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there are three different kinds of yes counterfeit confirmation and commitment when you're negotiating with a web design lead hoping to make them a web design client you're hunting for that commitment yes a lot of web designers think they need a web design contract to get that commitment yes but first let's understand what each yes actually means this is borrowed from Chris bosses never split the difference one of my favorite books a counterfeit yes is one in which your counterpart plans on saying no but either feels yes is an easier escape route or just wants to disingenuously keep the conversation going in order to obtain more information or some other kind of edge the confirmation yes is generally innocent reflects a response to a black or white question mostly just simple affirmation with no promise of action a commitment yes is a true agreement that leads to action now you can see why that commitment yes is the ultimate goal for web designers and why the others are mostly fraudulent the question is do you really need a web design contract to get it what is a web design contract a web design contract is a document between client and web designer that details the scope of a web design project are they legally enforceable who knows technically most legal contracts merely need to have an exchange of goods and the signature of both parties involved but I'm not a lawyer nor do I use web design contracts myself more on that later what do web design contracts typically include things like a detailed description of services included scope of the project pricing for services and additional costs payment terms content sourcing timelines licensing and ownership rights changes or revisions policies privacy potentiality liability release terms for contract termination a dispute resolution Clause signatures to make the contract legally binding and other legal garbage your lawyers says you should are you already bummed out just hearing that so why do web designers insist you should always use a contract Oh a bunch of reasons whether those reasons are truly valid is another story can you see where I'm going with this reasons like clients making demands outside the scope of the project clients not doing their part in the development of the website clients taking issue with how web site and plug-in licenses are handled but above all clients not following the agreed-upon payment terms notice how all of these fall on the client being the problem so allow me to summarize why I think contracts for web designers are a terrible idea here's four reasons I refuse to use Web Design contracts number one a contract is a horrible way to begin a relationship hey it's lovely to meet you yeah you too please sign this three-page document detailing all the ways I'm terrified you're gonna try to screw me over here here and here this doesn't happen in the real world if it did there would be even more very lonely people in this world so why do you expect your new web design clients to abide by these social rules listen I get it take it from someone who has some serious issues with commitment it is difficult to put yourself out there and entrust your heart in someone else's hands wait are we still talking about Web Design contracts anyhoo the same principle applies here there are zero guarantees that your new web design client won't be unreasonable frustrating to deal with or a general pain in the rear but you are definitely increasing the odds of your client getting miffed with you if you choose to use a web design contract you will immediately put them on the defensive and they'll start wondering why exactly you need contract in the first place which leads me to my second point number two contracts look for opportunities to justify their existence have you ever purchased something that seemed like a great idea at the time only to later realize that it is essentially useless what did you do next you look for every opportunity to justify this purchase searching for ways to make this useless thing useful by using it this is exactly what can happen with Web Design contracts now that you sufficiently begun your new business relationship on a sour note there's a powerful little weapon standing between you and your client that contract may say it's there simply to provide protection and a handful of what if or just in case scenarios but it's now actively searching for those scenarios in order to justify its existence try this one on for size you start by setting a maximum amount of work hours based on the price of the quote seems reasonable enough right your client replies with a demand that you timestamp all of your work to make sure he's getting his money's worth you insist that in order to do that you require certain levels of privacy for screen sharing such as hiding specific elements of your computer that are personal your client then asks for proof that you are not altering the timestamps as well since you are now redact entire of the screen share besides pointing up the fact that timestamps and screen shares don't quite work like that you point to a clause in the contract that indicates you have the right to redact aspects of a time step or screen share for privacy reasons your client angrily concedes and is now on the hunt for his opportunity to win a contract dispute this may seem extreme but it happens more than you think people act extremely irrational when they feel like they're being taken advantage of or losing a deal because now that you have a contract you've got to use it at some point right how else will you be able to say see good thing I have this contra number three if you do it right web design contracts are completely unnecessary as we talked about before the main reason web designers think they need a contract is to protect themselves from unpaid work but if a web designer has ever found themselves in a scenario like this then they've structured their sales process poorly you can remove all potential instances of someone taking advantage of you simply by applying the 50/50 principle 50% deposit up front then 50% when the site is complete and ready to launch it's that simple to filter through your potential clients to find only the ones who are serious about getting a website made you can require a 50 percent deposit before any work begins you'll know they're serious because they made a financial commitment to you right from the start and they can feel comfortable that you will follow up with the work because you want to receive that other 50 percent as soon as possible then once the work is done and the client agrees that the website is ready to launch you can request the final 50 percent payment the key is to do this before the site is launched not after if you do it after then you run the risk of the client taking their time to pay you since they've already received their end of the deal and the client can be reasonably confident that you will come through with the site launch once they've paid you because you really have no reason not to at this point you received your money and it's as simple as a few clicks to launch of course No Deal is guaranteed there will always have to be room for trust and transparency but the 50/50 principle is about as close to guaranteed as you'll get and finally my fourth reason everyone hates contracts except lawyers lawyers love contracts but everyone hates lawyers so we can disregard their thoughts and feelings it's never been easier to learn web design and to start your own web design business as a result competition has never been tougher standing out in a sea of web designers is tough your customer experience needs to be spectacular do you really want to damage that customer experience by forcing your customer to do something they hate right from the start so should you use Web Design contracts with your Web Design clients you need to weigh the pros and cons on this one above all else focus on how you can perfect your customer experience from first interaction to final payment then take a look at yourself your web design business and your goals really give some thought as to what a Web Design contract is actually providing for both you and your client and whether it's truly necessary I've made my case for why I think Web Design contracts are a bad idea but I recognize that I'm in the minority on this one instead of using contracts I choose to take a trust fall with my new clients right from the beginning to begin a relationship with a mutual exchange of trust it has literally paid off ninety nine percent of the time out of the hundreds of clients have worked with over the years I have lost exactly one due to the fact that I refuse to use a contract it was a deal breaker for him and you know what he was a lawyer so he doesn't count