Guide · updated September 27, 2026
A website contract takes 15 minutes to read when you know where to look. Here are the 12 clauses that matter: what each must say, the wording to ask for, the warning sign, and what the law provides in Québec.
With a fixed price, the agreed price does not move, even if the work turns out longer, unless agreed otherwise. With an estimate, the agency must justify any increase, and you only pay for what was not foreseeable at signing.
If the essential clauses are imposed on you with no possible discussion, it is a standard-form contract: the law protects you more against abusive clauses. See section 3.
For each: what it must say, an example of wording to ask for, and the warning sign.
What it must say: The exact legal name of the agency and of your business, their addresses and, ideally, the Québec enterprise number (NEQ).
Ask for, for example: “Between [agency’s legal name], NEQ [number], and [your business’s legal name]…”
Warning: Only a trade name or a first name: in a dispute, you will not know whom to sue.
What it must say: The precise list of deliverables, often in an appendix: pages or templates, features, languages, forms, store, content migration, training.
Ask for, for example: “Deliverables are described in Appendix A. Anything not listed there requires a written amendment.”
Warning: “Complete website” without detail: impossible to claim what is missing.
Civil Code, art. 2102: Before signing, the agency must give you all useful information on the nature of the task, and the goods and time required, as far as circumstances allow. Read the text
What it must say: Say clearly whether the price is fixed or estimated, what it includes, and whether taxes are extra.
Ask for, for example: “The price is fixed for the deliverables in Appendix A: $[amount], taxes extra.”
Warning: An “estimate” or an hourly rate with no cap: the final bill can climb.
Civil Code, arts. 2107 and 2109: With a fixed price, the agreed price does not move, either way, even if the conditions of performance change, unless agreed otherwise. With an estimate, the agency must justify any increase, and you only pay for what was not foreseeable when signing. Read the text
What it must say: A deposit, then one payment per delivered and accepted milestone, with dates. And what happens if you are late providing copy or photos.
Ask for, for example: “30% at signing, 30% when the design is accepted, 30% at launch, 10% when access is handed over.”
Warning: All, or nearly all, paid upfront, or no dates at all.
What it must say: How a change request is made (in writing), priced and accepted before it is done.
Ask for, for example: “Any change is covered by a written quote accepted by the client before it is carried out.”
Warning: Nothing on changes: every “small tweak” becomes a surprise on the bill.
What it must say: A written assignment of copyright on the design, code and content created for you, upon full payment. And the list of licensed items (theme, plugins, fonts, photos).
Ask for, for example: “Upon final payment, the agency assigns to the client all its copyright in the items created for the project.”
Warning: “The site remains the agency’s property”, or nothing on ownership.
Copyright Act, s. 13: The author is the first owner of copyright; an assignment is only valid if written and signed by the owner. Read the text
What it must say: That the domain, hosting, analytics, Google profile and payment accounts are in your name, with an e-mail address you control.
Ask for, for example: “The domain name and every service account linked to the site are registered in the client’s name.”
Warning: The domain registered in the agency’s name “to keep things simple”.
What it must say: What you receive, and when: full admin access, a full copy of the site (files and database), DNS access, documentation.
Ask for, for example: “At the latest upon final payment, the agency hands the client the access and copy described in Appendix B.”
Warning: Access “on request”, or only an “editor” account.
What it must say: A precise period after launch during which bugs are fixed free, and what a bug is (what does not work as provided in the contract).
Ask for, for example: “For [period] after launch, the agency fixes free of charge any defect compared with Appendix A.”
Warning: No warranty, or a warranty that requires a paid maintenance contract.
Civil Code, art. 2100: The agency must act in your best interests, with prudence and diligence, according to the practices and rules of its art, and make sure the work conforms to the contract. Read the text
What it must say: A separate contract or a clear section: what is done each month, the price, the term, and how to end it.
Ask for, for example: “Maintenance is optional, with no commitment beyond [period], and includes: [list].”
Warning: Mandatory multi-year maintenance, with no list of what is done.
What it must say: If the agency has access to your clients’ information (forms, store, newsletter): the measures it takes to protect it, use it only for the contract and not keep it afterwards.
Ask for, for example: “The agency protects the confidentiality of the personal information it accesses, uses it only for this contract and destroys it when the contract ends.”
Warning: Nothing on confidentiality while the agency manages your forms or your store.
Private-sector privacy act, s. 18.3: When you entrust personal information to a provider for a contract, that contract must be written and state the protection measures, use limited to the contract and no retention after it ends. Read the text
What it must say: What happens if either side stops: what is owed, what you receive, and how fast.
Ask for, for example: “On termination, the client pays for the work done to date, and the agency hands over that work and the access within [time].”
Warning: Termination forbidden, or 100% of the price due as soon as you stop.
Civil Code, arts. 2125, 2126, 2129 and 1623: The Civil Code lets the client terminate the contract, even during the work; the client then pays, in proportion to the agreed price, the costs incurred and the value of the work done, and the agency returns any excess advances. The agency can only terminate for a serious reason, and not at an inopportune time. A penalty in the contract can be reduced if it is abusive. The contract can frame these rules: read the clause. Read the text
Print our 15-point checklist to verify before signing, and tick as you read.
Open the checklistMany agencies have their standard terms signed as is. The Civil Code and the Charter of the French language then provide special protections.
A contract whose essential clauses were imposed by the agency and could not be freely negotiated (art. 1379). It is often the case of an agency’s “terms and conditions”.
Source: LégisQuébecIn such a contract, a clause that disadvantages you excessively and unreasonably is null, or the resulting obligation can be reduced (art. 1437).
Source: LégisQuébecAn external clause the contract refers to is null if it was not expressly brought to your attention when signing (art. 1435). Ask to see them, and keep a dated copy.
Source: LégisQuébecA clause that is illegible or incomprehensible to a reasonable person is null if you suffer harm from it, unless the agency proves it explained it properly (art. 1436).
Source: LégisQuébecA standard-form contract must be drafted in French; you can only be bound by a version in another language if the French version was given to you first and it is your express wish (Charter of the French language, s. 55).
Source: LégisQuébecGeneral information, not legal advice. Whether a clause is abusive depends on the facts: if in doubt, see a lawyer.
It is not necessarily bad faith: often, it is a contract template nobody reread. Simply ask for the clause to be changed.
Write all your requests at once, clause by clause, with the wording you want. A clear list gets handled faster than a string of e-mails.
“We want to be able to change providers one day” is a reason any serious agency understands.
A promise made in a meeting only counts if it is in the contract or in a signed amendment.
An agency that refuses to put the domain in your name tells you something important about what comes next.
Our analysis reads your quote and spots what is missing: ownership, domain, payments, handover. The first one is free.
Check my quoteAt a minimum: the parties, detailed deliverables, the price (fixed or estimated), payments by milestone, how changes are handled, ownership (written assignment of rights), the domain and accounts in your name, handover of access, the warranty, maintenance, personal information and termination.
With a fixed price, the agreed price does not change, even if the work turns out longer or shorter, unless agreed otherwise (Civil Code, art. 2109). With an estimate, the agency must justify any increase, and you only pay for what was not foreseeable at signing (art. 2107). (This is not legal advice.)
The Civil Code lets the client terminate a service contract, even during the work (art. 2125), by paying the costs incurred and the value of the work done, in proportion to the agreed price (art. 2129). Your contract may set terms: read its termination clause. (This is not legal advice.)
Not necessarily you. The author is the first owner of copyright, and an assignment is only valid if written and signed (Copyright Act, s. 13). Require a clause assigning the rights upon final payment.
If it is a standard-form contract, it must be drafted in French; you can be bound by another version only if the French version was given to you first and you expressly wish so (Charter of the French language, s. 55).
For a small site, this guide and our 15-point checklist cover the essentials. For a large project, a big store or a multi-year contract, a lawyer’s review costs far less than a dispute.
Texts read on LégisQuébec and the Justice Laws website on September 27, 2026. The suggested wordings are examples to adapt, not model clauses approved by a lawyer. This guide gives general information, not legal advice.
Guide written by the AgencyVerity team, Montréal. Updated September 27, 2026. Back to contents · All our guides