The contract, annotated

This contract was concluded today, [date], in [city], between the parties above.

Whom it protectsBoth. Check that the contractor's company number actually exists — you can search for it free of charge in the Commercial Register. A contract with a company that can't be found isn't a contract.

Art. 1. The CLIENT commissions and the CONTRACTOR agrees to build [description of the website — for example: a fully functional online shop on WordPress and WooCommerce], hereinafter referred to as the WEBSITE.

What it meansOne line that means nothing on its own. “Fully functional” is a word, not a scope. It only works because the next article follows straight after it.

Art. 2. The content, functionality, form and scope of the services under the subject of the contract are described in Annex 1 to this contract.

The most important articleThe scope isn't in the contract but in an annex — and that's right. The annex is written in plain language and read by people who aren't lawyers. If a contract you're signing has no such annex, there's no scope — only mutual expectations.

Art. 3. The CLIENT undertakes to provide the CONTRACTOR with the photos, logo and text content needed to build the WEBSITE.

This is where it's decided who causes delaysMissing copy and photos stall more projects than anything else. Note that the article has no deadline — that's a weakness in our contract too. The fair version would say “within [number] days of signing”.

Art. 4. The CLIENT undertakes to provide access to the necessary domain and hosting services. The hosting fee payable to the provider is borne by the CLIENT.

This should please youIt means the environment is yours: you hold the account, you pay the fee, and the contractor gets access. The opposite — the contractor “taking care of the hosting” — sounds like a service and is the beginning of dependence. More on Whose website is it.

Art. 5. If courier integrations are activated, the CLIENT provides the necessary details from active contracts with the courier companies.

A small article that matters a lotThe courier contracts are in your name. The integration connects your contracts, not someone else's — so the discounts and terms are yours and stay yours.

Art. 6. The CLIENT undertakes, within 14 days of the official publication of the WEBSITE, to review it for defects related to the specific work under Annex 1. Any defects found are remedied by the CONTRACTOR.

This is the warrantyEven though it isn't called that. It's fair to know the other side of it too: after the fourteenth day, fixes are new work. So those two weeks shouldn't pass while you're on holiday.

Art. 7. The CONTRACTOR undertakes to build the WEBSITE within [number] weeks of the date of receiving the advance payment and all the necessary materials under Art. 3.

When the clock startsFrom the advance and from the materials — both together, not separately. It's fair, but it means the launch date isn't known on the day of signing. If you need a firm date, it's agreed separately and usually means a stricter deadline for you too.

Art. 8. The CONTRACTOR is not obliged to build the WEBSITE with information not provided on time by the CLIENT. Any additional work outside Annex 1 is subject to separate agreement.

It's one-sidedThe mirror of Art. 3 — but only in one direction. It says what happens if you're late, and doesn't say what happens if we're late. That's an omission, and we admit it rather than count on you not noticing.

Art. 9. The CLIENT undertakes to pay a total price of [amount] euros for building the WEBSITE. [It is stated explicitly whether the price includes or excludes VAT.]

Final, not “from”If a contract says “from”, you're signing an intention, not a deal. This is also where VAT belongs: it must say explicitly whether it's charged, so a twenty per cent difference doesn't appear on the invoice.

Art. 10. Payment is made in two stages by bank transfer:
— 50% in advance — before work on the project starts;
— 50% on completion — after the work is finished and the site goes live.

Fifty-fiftyThe sensible split. One hundred per cent up front gives everything to the contractor; one hundred per cent at the end, to the client. Both make the other side nervous, and nervous projects go badly. Note that the second payment is tied to an event — going live, not a date.

Art. 11. This contract enters into force on the date it is signed.

Boring, but necessaryWithout it, a dispute starts over exactly when the deadline in Art. 7 began to run.

Art. 12. The CONTRACTOR bears no responsibility for unresolved copyright when publishing materials provided by the CLIENT.

This one protects the contractorRead it carefully. If you supply a photo you don't have the rights to, the responsibility is yours. That isn't unfair — the contractor has no way of checking the origin of someone else's archive. But it means the question “whose photo is this?” is yours, and before it's uploaded.

Art. 13. For all matters not settled in this contract, the provisions of the applicable Bulgarian legislation apply.

A standard clauseThere's no jurisdiction clause — where disputes are settled. For a project of this size it rarely matters; in a bigger contract, one is added.

The annex lists task by task what's included, with a status against each line. Here's what it looks like for an online shop:

This is why you signEvery line is a task with a status. A table like this costs the contractor half an hour and saves months of disputes. If a quote you've received has no such list, ask for it before you ask about the price.