Well, I have designed number of sites for my friends and family but have some doubts regarding starting a full fledged web designing business locally. i.e. targeting local institutions and businesses. Hope a few experienced members in DP might answer these and work as a sticky guide to whoever wants to start a web design business locally in India. 1. What documents you ask for from the client? a) I guess a contract signed stating the conditions i.e. domain name, hosting and web designing charges, payment mode etc. 2. Is sales tax charged on domain and hosting?(I know the service tax is exempt till 10Lakh in india) 3. Can I invoice in Individual name? i.e. my name. 4. What if I get a client who has a poor website and wants a remake of the old website and the client doesn't have access to the domain. What if the old web designing provider doesn't transfer the domain to me? 5. What is the free maintenance period generally provided with new websites? 6. Where can I find a complete guide to the above and related queries? Anybody here to answer these?
1. What documents you ask for from the client? a) I guess a contract signed stating the conditions i.e. domain name, hosting and web designing charges, payment mode etc. First, you may need a requirement document. What kind of web do they want. Second you will also need a signed contract. These are several important point that should belisted on the contract: Project requirement, Time frame, Project fee, Payment scheme, and Sanctions 2. Is sales tax charged on domain and hosting?(I know the service tax is exempt till 10Lakh in india) In my country Indonesia, it's not so important to put so much mind on this taxatio problem, since it's just a brand new start up which still only have a limited amount of profit 3. Can I invoice in Individual name? i.e. my name. Yes you can. But instead of using individual name, why don't you give a brand name for your fresh company, and give invoice on that company name 4. What if I get a client who has a poor website and wants a remake of the old website and the client doesn't have access to the domain. What if the old web designing provider doesn't transfer the domain to me? Well, choosing another domain may be the only solution 5. What is the free maintenance period generally provided with new websites? It depends on your capacity (time, money, other task). For me, I usually give a 3-month free maintenance 4 all my clients 6. Where can I find a complete guide to the above and related queries? You should often read a blog like freelanceswitch.com etc. Hope it helps