Deposit · Web development
Deposit in web development: what is normal
Web builds typically take a 30-50% deposit, then milestone payments across the project.
Typical range
30-50% deposit at signing, with the balance split across milestones (for example, design approval, build completion, launch) rather than a single payment at the end.
Off-market
No deposit with everything due at launch, so the developer funds weeks or months of work and carries the full risk of a stalled or abandoned project.
One-line fix
"A 40% deposit is due at signing. Remaining payments are tied to milestones: [design], [build], [launch]."
What we see
Web projects run longer than most freelance work, often weeks to months, which makes milestone payments, not just a single deposit, the healthy norm. Payment tracks progress so the developer is never financing a large block of unpaid work.
30-50% at signing is the common deposit, with the remainder released as defined milestones complete. This protects both sides: the client pays for progress they can see, and the developer is never more than one milestone out of pocket.
The pattern to avoid is a long build with no deposit and payment only at launch. Launch can slip for reasons outside the developer's control (content, approvals, third parties), and 'due at launch' can quietly become 'due whenever the client is ready', with the developer unpaid the whole time.
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