Signed when you go live · template v3.0.0
The Client Agreement
This is the exact agreement every client signs, published here so you can read my terms before we ever speak. I build first, so you sign it once you have seen the work and want it live. The [bracketed] parts are filled in together, per client. Nothing else changes.
One document, three cases
- A new site. This is the version below.
- New work on a site you already have. It adds what exists today, and what stays and what changes.
- Work that is already finished. It records what was done and what I may publish. Nothing else.
What this document is
This is the agreement we sign when you decide to put your site live. I build first, so you have already seen the work. It says what I built for you, what you own, how you pay, how you leave, and what I may say about the work in public. It is signed by both parties, and neither party edits it afterwards.
The kind of work
A new site. [e.g. A new site for the practice, built before you pay]
The work itself
[e.g. A new website on your own domain, with the pages your customers need, a booking path that works on a phone, your Google Business Profile completed, and the follow-up that runs after an enquiry arrives.]
Built before you paid
I built this before you paid anything. If you had not wanted it, we would have shaken hands and you would have lost nothing. Signing this agreement and paying the build fee is what puts it live.
The price and the country it is set for
The price for this work is set for the country it is billed in. My prices are worked out from my Canadian prices by purchasing power parity, using figures the World Bank publishes, and the method is published at sheigoldberg.com/pricing/where-you-live. The amount we agree for this work is the one that binds. A price shown on my site for another country does not apply to this work.
Month to month
After the build fee, you pay monthly. The monthly fee pays for the ongoing work that brings customers in: the content, the upkeep that keeps you visible, and the follow up. It also pays for the measurement that tells us both whether it is working, and for your site to run on my platform. There is no fixed term. You can stop at the end of any month.
What you own, from day one
Your domain, registered in your business's name and paid on your business's card. I am invited in as a user, never the owner. Your email account, on the same rule. Your CRM, in your own account, which you pay for directly, so your customer data and your list are yours outright. Your content: every word of copy, every image and every brand asset made for you.
What you do not own
My platform, and the code it runs on. Your site runs on the same platform every client's site runs on, and the monthly fee is what keeps it running there. That shared platform is why it is fast, why it is maintained, and why it costs what it costs. There is no code buy out, because there is no separate code to buy. I put this in writing before you sign, so it is never a surprise when you leave. What protects you is owning everything above: your domain, your email, your CRM, your content and your data.
If payment stops
The site goes dark. That is all. Your domain, your email, your CRM and your data are untouched, because they were always in your name. Paying the monthly fee again brings the site back.
If you leave
Tell me, and it ends at the end of the current month. There is no exit fee. Within 14 days I hand over everything that can be exported: your content, your images, your customer data and your measurement records. You do not get a working copy of the site, because it runs on my platform and my code.
What I may publish
I may name [Client business name].
I may publish: a page about this work on sheigoldberg.com; screenshots of the site, and the logo; a testimonial, in their words; quotes from reviews they write in public; numbers and results.
I may not publish: a video of them saying it.
Why I ask now
I ask at signature, with a name to use instead if you would rather not be named, because asking afterwards puts one of us in a negotiation the other controls. Agreeing now, either way, costs you nothing.
Changing your mind
You can withdraw this at any time, by telling me. Anything not yet published stays unpublished. Anything already on my site comes off it. My site reads your current answer every time a page loads, so a withdrawal takes effect straight away rather than waiting for me to get to it.
Document version
This agreement was produced from fixed template version 3.0.0, published at sheigoldberg.com/client-agreement. Signing records the version, so both parties can always establish exactly which terms were agreed.
The first step