Commissioning a website without really owning it?

[neilorourke]

I have approached a web development company to rebuild my website.

My initial impression was that they would build this then hand it over to me. I understand though that they will retain the intellectual property rights and provide me with a life time license. This means that the website will have to remain on their server even if I decided to sell it.

Is this now the standard approach to developing web applications or is this an unusual arrangement?

Thanks

Neil

[webmaster@bankstonmotorho]

RUN FORREST RUN!!!
While it sounds good for the designer it doesn't sound good for you. I'd go find someone else. There are plenty of designers that will do the project and turn everything over to you.

[corporateface]

Need more details about the application.

I have CMS apps that run on some of my clients sites, and they pay a monthly fee to use it. If they cancel the lease of the application I remove the app from their site.

Do you want to pay $15k+++ for the application or do you want to pay $50/mon ...

I don't know if that is the situation, but this is an example of how something like that can work.

[DrTandem1]

Hosting and designing are two separate issues. While the two can be combined, there is really no good reason (for you) to do that and a lot of good reasons not to do that. You, the web site owner, should be in complete control of the three main parts of your web site:

1. The domain name
2. Hosting
3. Designing

To have the three done by different entities allows you, the owner, to be in control. Domain names are easily transferred from one registrar to another. Hosting can be done by one or more different companies. Designing the site can be done by one or more parties. For instance, if you allow the host to also control the domain name, it can cloud the ownership of the domain name.

Keep it all simple by keeping it all under your control.

[corporateface]

Agreed ... Always register your own domain names.

As a customer, you should shop around for hosting.
As a designer, ... depending on the details of what you are having done to your website ... I would not necessarily call this a red flag. Especially if you are trying to get something inexpensively.

[schachin]

Well this post has two issues to it
assuming we are talking about site creation not hosting

1) is this common practice.. ??
while not common it is the legal default as I understand it (unless it has changed recently) is that the person who creates the design or code owns it and you are paying for their service.. IE unless you have it in the contract that you own it technically the company who created it does.. this means if you walk they can keep your site..

NOW this brings me to q2
2) what does this mean ?
well it could mean one of two things and only you know these people so for you to judge .. they could be badly wording that you do have the right to your code - OR - and because they want you to host on their servers .. this seems more likely.. that they have some small line item that allows for them to cancel that lifetime license.. or allows them to charge you for it or.. or .. or .. most likely there is a caveat -

when I do design I sign it over the customer in the contract.. as an act of good faith.. if they won't do that then I would probably decline using them...

just my 2 cents ;)

[mykiesee]

I register, design, and host for almost all of my clients. I haven't had a problem yet. If someone wants to transfer their site to another host I gladly comply. It is easier for me to register the domain so I don't have to go through the hassles of transferring. They are listed as owner of the domain with me being the technical contact. No ownership issues arise. I just find that it's easier for me and the client if I can provide all three services. Of course, I'm a good guy and wouldn't hold anyone's site hostage.

[mawells]

Again, it depends on what you're getting. Proprietary code written so that you can manage the site yourself is the biggest reason why a design firm might use this type of approach. But it will tie you to them and to whomever buys them if they decide to sell their business (I would ask what assurances you have that this won't happen).

Otherwise, find a designer who can do it all for you but keep you as the owner of the domain and the website. We frequently register domain names for clients (in their company name), share the log in information with them whenever asked, host their site and give them FTP access if they request it, as well as design and maintain the site.

Shop around. There are some good deals out there and you don't have to tie yourself to one company.

Maintaining creative rights is an old ad agency thing - even photographers used to maintain rights to photos taken for clients. Today, not too many people will sit still for that kind of control. When I was an advertising manager I always insisted that we own the photography and the photography was licensed to use them.

[MRice]

As a designer, I can understand the standpoint. But, the way our contracts are worded is that all of the IP is owned by us on the grounds that it is our code. We wrote it, we have full rights to it (to use it again, to sell it, etc) while the client has no actual rights to resell our software or design. They can, however, sell off their domain, including our software/design, and the owner is responsible for the software agreement (always included in the software/design files somewhere).

[cimmeronstudios]

Our standpoint is that if we are compensated for a design, the person who paid us owns it, unless we otherwise negotiate it.

Like said above, run the other way. This is not a good deal for you - only for the company in question.