Website proposal and scope of work outline
The sections a clear website proposal needs: summary, what is in and out of scope, revisions and timeline, client dependencies, price, deposit and milestone payments.
Free template for designers
Client leaving: website offboarding checklist
When a client moves on, a calm reply and a checklist for a clean, professional exit: accounts in their name, a tested backup, licenses sorted, your access removed and everything confirmed in writing.
The reply
Hi [name], thanks for letting me know, and thank you for working with me. I will make the handover simple. By [date] you will have [the items below]. Your website, domain and email stay exactly as they are throughout. If you have a new designer or host, introduce us and I will work with them directly.
Accounts and ownership
- Registrar, hosting, DNS and email accounts confirmed in the client’s name.
- Anything held in your accounts (domain, hosting) moved to the client or new host.
- Analytics, Tag Manager, Search Console: client is owner; your access removed after.
- Licenses: client’s own keys entered, or yours transferred or removed, as agreed.
- Renewals list: product, cost, cycle, next date, account email, sites affected.
Files and data
- A full, recent backup (files and database), tested to open, sent by [method].
- Design source files and assets the client has paid for.
- Handoff document: accounts, settings, quirks, update notes.
- Form entries or exports the client needs, sent securely.
Remove your access
- Your WordPress users, SSH keys and application passwords removed or handed over.
- Site removed from your monitoring, backup schedule and update tools.
- Shared passwords you knew changed by the client, or flagged to change.
- Any copies you keep: only what your agreement allows, deleted when it says.
Close it out
- Final invoice for work done and prepaid fees refunded as the agreement says.
- Money owed is handled separately: never delay client-owned accounts over it.
- Written confirmation of what was handed over, and the date your support ends.
- Give them an owner’s manual: /design-field-kit/owner-manual/ on webdesignsurvivalist.com.
- Ask for feedback. Wish them well. Leave the door open.
More templates
The rest of the kit
Scope creep script and change request
What to say when a client asks for “one small thing” outside the project, plus a change request form with real fields.
Client onboarding questionnaire
Questions to send a new web design client before the discovery call: the business, goals, existing accounts, content and brand, budget and who maintains the site after launch.
Maintenance agreement outline
The sections a solid website maintenance agreement covers, with numbers where they belong. An outline, not legal advice.
Incident log and post-incident report
A running incident log to fill in while a site is down or hacked, plus a short post-incident report for the client: timeline, impact, cause, fix and the changes that stop a repeat.
Vulnerability report replies
Two replies for unsolicited security reports: a polite decline for beg bounty emails, and a professional acknowledgement for a genuine, detailed disclosure.