web design ethics question

[DancingGeek]

Greetings,

I am doing some freebie website development to get my feet wet and hopefully be able to start making a little cash in the future. For the freebie stuff, I'm taking in projects from friends and family, miscelleneous, "sure, I can do that for you."

So - friend of a friend wanted website design and I said sure no problem. Getting further into the project, I realized what it really is: he is paying someone for website design/setup/hosting (package deal for like $60/month). He has a very straightforward site which requires very little change over time. I said, sure I can set up a site for you - one time deal - and then you can pay say $20/month for hosting and no more fees.

The problem is, he likes the way the site looks now and doesn't really want to make any changes to it. Well, I didn't design it, and I'm not really comfortable taking someone else's design and moving it to another host. But...he did pay for the design and it's now associated with his business (I think..subject for debate...). It's not anything really creative - just colors/tables - certainly no artwork, animation, anything you would call unique. But...again, I didn't make it, so...

Can I use this design? I'm not gaining anything from this - doing it for free, just trying to help him save a few bucks long term and not be reliant on someone indefinitely. I definitely wouldn't put my name on it anywhere or take credit in any way.

Or should I convince him to change the look and feel a bit? As I type this, I think more and more that's the way to go and I think he could be pushed that direction, just didn't think there needed to be any changes when we initially talked about it.

If you have thoughts on this, or know of legal ramifications, or know of a good resource for me to do more research, please let me know.

Thanks very much.

Cheers!
Sheri

 

[MichiganRon]

DancingGeek,

Since the same company that created the site and is hosting it, have your friend (of a friend) take a look at the agreement that he signed with the other company. Because he paid for the service, there is probably not a problem moving the site to a different hosting company, but the agreement would say for sure.

Since he's the person that signed the original agreement, he'd be the liable party if there was a breech of contract. If I were you, I'd just voice your concerns to him and make sure that he re-reads the contract or agreement.

I don't think there's really any ethical concerns for you either. You're providing a free service to someone. You're not attempting to claim someone else's work as your own. Your conscience should be clean with regards to this matter.

Just relax and ask him to review his original contract. The liability and ethics are on his shoulders, not yours (IMO).

Good luck,
-Ron

P.S. If everyone were as morally cautious as you were, the world would be a much better place.

We all play from the same deck of cards, it's how we play the hand we are dealt which makes us who we are. -Me

murof siht edisni kcuts m'I - PLEH

 

[deecee]

unless the design is so ingenious and completly original open up the source COPY and THEN PASTE -- how can anyone say you ripped off their 3column table design -- ctrl+c and ctrl+v are great, powerful keystrokes that when used correctly can move and inspire!

if anyone does object -- which i doubt tell them to shove it!

<Signature>
Sometimes the Answer You Are LOOKING for can be FOUND BY SEARCHING THE FAQ'S @&%$*#!!!
</Signature>

 

[kylebellamy]

The fact of the matter is that you cannot be held liable for code that is generic. Code is code. If I make a square on a web page and find you have one too, there is nothing either of us could do about it.

If the code contained some new way to process forms, for instance, or an applet that did a nifty water effect to an image and you said it was yoursw, then that's a violation.

Most standard building contracts state (I build a lot of graphics for people) that once the client in question has fulfilled his monitary obligation for the building of the site (not hosting, not URL registration) the art/site design becomes the property of the client.

If, after review, you find that he signed something that doesn't give him the rights to the design, call him a sucker and tell him your not touching it. You can tell him that you will rebuild his site for a fee but that's it.

http://www.kylebellamy.com

 

[ecobb]

My advice would be, if you're not getting paid for it, and the client wants no changes made to the web site (so you're not getting any design experience), don't waste your time.

If you touch the site and transfer the domain, in the eyes of the client you will be responsible for everything that goes wrong from that day forward. Every dead link, every email that doesn't get through, every time someone can't pull up the site...it all comes back to you as far as the client's concerned. Now, this has nothing to do with legal liability, this is just simply the client calling you up and saying &quot;Well, it worked before I let you mess with it&quot;, whether it's your fault or not.

Hope This Helps!

Ecobb

&quot;Alright Brain, you don't like me, and I don't like you. But lets just do this, and I can get back to killing you with beer.&quot; - Homer Simpson

 

[kylebellamy]

Good point Ecobb! That sucks too. I've been where you are now DancingGeek and it's not worth it. A better approach is to charge 'em $100 and do a little design work yourself so you get the benefit of cash and experience and something to add to your portfolio.

http://www.kylebellamy.com

 

[ChrisHunt]

The significant sentence - for me - is

&quot;I said, sure I can set up a site for you - one time deal - and then you can pay say $20/month for hosting and no more fees.&quot;

You're not charging him for designing the site - but you're not doing any design anyway. You're not charging him for setting it up - but that should(!) be straightforward. You ARE charging him for hosting.

Assuming he owns the rights to his site, all that's really happening is that he's moving it to a cheaper host. I don't see any ethical problems - you're not &quot;using&quot; somebody else's design any more than my ISP is &quot;using&quot; mine, you're just hosting it.

-- Chris Hunt

http://www.mcgonagall-online.org.uk

http://www.napitalia.org.uk

http://www.leicesteryha.org.uk

 

[TruthInSatire]

what does the bottom of the page say... &quot;copywrite friend of a friends site 2004&quot; or &quot;copywrite the guy who designed it 2004&quot;? That would give you some clue.

When I design and host a site for someone if they want to move the site to a new host, they bought and paid for the site, its belongs to them let them do what they want with it. change a host if you want, I already got my money...

last time i was in your situation (he liked the existing site, I thought it was ugly as sin) I kept making new sites for him until he said &quot;hey I realy like that&quot; and used that one.

http://thereptilian.com/