Non-compete · Web development
Non-compete in web development: what is normal
Broad non-competes are inappropriate for freelance developers and often unenforceable; confidentiality plus a narrow named bar is the healthy scope.
Typical range
No general non-compete. Confidentiality over the client's code, data, and plans, and at most a narrow, short restriction on building for a named direct competitor.
Off-market
A clause preventing the developer from working in the client's whole industry, or with any competitor, for six to twelve months after the project, uncompensated.
One-line fix
"Developer will keep Client's code, data, and plans confidential, and is otherwise free to work with other clients. Any competitor restriction names [companies] and lasts [3 months]."
What we see
A developer's living depends on building across many clients and sectors, so a broad post-project non-compete trades away future work for a single fee. As with other independent-contractor non-competes, broad versions are increasingly disfavored or unenforceable in many jurisdictions.
The client's genuine interest is confidentiality: keep their source code, data, roadmap, and unreleased features private. An NDA scoped to those specifics fully protects the client without restricting the developer's ability to take other work.
Where a real competitor concern exists, keep any restriction narrow (named companies), short, and ideally paid, typically inside a retainer rather than a one-off build. The version to refuse is the broad, industry-wide, long, unpaid non-compete stapled to a single project.
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