Most small website projects here proceed with no written agreement at all — which is why disputes become contests of recollection where both sides remember honestly and differently. Copy the template below, fill in eleven blanks, and you’ve removed that entire category of problem.
Not legal advice. For a store, an integration, or anything above a straightforward brochure site, have an advocate look at it — one consultation fee is cheap against the amounts involved.
The one-page agreement
WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT Date: __________ Client: __________ (business name, address, GSTIN if any) Developer: __________ (firm name, address, GSTIN if registered) 1. What is being built A website at the domain __________, comprising these pages: __________ (list every page by name — not “up to 5 pages”) Features included: contact form delivering to __________ · WhatsApp button on __________ (with country code) · map embed · __________ Not included: __________ (content writing / photography / product entry / SEO / advertising / anything else) 2. What the Client supplies, and by when Text for all pages, photographs, logo file, prices, and exact contact details, by __________. If the Client supplies these late, the dates in clause 3 extend by the length of the delay. 3. Timeline Design for approval by __________ All pages viewable on a staging link by __________ Live by __________ “Live” means: published on the Client’s own domain, contact form tested and confirmed delivering, WhatsApp and call buttons tested, and all logins in clause 5 handed over. 4. Price and payment Total: ₹__________ plus GST at 18% = ₹__________ payable. — 30% on signing this agreement, against a tax invoice — 30% on the Client’s written approval of the design — 30% when all pages are viewable on the staging link — 10% on go-live as defined in clause 3 Year two onward: domain ₹______ + hosting ₹______ + maintenance ₹______ (optional) per year. 5. Ownership and access — non-negotiable The domain __________ is registered in the Client’s name, in an account controlled by the Client, using the Client’s email address. At go-live the Developer hands over, and the Client tests: domain registrar login · hosting login · website admin login · a full backup (files and database) as a downloadable file · analytics and Search Console under the Client’s own Google account. The Developer confirms that nothing — Google Business Profile, analytics, business email, payment gateway — is registered under the Developer’s own account on the Client’s behalf, except as listed here: __________ The Client owns all content supplied by the Client, and the live website. Template or plugin licences are as follows: __________ 6. Revisions ____ rounds of revisions are included, each submitted by the Client as one numbered list. Additional rounds: ₹______ each. Additional pages: ₹______ each, with the delivery date extended by ____ days per page. 7. After launch The Developer will respond to support requests within ____ working day(s). Small content changes cost ₹______ each, or ₹______ per month under a maintenance plan covering: backups stored off-server · software updates · uptime monitoring · ____ content edits per month. 8. If it goes wrong If the site is not live by the date in clause 3 for reasons other than the Client’s late content, the Client may: (a) withhold the final instalment until it is; or (b) after ____ days, end this agreement and receive all files, the backup and all logins, having paid only for stages completed. If the Client ends the agreement before the design is approved, the Developer retains ____% of the advance for work done. 9. Confidentiality Both parties will treat the other’s pricing, customer enquiries and business information as confidential. 10. Dispute Both parties will attempt to resolve any dispute directly first. Jurisdiction: __________. Client signature / name: __________ Developer signature / name: __________
The two-minute version, if a formal agreement will stall the project
Realistically, many small projects will never sign anything. This works, and it’s a written agreement in substance — offer, terms and acceptance, with timestamps:
Confirming what we’ve agreed: ₹[total] plus GST for these pages — [list]. I supply text, photographs and logo by [date]. [Number] revision rounds. Live by [date], where live means on my domain with the contact form tested and all three logins handed to me. Domain registered in my name and account. Year-two cost for domain and hosting: ₹[amount]. Payment: 30% now, 30% on design approval, 30% when all pages are viewable on a staging link, 10% on go-live. After launch, small changes ₹[amount] with a [X]-working-day response. Please confirm and send the invoice for the advance.
Get a reply saying yes. Then export the chat — screenshots lose timestamps — and keep it in one folder with the invoice and payment records.
The five clauses that matter most
If you shorten anything, keep these:
| Clause | Why it’s load-bearing |
|---|---|
| 5. Domain in your name and account | Decides whether you can ever leave. Better still, register it yourself first |
| 1. Pages by name | Almost every scope dispute traces to “up to 5 pages” |
| 3. “Live” defined | Without this, a project can sit at 90% indefinitely |
| 4. Year-two cost | The most common source of feeling misled later |
| 6. Revision rounds as a number | Undefined revisions produce the spiral and then the stall |
Two clauses that protect the developer too
Worth pointing out, because an agreement only gets signed if it’s fair.
Clause 2 says late content from you extends the dates. That’s genuinely fair — content delay is the largest cause of overrun — and including it makes the whole document much easier to get agreed.
Clause 8 lets them retain a share of the advance if you cancel early. Also fair. A one-sided document doesn’t get signed, and you want this signed.
When to use an advocate instead
For a brochure site the template above covers the risks that actually materialise. Spend a consultation fee where:
- The build involves payments, stock, customer data or an integration with your systems
- The amount is large relative to your turnover
- Custom code or design ownership genuinely matters to you commercially
- You’re recovering from a previous dispute and want something enforceable
What to do this week
- Register your domain in your own account before signing anything.
- Fill in the eleven blanks — the page list and dates take longest.
- If a formal document will stall things, send the two-minute version instead.
- Get a written “yes” and export the chat.
- Keep the agreement, invoice and payment records in one folder.
If you want it done the certain way
We’ll sign this template as written, or send you our version with the same eleven items filled in before you pay anything — including the domain clause and the year-two figure. Use ours or use yours; the point is that something exists. WhatsApp us; we reply in about five minutes between 9am and 7pm.
Related reading
- Should there be a written agreement for a website project?
- When the WhatsApp chat becomes your only contract
- What paper should your advance actually buy you?
- The 12-point safety checklist
- Website scope of work template
FAQ
Do I need a contract for a website in India?
Something in writing, yes. Most small projects have nothing, which is why disputes become recollection contests. A one-page agreement or even a single confirmation message with a “yes” in reply covers the risks that actually materialise.
Is a WhatsApp message legally enough for a website agreement?
In substance it records offer, terms and acceptance with timestamps, and it’s usable in any recovery route. Export the chat rather than screenshotting it, and keep it with the invoice and payment records.
What must a website agreement include?
Pages by name, who supplies content and by when, a definition of “live”, the price with GST and the year-two cost, the domain registered in your name and account, revision rounds as a number, and the post-launch response time and change rate.
Should the agreement protect the developer too?
Yes, or it won’t get signed. Two fair clauses: late content from you extends the timeline, and they retain a share of the advance if you cancel before design approval.
