Contracts are vital for freelance Web designers as Faith learned the hard way. She was pretty lucky, in that she was able to get some results (like getting the site banned from Google) and so on. But most freelancers aren't that successful.
Even if you're building a site for a friend or family member, always have a written contract. Remember, contracts protect both you and the client. And if the client is your friend, it can protect your friendship as well.
As a new webdesigner I would often let my clients do monthly payments if they couldnt afford me. I did the same for this guy who needed a website for his skin care products. He gave me a sob story on how he was trying to get his business started and he couldnt afford to pay me all at once. So I told him to give me a little something upfront and I would break the payments down for him. My first mistake was I didnt do a contract with the guy. The next mistake was I didnt have full access to his hosting account. I had the username and password to get to the FTP but nothing else. Why was that a problem you ask? Well when it was time to make a payment for the next month, he couldnt pay me and he had the nerve to say that he had other bills and I was the last person on his list. So I decided I would take the site down until he paid me. But he CHANGED THE PASSWORD ON ME to the FTP Server, and in order to change the password I would have to have another set of logins for the hosting account, like username, password, security question and answer.
I was so hurt and upset, because I tried to help someone who was down on their luck and I got stabbed in the back. I did some research on what I could do since he basically stole my work. I went to the website www.webmasterworld.com to get advice on what I should do. Alot of the members told me something about the DMCA (The Digital Millennim Copyright Act). I did more research on it and followed the directions and faxed Google and they got his website off the search engines. I even went so far as getting a collection agency on him. Now this was all over $450. Yes that may seem small but it's alot when you depend on that money.
After that I chocked it up and moved on, I had to rethink my business. I now do Contracts with all clients. If I do allow them to do payments, I only put the site on the web when they are finished paying. That way I wont have the issue of a client changing the passwords on me again.
Well thats my story....hope someone learns from it.
