Handing over site files to client:...

I recently had a client ask me for the ''access code'' to his site; I told him such a thing didn't exist and if he wanted to update his own site he could purchase a CMS. While Contribute is another option, it is money detoured from me to Adobe, notwithstanding repairing broken sites. My question is, since web design is a service, not a product, is it absolutely necessary to hand over the site files to the client? I don't think a client can access a site using an open source FTP client such as Filezilla without 777 permissions, and I refuse to give these for security reasons.... Does anyone stipulate this in the web development contract or is it merely understood?...

Handing over site files to client:...

They probably want the files because they found someone else that can do the work twice as good for half the price. Give them what you've done for them and let them build off it if they want. That's what they pay for if it's not expressly stipulated otherwise in your written agreement. If you do not provide FTP access to your clients then I think your service offering may be limited at best and I could see why they may be exploring other possible avenues. JMHO

Handing over site files to client:...

I hand over the relevant data files,聽 DWT, HTML, PHP, Jpg, Png, Gif, media, FTP access and domain name registration info.聽 In the event something unforeseen happens to me,聽 I don't want my clients to be up the creek without a paddle.聽 They pay me for my work but ultimately the end product (site) is theirs to do with as they please.

That said, I don't provide them with original comp PSD, native video/music, FLA or vector graphic files unless our agreement specifically calls for this.聽 I also stipulate in my written contract that they cannot claim ownership of royalty free images, open source scripts, custom scripts, etc...聽 I haven't had any complaints BTW.聽 And if they take their business to someone else after I've done my part, so be it.聽 There are lots more fish in the sea.

Nancy O.
Alt-Web Design %26amp; Publishing
Web | Graphics | Print | Media聽 Specialists
www.alt-web.com/
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Without a written agreement beforehand, I can't say for sure what the absolute legalites are. But as a rule of thumb, the client usually retains the rights to the published files and content.聽 That means the files that are publised to the webserver.

Source files are another thing.聽 Any Photoshop or Flash source files aren't necessarily atutomatically property of the client, unless specifed in the agreement beforehand.

The webshosting account is another thing.聽 If you've set up the hosting account along with your contact and billing information, then you're under no obligation to provide them FTP access to it.聽 In that case you could transfer ownership of the domain name and hosting account to them, or provide them the website files and let them set up their own hosting account.

It is likely, as DWFaq pointed out, that they've found someone else to maintain the site, or, it could be just as they said that they want to manage the content themselves.聽 Either way, be very clear once you've handed over the site what your rates will be for further support and consultation. Clent managee sites are not unheard of, in fact its very common . Offer training and support in this area at reasonable rates and you'll probably find that they'll call on you often because they don't have the time nor expertise to do what they may have thought was easy.

''They probably want the files because they found someone else that can do the work twice as good for half the price.''

Oh come on, DWfaq, this is the typical client who can't wrap his mind around what the purpose is for optimizing images for the web. Gee whiz....

Unless otherwise stipulated, I consider my client to be the owner of the finished files for the web site.

But I suspect this may be a hosting issue. There are a lot of commercials on the radio advertising hosting for only $4.50. When I hear these radio spots, I think, ''I wonder if my clients are going to get any ideas.'' The ones I have heard came from GoDaddy. There's no question in my mind that if one of my server-illiterate clients every tried to do their own hosting with GoDaddy, it would turn out to be a nightmare for them.

Recently, I received an email from a client that told me that she got a really good offer for hosting. I told her that her hosting with me included basic maintenance and this:

''... you are saving money if you host it yourself as long as you have the proper software to upload your files and then you might need other software to make any changes to your web site or pay a web design company to do it. You also need to know a little about web servers. I suspect the hosting that you are being offered is by a hosting company that is just renting you space on a server but not actually doing any work for you鈥攜ou will have to do everything yourself. So, it鈥檚 really not the same web hosting that we do, but if you want to switch over, I will send you the FTP information when you are ready so you can download your files from my server.''

She ended up sticking with me.

This is precisely my point: there is a ton of misinformation out there regarding the actual difficulty of simply maintaining a website. Heck, I had a client who is 20 something, fairly tech savvy, and yet she was not willing to learn Gimp in order to upload photos of here merchandise. When you think about the actual work--enhancing the photos, isolating them, etc. in PS, then going through the process of resizing and uploading three or four photos per item, it really is a labor-intensive time-consuming pain in the a$$...

Incidentally, I charge the equivalent of about $7 a month for basic hosting precisely in order to retain clients for maintenance and additions fees...