14 Nov 20266 min readBy Shaish Guni
Payment schedules for website projects
A website build has natural approval points: the designs, the build review, the launch. Tie your payments to them and the money arrives as the work does.
The short answer
- Take a deposit on signing; work starts when it arrives.
- Tie later payments to approvals, not dates.
- Make the last payment due before launch or site transfer.
- Write a pause clause for feedback that never comes.
Three common splits
None of these is a measured industry norm; they are conventions studios use. Here is what each looks like on a hypothetical $8,000 build.
| Split | Stages on a $8,000 build |
|---|---|
| 50 / 50 | On signing: $4,000 · Before launch: $4,000 |
| 40 / 40 / 20 | On signing: $3,200 · Designs approved: $3,200 · Before launch: $1,600 |
| 30 / 40 / 30 | On signing: $2,400 · Build ready for review: $3,200 · Before launch: $2,400 |
50 / 50 suits small sites of a few weeks. 40 / 40 / 20 suits most studio builds, because design approval is the moment the client commits to the direction. 30 / 40 / 30 suits longer builds where most of the hours are in development.
Tie payments to approvals, not dates
“Due 1 March” fails when the client takes three weeks to send feedback: you invoice for work they haven’t seen, or you wait. “Due when the designs are approved” moves with the project. Name the approval in the proposal, such as “approved in writing or by signing off the design review”, so there’s no argument about when it happened.
The last payment comes before launch
Make the final payment due before the site goes live or is transferred to the client’s Webflow account. After launch, the invoice has nothing behind it, and chasing it is harder than any part of the build. Ownership of the design and code can pass to the client once every invoice is paid.
Write a pause clause
Projects stall on feedback more often than on work. A short clause protects your calendar: if feedback is more than, say, ten working days late, the project pauses, the current stage is invoiced as complete, and the restart is rescheduled for the next opening.
Keep extras and maintenance out of the schedule
Change requests outside the scope get their own quote, and care or maintenance after launch is a monthly retainer. Folding them into the build schedule makes the last payment a moving target. For deposits on any kind of freelance work, see the freelance deposit guide; for the price itself, see how to price a Webflow website.
The milestone payment schedule template has the wording for each stage ready to copy.
Payment schedule questions
- What is a normal payment schedule for a website project?
- There is no measured standard, but common conventions are 50% on signing and 50% before launch for small sites, or 40% on signing, 40% when designs are approved and 20% before launch for larger builds. Whatever the split, the last payment should be due before the site goes live or is transferred.
- How much deposit should I ask for a website?
- Enough to cover the work up to the first approval point, often 30–50%. The deposit books the start date; say in the proposal that work begins when it arrives.
- Should payments be tied to dates or milestones?
- Milestones. Tie each payment to something the client approves, such as the designs or the build review. Dates slip when feedback is late, and a payment tied to a date then arrives before the work it pays for, or long after.
- What if the client stops responding mid-project?
- Write a pause clause: if feedback is more than a set number of days late, the project pauses, the current stage is invoiced as done, and restarting is rescheduled. It keeps a stalled client from holding your calendar.
- When should the final payment be due?
- Before launch or site transfer, not after. Once the site is live in the client's account, the final invoice has nothing behind it.
Put the schedule in the proposal
In ApeiroCraft you split the project by percent or amount. When the client signs, the deposit invoice is drafted, and each later stage becomes its own invoice when it’s due.
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