Handing Off a Project to a Client

Whether you complete the whole project on your own or with a team, you might at some point need to hand off the project to someone else. When you are planning a project, you need to think about the ongoing maintenance of the Web site and either include a maintenance agreement in your proposal or outline how you will hand off the project.

A maintenance agreement should outline how much it will cost to maintain the site and what services you will provide. Clients must know that requesting large additions to the site will require a new proposal, scope document, and contract. If you are planning to hand off the Web site to the client, you and the client must agree on the following:

• What will you hand off?
  If you are turning over development materials, how much and in what format?
  
  The choice of what to do with production graphics is up to you. Some designers keep their original, editable versions of their graphics. Others hand over all the files. Whichever you decide, make sure that the client understands what they are going to get and how they will get it.
  
  Whatever you decide as far as the deliverable materials to the client, you need to make sure you keep copies for your own records. Burn the files to discs, collect the site notes, and gather the electronic documents that you have used (e-mails, word documents, contracts, invoices, and so on). Put all the materials together and keep them for your records. Sometimes clients that take on a project come back to you for follow-up work.
  
  
• How much transitional support will you give at hand off?
  You might want to offer some training if the client does not have inhouse staff with skills to maintain the site on her own. Make sure you figure any training or transitional support work into your budget.
  
  
• How will you transport the material to the client?
  It is standard to deliver the site itself to the client’s Web server using a method called FTP, or File Transfer Protocol.

Whatever you decide, make sure you get it all in writing. Make sure that everyone understands what you are delivering and how. Consult your lawyer regarding your copyrights and how to protect against your materials being used in a way that you do not intend.

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