Don't make the same mistake Faith did
Tuesday August 28, 2007
It's interesting to me how many beginning freelance Web designers don't like to use contracts. They want to show their customers that they trust them, that they believe in the goodness of their fellow man. Or maybe they just can't be bothered. But contracts protect both you and your client.
Faith learned this the hard way when she set up a site for someone. After she got the whole thing built, he changed all the access to the site and didn't pay her for her work. Luckily, Faith was able to find some recompense - but that is unusual. It's much more common to simply lose your work and the money you should have earned.
Comments
Been there, done that. It’s not a good thing to have happen to you.
I think we all have, Kari, especially when starting out and chasing $$$.
Besides contracts, I’ve also learned through experience to a) complete all work on my own development server instead of the client’s and b) sign up for a bare bones “reseller” account, allowing me to host a client’s site — it’s only an extra $20/mo. over regular shared hosting, and that way if a site needs to go live before being paid in full I always have full admin control over it no matter what.