Website Development Contract: What to Look Out for Before Signing

After two years, the company is switching web service providers. The new partner will request access to the hosting and the source code. That’s when it turns out that the domain is registered to the former provider, the hosting runs on the provider’s account, and the template—for which the company paid 100,000—cannot be modified by anyone else, according to the contract.

Yet no one actually broke any rules. It was all in the contract, which someone had signed at the time without realizing what that section about the license meant.

The good news is that you can avoid this by asking five questions before signing. Let’s go over what’s important in a website contract, the most common pitfalls, and what to ask for—even if you’ve never read a contract before.

What Matters Most in a Website Contract

A website development contract is usually a combination of two different things: a contract for services, under which someone creates something for you, and a license agreement, which specifies what you’re allowed to do with the final product. It’s this second part that often catches people off guard.

Paying for a work does not automatically mean you own it. From a legal standpoint, a website is a copyrighted work, and the copyright remains with the creator. You are granted a license—that is, permission to use the website—and the scope of that license is defined by the contract.

Five areas where the difference lies:

The rest of the contract is mostly standard language that no one will tailor to your specific needs—nor do they have to. However, these points determine whether you’ll be able to walk away in two years without any issues, or whether you’ll end up paying a “ransom” for your own website.

Let's go through them one by one.

License: Who Actually Owns the Website?

This is the most important paragraph in the entire contract, and also the one that’s hardest to read. Yet the differences are simple.

• Non-Exclusive License This means that you are allowed to use the website, but the creator may also sell it to someone else (e.g., design elements, etc.). This is common and acceptable for templates. For a custom-built website costing hundreds of thousands, however, it is less so.
• Exclusive License means that the creator may not provide the work in its current form to anyone else.
• The right to modify a work This is a separate matter that must be explicitly stated in the contract. Without it, no other vendor—or even you yourself—is legally permitted to make changes to the website.
• The Right to Transfer a License This is useful if you are selling your business or transferring the website to another company within the group.

The clause you are looking for in the contract reads something like this: The client obtains an exclusive license with no territorial or time restrictions, including the right to modify, adapt, and sublicense the work to a third party.

If there isn't such a clause, ask for it. Many suppliers will add it without hesitation, since they have nothing to lose. Those who resist are telling you something important about how they envision your future collaboration.

What to Do with Third-Party Components

Almost every website relies on components that weren't produced by the vendor: editorial system, templates, plugins, fonts, stock photos. These are subject to their authors’ licenses, not your contract.

That’s why the contract should include a list of paid components, including who pays for them after the first year. It can be an unpleasant surprise to discover that a premium template or stock photo library was a one-time purchase and will no longer receive updates after a year. With reputable agencies or freelancers, you shouldn’t run into this issue. I recommend reading our article on how to distinguish between Choose between a freelancer and an agency.

Logins and Accounts That Are Often Forgotten

The license covers the code. This section covers everything else and, in practice, causes more problems.

The contract—or at least the handover report—should state in black and white that these items belong to you and that you have access to them:

• Domain. It must be registered to your company as the owner, not to the supplier. You can verify this in the public domain registry.
• Web Hosting. Ideally, an account in your name to which the supplier has access—not the other way around.
• Website Administration. The account with the highest privileges, not the editor's account.
• Measuring instruments. Google Analytics, Search Console, Tag Manager. You should be listed as the owner of these accounts because they contain your historical data. However, I recommend granting owner access to the agency that built the website as a backup in case you lose access.
• Source code and backups. Where are they stored, and how can you access them if the supplier stops answering the phone? This is related to website backup.
• Email accounts. If they run on the same domain, they belong to the same list.

It's not a matter of mistrust. The point is that companies are relocating, people are leaving, and agencies are closing down. It's very difficult to secure access you don't already have at the last minute.

Scope of Work: What Exactly You'll Get

An inadequately defined scope of work is the second most common source of disputes, after licensing issues. Both parties have different ideas about what the term “website” means, and the discrepancy doesn’t become apparent until the project is delivered.

The specifications are usually attached to the contract and should address at least the following:

• How many master pages The website has—not the total number of subpages, but the number of different templates: homepage, list, detail, contact, blog.
• Who will provide the text and photos?. The most common hidden delay in the entire project.
• What's included and what costs extra. Integration with the billing system, language versions, forms, and the reservation system.
• What is the purpose of the website?. It sounds like a cliché, but it has practical implications: as an expert, the vendor is expected to take the purpose into account and cannot later claim that they didn't know what the website would be used for.

The more specific the attachment, the less room there is for guesswork. And this works both ways—it protects the supplier just as much as it protects you.

Acceptance: When Is It Actually Done?

Without a clear handover policy, a project can drag on indefinitely. The client sends more and more comments, the contractor waits for payment, and both sides are dissatisfied.

What the acceptance process in the contract should address:

1. Deadline for review. How many days do you have to review the work and provide feedback?.
2. Number of comment rounds. For graphic design, two to three are usually standard. Anything beyond that is extra work for extra pay.
3. What Happens When We Remain Silent. Many contracts include a provision stating that, once the deadline has passed, the work is considered accepted. It pays to know this in advance.
4. The difference between a defect and a change in specifications. A non-functional form is a defect. A new idea for a different menu structure constitutes a change in requirements.

Price, Down Payments, and Installments

To give you an idea of the price range: a template-based corporate website on the Czech market costs roughly 15,000 to 40,000 CZK, a custom website starts at around 80,000, and for larger projects or e-commerce sites, the costs go even higher. The exact price always depends on the scope of the project, not on a price list.

In a contract, the payment terms are more important than the amount itself:

• Installments are tied to phases, not to a calendar. A deposit upon signing, payment after the proposal is approved, and the balance due upon delivery. Not one-third each month regardless of what has been completed.
• What's included in the price for the coming year. Domain, hosting, component licenses. And how much will it cost starting in the second year?.
• Hourly rate for overtime work. Make sure you know it in advance, not just when you get your first invoice.
• When is a fee charged for changing the scope of work?. This is related to the acceptance mentioned above.

Be aware of the additional payment due only after launch. It may seem like a good deal, but it ties the hands of both parties, since the launch is often held up by something on your end—such as missing text.

What Will Happen After the Handover?

A website isn't like a piece of furniture that you build once and then leave as is. Content management systems and their plugins release updates that patch security holes. Without them, a website will become outdated within a year or two, leaving it vulnerable.

Therefore, the following should be included in the contract or in a subsequent service agreement:

• Warranty Period for Defects and what is considered a defect.
• Who handles the updates? the system and accessories, and at what intervals.
• Response time in the event of an outage. The difference between „by the next business day“ and „within four hours“ is crucial if you sell online.
• Who backs up their data and how often? and how long the deposits are held.
• How to End a Collaboration. The notice period and, most importantly, what you’ll receive when you leave: data export, source code, and account transfer.

The last point is the one you won't think of until you actually need it. It's much easier to agree on it at the beginning, when both sides are in a positive frame of mind, than it is later on.

Legal obligations are part of the scope of work

This section rarely appears in contracts, yet it can be costly. Today, websites have several obligations that aren't based on your personal preferences, but on the law.

• Accessibility. Act No. 424/2023 Coll. takes effect on June 28, 2025, and applies to e-shops and other consumer services, unless the operator is a microenterprise. If this applies to you, the requirement for WCAG 2.1 AA compliance must be specified directly in the project specifications. Making these changes retroactively is more expensive.
• Cookies and Consent to Processing. Who will supply the strip, the text, and the connections to the measuring instruments?.
• Terms and Conditions and Disclosure Requirements for online stores. These are usually provided by a lawyer, not the website developer, but the contract should clearly state who is responsible for incorporating them.

If this is missing from the scope of work, the contractor is under no obligation to provide it. And then you end up paying a second time for something that could have been included from the start.

Five Questions Before Signing

You don't need to know how to read contracts. Just ask five questions and listen to the answers.

1. „Can I have someone else update my website?“ The correct answer is yes, and it's in the contract. An evasive answer is a red flag.
2. „Who will the domain and hosting be registered to?“ The correct answer depends on your company.
3. „What exactly will I receive when our collaboration ends?“ There should be a specific list, not just a general assurance.
4. „How many rounds of revisions are included in the price, and what counts as extra work?“ A specific number and a specific rate.
5. „Who handles updates after launch, and what happens if the website goes down?“ The name and reaction time should be announced.

A supplier who answers these questions without hesitation and immediately offers to include this in the contract has told you more about themselves than any reference ever could.

How Collaboration with Apadore Works

To ensure this doesn't remain just theory, here's how we at Apadore approach this in practice to ensure our clients are satisfied. Think of this as an example of what a good response might look like, not as the only correct option.

• The range is in the menu, not in your head. The proposal details what we will provide and what we need from you—that is, the content and supporting materials. It is part of the contract, so there’s no need to debate halfway through the project what was and wasn’t included in the order.
• Two rounds of comments for each phase. Two rounds for strategy, two for each page in the design, and two for development. During development, we no longer address design changes—only animations, interactions, and element behavior. Anything beyond that is billed at the hourly rate specified in the contract, and we’ll keep you updated on how much time the adjustments have taken. That way, there won’t be any surprises at the end.
• We do not address the difference between a defect and a change in specifications during completion. We firmly believe in the quality of our websites, but we'll make adjustments to everything anyway. We don't ask whether it's a bug or a scope change.
• The domain is yours; we'll take care of the hosting. We often host websites on our own servers. The client always owns the domain; the only difference is whether we have access to it via an administrator account or whether you manage the DNS yourself.
• Once the project is handed over, the website is 100% yours. We don’t build on our own content management system, but rather on WordPress, Payload, Svelte CMS, and similar solutions. You can edit the website yourself, hand it over to another developer, or walk away. We don’t practice vendor lock-in; we rely on retaining you through quality and ongoing care for your website after launch.
• You know the operating cost in advance. Both the offer and the contract clearly state what constitutes a one-time payment and what constitutes an annual cost. There are no hidden fees.
• The care package is optional. As the project comes to a close, we are offering a permanent position at SEO (initial setup is included in the price), hosting, updates, and backups, plus a service contract with defined response times. If you don't want that, you can manage your website yourself or through someone else.
• We fix bugs for free for three months after launch. Three, because after a while, it becomes difficult to distinguish between what is our mistake and what is a consequence of how quickly frameworks and libraries change.

Frequently Asked Questions

What key points should a website development contract include?

Identification of the parties, the purpose of the website, a description of the work in the attachment, the price and milestone-based payments, deadlines, the acceptance process, and the scope of the license. In addition, a list of access credentials and accounts that are to be assigned to you, and an agreement regarding operation after handover.

What is the difference between a contract for services and a website license agreement?

A contract for work specifies that someone will create a website for you and hand it over to you. The licensing section specifies what you are then allowed to do with it, because the copyright remains with the creator. For a website, both aspects are usually combined into a single contract, and without the licensing section, you would end up with a work that you are not allowed to modify.

Who owns a website if it was created by an agency?

It depends on the scope of the license in the contract. Simply paying the invoice does not mean that you are allowed to modify the website as you wish or transfer it to another vendor. Look for an exclusive license in the contract that grants you the right to modify the work and grant sublicenses.

How can I find out who my domain is registered to?

For Czech domains in the public registry at nic.cz, use the WHOIS service for others. The owner should be your company, not a vendor or a specific employee. If someone else is listed, resolve this before making any changes.

Where can I find a sample contract for website development?

Templates are available online and can serve as a starting point. Keep in mind, however, that a template isn’t tailored to your specific project. For a contract worth tens of thousands, it’s worth having the contract reviewed by a lawyer who specializes in IT law.

Does a website contract have to be in writing?

An oral agreement or an exchange of emails can also be binding. However, it’s worth putting things in writing, because without it, the scope of the work, deadlines, and—most importantly—the license are very difficult to prove. Furthermore, written form is the standard practice for licenses to copyrighted works.

What if the supplier refuses to grant a license for modifications?

Ask why. With off-the-shelf solutions, it may be a third-party license over which the vendor has no control. With a custom website, it’s more of a business decision, and it’s legitimate to consider this when choosing a vendor.

How do you approach this at Apador?

The domain is always owned by the client, and once the website is handed over, it belongs entirely to them, because we build on standard content management systems, not our own. Hosting is typically included in our website maintenance services, but it is an optional service, not a requirement. We describe this in more detail above in the section on collaboration. If you’re reviewing a proposal from anyone and aren’t sure what it includes, reach out to us and we’ll go over it with you.

What to Take Away From This

A website contract isn't just a formality you sign on your way to the more interesting part of the project. It's the only document that will determine, two years from now, whether you'll be able to do whatever you want with your website.

The most important things are a license that grants you the right to modify the work, a list of access rights assigned to your company, and a clear agreement on what you’ll receive when the collaboration ends. The rest can be worked out as you go, but not these.

And if, after reading it, you're not sure what's in your offer, it's not your fault. These passages are written in legal language because they're written by lawyers.

Are you planning a new website and want to go over the proposal with someone who knows what to look for? Contact us and we'll walk through it together, even if you end up going somewhere else.

A contract is a preventive measure. Once it’s signed and you’re leaving the supplier, different rules apply—and, most importantly, the sequence of steps changes. We’ve outlined what to request in such a situation—and why the domain is always the first priority—in our article on the subject, What to Ask Before Switching Web Agencies.