(This is Part IV of a continuing series.)

In our last issue, [link] we discussed the Architecture Phase of building your web presence. "Blueprints" in hand (specs, flowchart, and interface diagram), you and your web-crafting firm have completed the steps necessary to know the what, why, and how behind building the appropriate web site for your needs. How much do you know about contracts, ownership, and intellectual property?

Although we cover specific legal issues in this installment, I am not a lawyer and highly recommend that you speak to your attorney regarding any and all contractual issues before signing and documents.

Once the Architecture Phase ends, it is conceivable that your relationship with your web-crafting firm is over. It is most desirable, however, to contract the same web-crafting firm for both the Architecture and Construction of your site, as the firm will already be familiar with your needs and your goals.

But, perhaps you were only looking for a consultant who could provide you with the blueprints for a web site that you could use at a later point. Or, perhaps your company required that you put the project out to bid to receive estimates from other firms using your blueprints as a Request for Proposals (RFP). (The benefit here is that you would be able to specify your needs to include all the necessary information that a developer would need to make a bid. This would make it easier for potential bidders to assess the budget for the project.)

The bottom line is that a web-crafting firm that separates the initial Architecture Phase from the Construction Phase provides you with a fair system in which you are able to first educate yourself and develop a complete plan, and then make a decision as to who will implement this plan to build your site. It is important to be aware that while the separation of these two stages may seem unusual and nonsensical, it is the reality of how true web-crafting should work-just like building a house.

Once you have hired a web-crafting firm to begin construction, you will enter into a Production Contract. An area to pay particular attention to in the contract regards Ownership and Intellectual Property.

You will obviously and rightfully feel that you should "own" your web site. An area of confusion will probably be in the ownership of what is called the "source code." Most likely, your web-crafting firm will custom design your web site, building scripts for shopping carts, newsletters, rollovers on menus, etc. Whoever owns the source code for these elements could potentially use the same source code to build other web sites. While you should reserve the right to access your source code without making subsequent use of it, the legal owner of the source code should be the web-crafting firm who developed it.

Here's why—

Let's go back to our architecture analogy. While you are the owner of your custom-built house, the architect still has Intellectual Property Rights to the blueprints for the house, preventing anyone else from claiming them as their own and making profit from them. The same is true for the difference between the source code used to build your web site and the actual site itself. One is an architectural system and the other is the product of that system.

These issues are relevant both to the web-crafting firm and to you. Ensuring that your Production Contract specifies Ownership of source code to the firm allows the firm to work more cheaply. If, on the other hand, you request that you own all documents or source files related to a project, then you will be billed for all such work.

This means that if the firm builds a logo for you, drafting four or five versions of it until one is created best to your liking, you will own all versions but will also be billed for the work and time put into all five or six versions. This is in contrast to paying solely for the time and work put into what you will ultimately use-the one final logo.

Once you have signed the Production Agreement, construction will begin. Our next articles will cover the various elements and areas of web-crafting: Design and "Look and Feel"; Copywriting; Navigation and Flow; and Advertising and Promotion.

(To be continued in our next newsletter…)