, or reimbursed at cost if the Studio buys them. These are estimated at $340 for the first year and are not part of the fixed fee.
6. Ownership, hosting and handover
6.1
Who owns what
On payment of the final invoice, the Client owns the design, the page templates and the content of the finished site. The Studio keeps its own reusable code libraries, its internal tooling and the concepts that were not chosen, and may show the finished site in its portfolio.
6.2
Hosting handover
The site is handed over on the Client's own hosting and domain accounts, in the Client's name, with every login, the content management administrator account, the analytics property and the DNS records listed in a written handover pack. The Studio does not hold the domain, the hosting or any account in its own name.
6.3
After launch
The Studio fixes any fault in its own work reported within 30 days of launch at no charge. A 90 minute training session and a short written guide are included. Ongoing updates and support are a separate monthly agreement if the Client wants one.
7. General
7.1
Ending it, disputes and whole agreement
Either party may end this contract on 10 business days written notice, and the Client pays for the stages completed and the work in progress on the current stage. A party in serious breach has 10 business days to fix it after notice. The parties talk first and go to mediation before proceedings. This contract and the milestone table are the whole agreement and replace the proposal dated 27 October 2026.
For Studio Kite
Name
:
Position
:
Date
:
For Fern and Thistle Florist
Name
:
Position
:
Date
:

Section by section

What each section is for, so you can keep the ones you need and drop the rest.

Parties and key terms
Studio and client, then the fixed fee, the payment count, the launch date and the revision rounds.
1. What is being built
The seven pages and the features included, what is excluded, and the browsers tested.
2. Milestones
A five stage table with studio and client dates, and the deemed approval rule for silence.
3. Revisions
Two rounds a stage, what a round actually is, and the hourly rate beyond them.
4. Content and materials
The 15 December content deadline with its day for day effect, and rights in supplied material.
5. Fees
The $6,800 fee in three payments, and the third party costs the client pays directly.
6. Ownership, hosting and handover
Who owns what on payment, the handover pack in the client's own accounts, and post launch support.
7. General
Ending the contract, what is then owed, disputes, and what this replaces.
Signatures
A block for the studio and one for the client.

Clauses in this document

How to adapt this agreement

For an ecommerce build, add payment gateway, shipping and tax configuration to the scope, replace the single content deadline with a product data deadline including images and variants, and add a clause on who is responsible for PCI obligations and refund policy content. For a retainer rather than a project, delete the milestone table and the fee stages and replace them with a monthly allocation of hours, a rollover rule and a monthly report. For a project where the studio also writes the copy, move copywriting out of the exclusions into the scope, and replace the content deadline with a client interview date and an approval window on each draft.

What makes this document work

Silence has a defined outcome

Clause 2.2 says an approval is given in writing, and if the client misses its date the studio writes once more and the stage is approved five business days later. That single rule is what stops a project drifting for a month without anyone deciding to stall it.

The content deadline has teeth

All text, images and the vector logo are due 15 December. Clause 4.1 moves the launch one business day for every business day content is late, and requires the studio to say in writing when that starts happening rather than mentioning it at the end.

The site is handed over in the client's own accounts

Clause 6.2 puts the domain, hosting, content management administrator account, analytics and DNS in the client's name, listed in a written handover pack, and says the studio holds none of them. That is the clause a client needs and rarely asks for.

Questions people ask

What should a web design contract include?

The pages and features being built, what is excluded, the milestone dates on both sides, how many revision rounds are included, when content is due, the fee and payment points, who owns the finished site, and how hosting and accounts are handed over.

What counts as one revision round?

One consolidated set of comments from the client in a single message, collected from everyone who has a view. Clause 3.1 says so directly, because two people sending contradictory comments separately is two rounds and that is where revision budgets quietly disappear.

Who owns a website after it is built?

The client, on payment of the final invoice. Clause 6.1 passes the design, the page templates and the content, while the studio keeps its own reusable code libraries and internal tooling and may show the finished site in its portfolio.

What happens if the client is late with content?

The launch moves by one business day for every business day the content is late, and the studio has to tell the client in writing when that starts. The deadline is 15 December, well before the build stage, so late copy does not collide with testing.

Should a web designer take a deposit?

A deposit books the dates, which is what it is for. This contract takes 30 percent on signing, 40 percent on design approval and 30 percent on launch, and says work on a stage does not begin until the previous stage's invoice is paid.

What are third party costs on a website project?

The domain, the hosting plan, the content management licence and any stock image or font licence. Clause 5.2 keeps them out of the fixed fee, estimates them at $340 for the first year, and has them paid by the client directly to the supplier or reimbursed at cost.

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Sources

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