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What a proper web design contract looks like in PH (template)

The 10 sections every PH web design contract needs in 2026, with example clauses for scope, IP under RA 8293, payment, warranty, and dispute resolution.

Hiring 12 min read

Most Philippine web design projects above ₱30,000 should have a written contract, and most don’t. I’ve watched founders chase designers through Messenger over scope. I’ve watched designers absorb three “small additions” that ate two weeks of work because nothing was written down. The contract is not paranoia. It’s the document that lets both sides do their jobs.

This article walks through the 10 sections every Philippine web design contract should have, with example clauses you can adapt. It’s based on what I use with my own clients at webdesigner.ph and what I’ve seen work in practice across small and medium business projects in the Philippines.

This is not legal advice. I’m a web designer, not a lawyer. Before signing any contract — yours or someone else’s — have it reviewed by a Philippine-licensed attorney. The clauses below are starting points, not finished documents.

The short answer

A proper Philippine web design contract has 10 sections: parties, scope, timeline, payment schedule, revisions, IP assignment under RA 8293, post-launch warranty, exclusions, termination, and dispute resolution under Philippine law. Total length is usually 6–10 pages. It should be specific enough that a third party reading it cold can tell what was promised, what wasn’t, and what happens if things go wrong. If your contract is one paragraph in an email, it’s not a contract — it’s a hope.

Section 1: Parties

The contract starts by naming the two parties. Sounds obvious. Get it wrong and you’ve signed a contract that’s hard to enforce.

What to include:

  • Full legal name of the client (the registered business name, not the brand name)
  • Business address (the registered address with DTI, SEC, or BIR)
  • TIN, if relevant
  • Authorized signatory and their position
  • Same details for the designer or design firm

Example clause:

This Web Design Services Agreement (“Agreement”) is entered into on [date] by and between [Client legal name], a [sole proprietorship / corporation] organized under Philippine law with principal office at [address] and TIN [number] (“Client”), and [Designer legal name], with principal office at [address] and TIN [number] (“Designer”).

If you’re hiring as Juan dela Cruz Pharmacy Inc. but signing as “Juan dela Cruz,” the contract is enforceable against Juan personally — not the corporation. That’s a problem. Sign as the entity, with your title.

Section 2: Scope of work

This is where most disputes actually live. “We’ll build you a website” is not scope. Scope is specific deliverables, named.

What to include:

  • Specific page count and page list (Home, About, Services, Contact, Blog, etc.)
  • Functionality named: contact form, booking widget, GCash integration, blog CMS
  • Platform specified: WordPress, Shopify, WooCommerce
  • Design deliverables: number of design mockups, responsive breakpoints, design system documentation
  • Content responsibility: who writes copy, who supplies images, who creates the logo
  • Browser and device support: which versions of Chrome, Safari, Edge; mobile breakpoints
  • Performance targets: Core Web Vitals (LCP under 1.5s, INP under 200ms, CLS under 0.1)
  • SEO foundations included: schema markup, on-page optimization, Search Console setup

Example clause:

Designer will deliver a custom-designed WordPress website consisting of the following pages: Home, About, Services (with three service detail sub-pages), Blog index and post template, Contact, and Privacy Policy. Functionality includes: a contact form integrated with [email provider], a Google Maps embed on the Contact page, GCash and Maya payment integration via PayMongo on the Services pages, basic on-page SEO (title tags, meta descriptions, schema markup for LocalBusiness), and Google Search Console setup. Design will be responsive across mobile (320–767px), tablet (768–1023px), and desktop (1024px+) breakpoints. Performance targets: LCP under 1.5s, INP under 200ms, CLS under 0.1, measured via PageSpeed Insights on the production URL. Client is responsible for supplying all written content, brand assets, and images. Stock photography sourced by Designer is limited to royalty-free libraries.

If a clause sounds boring to write, it’s doing its job. Specific scope kills 80% of “but I thought it included…” arguments before they start.

Section 3: Timeline and phases

State the phases, the duration of each, and what triggers the next.

Common phases:

  1. Discovery (1 week): kickoff, brand review, content audit, sitemap approval
  2. Design (2–3 weeks): wireframes, design mockups, design system, two rounds of revisions
  3. Development (2–3 weeks): build, integrate, content load
  4. QA and revision (1 week): cross-browser testing, performance optimization, final tweaks
  5. Launch (1–2 days): DNS migration, production checks, handover
  6. Post-launch warranty (30–60 days): bug fixes only

Example clause:

The project will proceed in five phases: Discovery (1 week from contract signing and deposit receipt), Design (3 weeks), Development (3 weeks), QA and Revision (1 week), and Launch (2 business days). Total estimated duration: 8 weeks from project start. Each phase begins upon Client written approval of the prior phase deliverables. Client approval delays beyond 5 business days will extend the overall timeline by an equal amount. Designer’s failure to deliver a phase on time, absent client-side delay, entitles Client to a credit of [amount] against the next invoice.

The last sentence matters. Without a remedy for designer-side delay, the timeline is a suggestion.

Section 4: Payment schedule with triggers

Payment is the section both sides care about most. Make it crisp.

Standard PH structures:

  • 50/50: 50% on contract signing, 50% on launch (used for projects under ₱100K)
  • 30/40/30: 30% on signing, 40% on design approval, 30% on launch
  • Milestone-based: payments tied to specific phase deliverables (Discovery, Design, Development, Launch)

Example clause:

Total project fee: ₱150,000.00 (one hundred fifty thousand pesos), exclusive of 12% VAT where applicable. Payment schedule: ₱45,000 (30%) on contract signing, ₱60,000 (40%) on Client approval of final design mockups, ₱45,000 (30%) on production launch. Invoices are payable within 7 calendar days of issuance via bank transfer to [bank account] or via GCash to [number]. Late payment beyond 14 days suspends Designer’s work until payment is received and entitles Designer to charge 1.5% interest per month on the overdue amount. BIR Official Receipt will be issued for every payment received.

Notice the BIR mention. If you’re hiring a registered Philippine designer, you should be receiving Official Receipts. If they can’t issue an OR, that’s a separate question worth asking before signing.

Section 5: Revisions defined

“Unlimited revisions” sounds generous and is the source of the most painful project deaths I’ve seen. Define it.

What to specify:

  • Revisions per phase (typically 2 rounds for design, 1 round for development)
  • What counts as a revision (changes to existing deliverables) vs. scope change (new requirements)
  • Hourly rate for revisions beyond the agreed count
  • Maximum response time for client feedback

Example clause:

Design phase includes two (2) rounds of revisions on the agreed mockups. Development phase includes one (1) round of revisions on the built site. A “revision” means changes to existing deliverables (color adjustments, copy edits, image swaps, layout tweaks within the same content structure). New requirements not in the original scope (additional pages, new functionality, new integrations) are scope changes and will be billed separately at ₱2,500/hour with a written estimate provided before work begins. Client must consolidate revision feedback into a single written document per round and provide it within 5 business days of receiving the deliverable.

That last sentence — feedback in one document, within 5 days — is what stops the slow drip of “one more thing” emails that destroy timelines.

Section 6: IP assignment under RA 8293

This is the section most Philippine designers leave vague, and it’s the one that bites clients later.

Under Republic Act 8293, the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines, copyright in a created work belongs to the creator by default. For commissioned work, the work itself is owned by the person who commissioned it, but the copyright stays with the creator unless explicitly assigned in writing. Translation: if you don’t have an IP clause, the designer technically still owns the design and code.

What to include:

  • When IP transfers (always: upon final payment)
  • What’s transferred (design files, code, content created by designer)
  • What’s NOT transferred (third-party assets like themes, plugins, fonts, stock images licensed only for this project)
  • Designer’s right to use the project in their portfolio

Example clause:

Upon Client’s full payment of all amounts due under this Agreement, Designer assigns to Client all rights, title, and interest, including all economic and moral rights to the extent assignable under RA 8293, in the custom design files, source code, and original written content created specifically for this project. This assignment excludes: (a) third-party assets (themes, plugins, fonts, stock images, and software libraries) which remain governed by their respective licenses, and (b) Designer’s pre-existing tools, frameworks, and methodologies, which Designer grants Client a perpetual, non-exclusive license to use as embedded in the deliverables. Designer retains the right to display the project in Designer’s portfolio and case studies, including screenshots, descriptive text, and a link to the live site, without further consent or fee.

The “until full payment” condition is the bit that protects the designer. Most don’t include it. They should.

Section 7: Post-launch warranty

A warranty period covers bugs that show up after launch — things that should have worked but didn’t. It’s not free unlimited support.

What to specify:

  • Duration (30, 60, or 90 days is typical)
  • What’s covered (functional bugs, broken integrations, performance regressions on baseline)
  • What’s NOT covered (content updates, new features, training, third-party service outages)
  • Response time

Example clause:

Designer provides a 60-day post-launch warranty covering functional defects in deliverables (“Bugs”). A Bug is defined as deliverable behavior that materially deviates from the approved scope. Designer will fix Bugs reported in writing during the warranty period at no additional cost, with first response within 2 Philippine business days. The warranty does not cover: content updates, new features or pages, additional functionality, training, design changes, third-party service outages (hosting, payment gateways, email providers), or issues caused by Client modifications to the codebase. Bugs reported after the warranty period are billed at Designer’s standard hourly rate or covered under a separate care plan if active.

Section 8: Exclusions

Name what’s not included. Boring, essential.

Common exclusions:

  • Hosting and domain registration costs
  • Premium plugin licenses
  • Stock photography beyond a stated budget
  • Logo design (if not in scope)
  • Copywriting (if client supplies content)
  • Translation services
  • Ongoing SEO work
  • Email marketing setup
  • Social media setup
  • Advertising campaigns
  • BIR-compliant invoice template development (often a separate scope)

Example clause:

The following are not included in this Agreement and, if required, will be quoted separately: (a) annual hosting and domain registration fees; (b) premium plugin licenses exceeding ₱5,000 in total; (c) stock photography licenses exceeding ₱3,000 in total; (d) logo or brand identity design; (e) copywriting beyond minor edits to Client-supplied content; (f) translation into languages other than English; (g) ongoing SEO services beyond the launch foundations described in Scope; (h) email marketing platform configuration; (i) paid advertising campaigns; (j) custom BIR-compliant invoice or receipt generation logic.

Section 9: Termination

Either party should be able to walk away cleanly. State how.

What to include:

  • Termination for convenience (with notice period)
  • Termination for cause (material breach, non-payment, abandonment)
  • What’s owed at termination (work-to-date payment, deliverable handover)
  • What’s not refundable (deposits already earned)

Example clause:

Either party may terminate this Agreement for convenience with 14 days’ written notice. Either party may terminate immediately for cause if the other party materially breaches the Agreement and fails to cure within 7 days of written notice. Upon termination: (a) Client pays Designer for all work completed up to the termination date, calculated on a percentage-of-completion basis against the relevant phase fee; (b) Designer hands over all completed deliverables in their then-current state, in standard file formats, within 5 business days of final payment; (c) the deposit is non-refundable to the extent it covers Discovery work already performed. IP assignment under Section 6 takes effect only upon full payment of all amounts due, including amounts owed at termination.

Section 10: Dispute resolution under PH law

Specify the venue, the law, and the escalation path.

What to include:

  • Governing law (Philippine law)
  • Venue (specific city’s RTC, or arbitration venue)
  • Required pre-litigation steps (good-faith negotiation, mediation)
  • Attorney’s fees clause

Example clause:

This Agreement is governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Republic of the Philippines, without regard to conflict-of-law principles. The parties agree to attempt to resolve any dispute arising under this Agreement through good-faith negotiation for at least 30 days before initiating any formal proceedings. Any dispute not resolved through negotiation will be filed exclusively in the proper Regional Trial Court of [Quezon City / Makati / Cebu City], to the exclusion of any other venue. The prevailing party in any such proceeding is entitled to recover reasonable attorney’s fees and costs.

For international clients hiring Philippine designers, insist on Philippine venue. Otherwise, you’re looking at international arbitration in Singapore or somewhere similar — fees alone often exceed the project value.

What I tell clients

If you’re a Philippine SME hiring a designer for the first time:

  • Demand a written contract for any project above ₱30,000. If the designer doesn’t have one, that’s a red flag worth taking seriously.
  • Read the IP clause carefully. “I’ll send you the files when we’re done” is not IP assignment.
  • Make payment triggers specific. “On launch” is fine if “launch” is defined. Otherwise, define it.
  • Don’t sign on Messenger. Get it on paper or as a signed PDF. eSignatures from established providers (DocuSign, Adobe Sign, HelloSign) are recognized under RA 8792 (E-Commerce Act).
  • Have a lawyer look at it. Even a 1-hour consultation at ₱2,000–₱5,000 is cheap insurance on a ₱150,000 project.

If you’re a designer:

  • Use a contract template every time. The cost of one bad project without a contract dwarfs the cost of using one.
  • Define revisions and exclusions explicitly. This is where scope creep lives.
  • Make IP transfer conditional on full payment. This is your leverage if a client tries to walk away mid-project.

A note on contract length

A good Philippine web design contract is 6–10 pages. Shorter contracts are usually missing something important. Longer contracts are usually agency-drafted to favour the agency. If you’re handed a 30-page contract for a ₱100,000 project, read it carefully — that length suggests the agency is more worried about itself than about the work.

The contract is not the relationship. It’s the floor under the relationship — the document that says what happens if everything else fails. Most projects never need to consult the contract after signing. The few that do, you’ll be very glad you have one.

If you’re hiring soon and want a starting point, send me your project details and I’ll reply with the contract template I use, marked up for your scope, within one Philippine business day. No obligation. Run it past your lawyer. Use it with whichever designer you hire.

Sources and notes:

  • All clauses above are illustrative drafting examples, not finished legal documents. Have any contract reviewed by a Philippine-licensed attorney before signing.
  • References to RA 8293 (Intellectual Property Code) and RA 8792 (E-Commerce Act) reflect Philippine law as of the publication date.
  • BIR invoicing requirements change periodically; verify current requirements at bir.gov.ph before relying on any tax-related clauses.
  • Peso amounts are illustrative market estimates; actual project terms vary by scope and provider.

Related reading:

Frequently asked questions

Is a web design contract legally required in the Philippines?
No, the Civil Code recognizes verbal agreements for services. But verbal contracts are nearly impossible to enforce when scope and money are disputed. A written contract is industry standard for any project above ₱30,000 and protects both sides. Without one, you're relying on goodwill — which evaporates the moment a deadline slips or a revision count gets argued.
Who owns the website by default — me or the designer?
Under RA 8293 (the Philippine IP Code), the creator owns the copyright by default unless the contract assigns it to you in writing. This means without a signed IP assignment clause, the designer technically owns the design files, the code, and the right to reuse them. Always insist on an explicit assignment clause that transfers IP upon final payment.
How much should I pay upfront?
Industry standard in the Philippines is 50% deposit on contract signing, 50% on launch. Larger projects (above ₱180,000) often split into 30/40/30 or milestone-based payments. Avoid paying 100% upfront — it removes the designer's incentive to finish on time. Avoid paying less than 30% upfront — no professional designer will start work for free.
What happens if the project goes over the agreed timeline?
It depends on the cause. If client-side delays (slow content delivery, slow feedback) push the timeline, the designer is not in breach. If the designer simply fails to deliver, the contract should specify a remedy — usually a credit, a discount, or termination with refund of unearned payment. State this explicitly. Don't rely on implied terms.
Can I terminate a web design contract mid-project?
Yes, but the contract should specify how. Typical termination clauses say either party can terminate with 14 days' written notice, the client pays for work completed up to the termination date, and the designer hands over all completed deliverables. Without a termination clause, you're in unclear territory under general Civil Code provisions.
Where do I sue if there's a dispute?
The contract should specify the venue. Standard clause names a specific court (e.g., Quezon City RTC) and Philippine law as governing. For international clients hiring Philippine designers, insist on Philippine venue and law — otherwise you're looking at international arbitration, which is expensive and slow. Most disputes never reach court if the contract is clear.

Working with webdesigner.ph

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