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I Just Started A Small Web Design Business- Whats The Process For Turning Site Over To Client?

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Hi whats the best way to turn a website over to a client without getting ripped off. I want to make sure that he doesn’t just look at the completed site, and copy source code and rip me off. Or am i safe as long as he doesnt have access to the .css files?
Whats the standard procedure?
Thanks!
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5 Comments to “I Just Started A Small Web Design Business- Whats The Process For Turning Site Over To Client?”

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  Rob W October 30, 2009 at 6:33 am

  Withholding the css file would certainly work, as long as the site is not already live, in which case it could obviously be accessed. More importantly, maybe you should reconsider who you are doing business with if you are actually worried that they might steal your source code. Doing so would not only be unethical but also illegal and would certainly give the programmer just grounds for suit.
  Just to add, my approach is to bring laptop into the office of the client which contains all the site files and allow them to browse and comment on the design on that laptop. , without actually viewing a “live” site. If the client is satisfied, I ask for compensation and then hand over the site.
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  Ann B October 30, 2009 at 6:54 am

  I agree with what another person said before me. If you’re concerned about this, then I would recommend showing image files only.
  A good cross-over would be to allow the client to have access to some pages of the site – a limited version only – and link to image files only of the others, so that the client can both browse the website and see how the other pages will look.
  For future reference, all the companies I’ve worked for bill 50% in advance, specifically because it can be very hard to pursue recourse if your client decides not to pay, and you will have done the work whether or not they choose to rip it off or just to drop it altogether. If you’re working to build up a professional company, in the future I would recommend this same policy.
  Another alternative would be to use something like Get-A-Freelancer.com’s system, which supports Escrow payments where the client can deposit and store the funds for the project, which gives you security for knowing that the money is there, and then choose to clear them to you only when the work is done, giving them the security that you won’t be paid until the work is complete.
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  activesi October 30, 2009 at 6:59 am

  Any seasoned web developer will know how to access the paths to your CSS or HTML files to get the source once it’s on the web – there’s no way around that. The only security you should be concerned about it if you’ve got some server side code that you don’t want ripped off (PHP, ASP, etc..) because this isn’t viewable without the source file…
  If you’re that concerned about it – then look into server side file encryption.
  However, if it’s just your HTML / CSS source…there is no way around it – whether they’ve got access to your server or not, like I said they can still view the file source.
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  Chris G October 30, 2009 at 7:02 am

  What I normally do is present a combination of photoshop layouts and showcase portions of the site on my server. This normally should be enough to let the customer get a feel and look of the finish product.
  Then after payment, you can release designs, images, etc to the customer.
  Also, maybe add watermarks to major designs (logos, etc.)
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  JackFros October 30, 2009 at 7:15 am

  Once a website is live on the web, it is all pretty much available to anyone. Including the css files.