Create Sean: Journey to Professional Designer

I’m in the middle of putting together a contract for my first client and am discovering how much work this really is. Fortunately I’ve done a lot of reading and was prepared to answer this question from my client:

Only question I have is whether the price is firm or not?  In other words, what if we have to go back and forth a few times with the initial comps and that adds another few hours.  Is the price based on an hourly or are we just running with a flat fee?

Bullet proof web design contracts talks about scope creep and revisions:

scope creep is “the natural process by which clients discover what they really want.” My first encounter with this phenomenon was relatively minor (a client suddenly wanted a bunch of animated GIFs on a particular page), but it made me keenly aware of what a slippery slope this can become.

The purpose of detailing the project scope is not to prevent the inevitable scope creep, but to give you the flexibility of deciding when it’s appropriate to charge for the additional work. Depending on the size of the project, it may not be appropriate to include the project specifications in the actual contract. Regardless of whether the specs are in the contract, or a separate document, be sure to specify exactly what is and is not included

Client Amends and Revisions

By far, one of the most common mistakes inexperienced freelancers make is failing to limit the number of design revisions the client is allowed to request. When I first started out—before there was a Web to speak of—I agreed to design a brochure for an acquaintance. About six or seven revisions later, I began to wonder if the brochure would ever be finished. I learned my lesson early, so when I began developing Websites, I clearly stipulated the number of revisions and haven’t had a problem since.

I told my client there will be a limit in the number of revisions, but haven’t yet stipulated what that will be. Also how do I define a major or minor revision? should there be different limits to them?

I’ve also found a number of sample contracts as well as terms and conditions from various web design firms & free lancers. I’m now trying to assemble them into something I can use with this client. Yikes, it’s a lot of work. At the same time I have sent an email to a local law firm that I know has English speakers and at least one foreign advisor on staff to inquire about fees for contract writing. If they don’t engage in that area of law, I’ve asked them to recommend a firm that does.

Anyhow back to the grind - it’s a ton of work and I haven’t even started design work yet.

update

I emailed the client contract after having based it on a number of samples I found on line. This involved a lot of cut & paste and then editing specifics to match what I do. I also added a non-disclosure of fee structure since I know that my fees will go up once I’ve got a little experience and I don’t want my current budget fees to become common knowlege. Any thoughts on this?

14. The client agrees to a non-disclosure of fee structure for this project. This includes but is not limited to flat fee, hourly rates, and billing cycle.