Stop losing money on Squarespace Designer projects.
Send your first 3 contracts for free. Your creative work is only as secure as the final payment transaction in your bank account. Without a rigid contract, you risk transferring full site ownership to a client who may decide your final milestone invoice is negotiable.
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Statement of Work
Ref: 2026-001 • Standard Business Template
Overview
This Agreement outlines the professional relationship between the Squarespace Designer and the Client, specifically addressing the scope of work within the Squarespace ecosystem. The Designer agrees to provide custom design services as specified in the Deliverables, while the Client acknowledges that the site’s functionality is subject to the inherent limitations and Terms of Service of Squarespace, Inc. The Designer is not responsible for platform-wide outages, API changes, or the deprecation of specific Squarespace features during or after the project term.
Ownership of the final design and any custom code (CSS/JavaScript) will be transferred to the Client only upon receipt of the final project payment. The Designer retains the right to include the completed project in their professional portfolio and marketing materials. To prevent scope creep, any requests for additional pages, custom coding beyond the original brief, or integration of new third-party applications will require a written amendment and may result in additional fees based on the Designer's current hourly rate.
Custom CSS Fragility
Clients may accidentally delete or modify your Custom CSS panel code which can break the site layout and lead to unpaid repair requests.
Subscription Mismanagement
Confusion over who is responsible for paying the Squarespace hosting or domain renewal fees can lead to site expiration and loss of data.
Third Party API Failures
Liability issues arise when integrations like Acuity Scheduling, Member Areas, or Channable fail due to external platform changes beyond the designer's control.
What is a Squarespace Designer contract?
A Squarespace Designer contract template is a specialized service agreement that outlines the scope of website creation on the Squarespace platform. It defines technical deliverables like CSS customization and SEO setup while protecting the designer from non-payment by linking site ownership transfer to the final project milestone.
Built from real freelance projects
This template is based on real-world scenarios across freelance projects where unclear scope, missing payment terms, and revision creep led to lost revenue. It is designed to protect your time, define expectations, and ensure you get paid.
Why Squarespace Designers need a clear contract
Designing on Squarespace involves more than just aesthetics because it is a closed SaaS platform with specific billing cycles and technical limitations. A written agreement is essential to define where your role as a designer ends and the client's role as a site owner begins. You are working within the constraints of the 7.1 Fluid Engine or older 7.0 templates, which means the client needs to understand that you are not responsible for future platform-wide updates or changes made by Squarespace itself. A contract clarifies who pays the Squarespace subscription fees, who owns the stock imagery, and how custom CSS will be supported if it breaks after launch. Without these boundaries, a simple design project can turn into a lifetime of free tech support and unpaid troubleshooting for issues beyond your control as a freelancer. It ensures both parties agree on the definition of a completed site before the first pixel is moved.
Real-world scenario
Imagine you spend three weeks building a beautiful portfolio site for a photographer. You work inside their Squarespace account as a contributor. As launch day approaches, the client asks for full admin access to connect their domain. You grant it because you want to be helpful and maintain the relationship. The site goes live, and the client sends an email saying they love the results. However, the final 50 percent invoice remains unpaid. Two weeks later, the client ghosts your follow up emails. Because they have full admin rights, they can remove you as a contributor, effectively locking you out of your own work before you have been paid. Without a contract that dictates ownership transfer only happens after the final payment, you have no leverage to collect your fee. You are left with a loss of thousands of dollars and the frustration of seeing your hard work used for free while you have no legal or technical way to reclaim the assets or take the site offline. A clear contract would have prevented this by establishing that the domain connection and ownership handover are the final steps triggered only by a zero balance.
🛡️ What this contract covers:
- ✓Phase 1: Strategy & Sitemap - Discovery call, brand asset collection, sitemap approval, and Squarespace template selection.
- ✓Phase 2: Custom Design & Development - Build-out of core pages, implementation of custom CSS/styling, and mobile responsiveness optimization.
- ✓Phase 3: SEO & Handover - Basic on-page SEO setup, third-party integrations (e.g., Mailchimp or Scheduling), site ownership transfer, and platform training.
Best practices for Squarespace Designers
Milestone Billing
Require a 50 percent non-refundable deposit to book the project and the final 50 percent before the site goes live.
Code Documentation
Clearly comment all snippets in the Custom CSS panel so the client knows exactly what each block of code controls.
Ownership Lock
Remain the primary Site Owner throughout the build and only transfer that role once the final payment has cleared your bank account.
Legal Disclaimer: MicroFreelanceHub is a software workflow tool, not a law firm. The templates and information provided on this website are for general informational purposes only and do not constitute legal advice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Squarespace subscription included in the project price?
No, the client is responsible for all third-party costs, including Squarespace hosting plans, domain registration, and premium plugin subscriptions.
What happens if I want to change the design after the site is built?
The contract includes a specific number of revision rounds during Phase 2; any changes requested after Phase 3 or site launch are subject to an additional hourly maintenance fee.