Howdy! I recently had a client tell me that their one big question is what happens if I die (or if I decide web design isn’t for me and close my Webflow account)? How will they be able to keep the site I make them? It was a question I had not anticipated. I could contractually agree to transfer the site to an account they create in the scenario that I decide I don’t want to use Webflow anymore (which wont happen), but I’m not sure I know what to tell them in the scenario that I die.
The only thing I can think of is leaving detailed instructions for my wife to transfer the site to them in that event, but that seems a bit… personal.
Has anyone had experience with this sort of thing? Is this a common question and I’m just a noob?
I use a clause in my contracts that clearly states that the client has the right to take the website from me in the event that I disappear or become permanently unreachable. I’ll post an example below.
I’m pretty sure if the client was to send a valid signed contract to Webflow, and the client was persistent enough, Webflow would then transfer the website to the client. If the client can show they paid in full and that the contractor did not transfer them the site. However, I’m not 100% sure if there is a standard policy for this.
Here’s a sample clause you could use, however please note that this is not official legal advice, always check & review with a law professional if possible.
Contractor’s Help Securing Ownership:
In the future, the Client may need the Contractor’s help to show that the Client owns the work product or to complete the transfer. The Contractor agrees to help with that. For example, the Contractor may have to sign a patent application. The Client will pay any required expenses for this. If the Client can’t find the Contractor, the Contractor agrees that the Client can act on the Contractor’s behalf to accomplish the same thing. The following language gives the Client that right: if the Client can’t find the Contractor after spending reasonable effort trying to do so, the Contractor hereby irrevocably designates and appoints the Client as the Contractor’s agent and attorney-in-fact, which appointment is coupled with an interest, to act for the Contractor and on the Contractor’s behalf to execute, verify, and file the required documents and to take any other legal action to accomplish the purposes of paragraph 2.1 (2.1 - Client Owns All Work Product).
In this worst case scenario, I believe (can’t confirm) the webflow support team would be able to assist your client in the transferal / account access. I am sure they would request some sort of evidence, an invoice, DNS access information etc etc.
Thanks for reaching out, and this is a great question!
We’ve experienced a few situations like this in the past, and planning for the future almost always makes it easier for clients and family. If you decide to retire from your web design career and close your Webflow account, you can have each client make an account and transfer their sites to them.
If they need someone to manage their website for them after your retirement, you can always continue to work with them hourly or advise them to hire a Webflow Expert.
If a Webflow account holder passes away, it can be difficult for us to determine who owns the intellectual property for the websites in their account, but we always try to work with the family, estate manager, and clients. There’s a variety of factors we must consider, and each account would be handled separately with the help of one of our managers.
In every case, sending us clear instructions to annotate your account could be helpful. We absolutely want to help your family and clients, but without your verifiable permission we’re usually unable to move your account’s projects and data. If you’d like to setup contingencies or ask about specific details, would you be able to reach out to our Customer Success Team directly here?
Thank you for your response. Could you please clarify something: regarding your second to last paragraph, if I had something in a contract that I and the client have signed that indicated something along the lines of (I’m improvising here) not being able to contact me for X amount of days, Webflow would have the right to transfer that clients site to a Webflow account of theirs, and if they provided proof of this contact, would Webflow be willing in this situation to accommodate the client?
Hello @MichaelMannucci - we would absolutely take that into consideration. However, it’s important to note that we may not always be able to verify the legitimacy of a contract, and since we are not arbiters or notaries, the best insurance will always include reaching out to us personally to explicitly grant us your verifiable permission.
Hi Andrew, thanks for the reply. I’m not understanding though, as reaching out to you personally doesn’t solve my problem, since in this situation I would be dead lol
@MichaelMannucci - reach out to us personally while you’re alive, please!
For example, you can send us messages on our Contact Page and grant us permission ahead of time.
Also, we love hearing from our Community Members - we’re here on the Forums and Wishlist too, but if you have some ideas, run into an issue, or just want to share some feedback, we love to listen!
So, to be clear, I would just need to send a message to Webflow granting them permission that if ever in the future I died, and the client has a contract stating their website would be transferred to an account of their choosing, that is all I would need to do?
I think it would be extremely useful to have a system built into the Webflow dashboard that any authorized site editor can request a website be transferred to their account upon approval of the Pro account holder or in the case of their death or unreachability as long as the owner has checked the box. Perhaps with a clause that says you will make 3 attempts to contact first. Webflow could have a “site transfer request” form for this. I know theres a potential legal burden there for Webflow but I think this would make my clients very happy. I understand you can do what Scott did but that doesn’t help the client in how they actually get it done. Thoughts?
There could be an issue with this, that if there is a current authorized user who had a falling out with the site’s ownership and was never taken off as an authorized user, they could just then steal it.
Id watch out for clauses like this. The way Webflow is doing it now, is probably the best course of action in this case.
We’ve all had those clients who seem to have a difficult time remembering to pay. It would not be a monumental stretch of the imagination to suggest unsavory characters would routinely attempt to abuse this kind of thing. I doubt Webflow wants to get caught up in the middle of a situation like that.
There are solutions out there for services that will trigger if you don’t login every couple of weeks and will send a list of passwords/logins/whatevers to whomever you want.
I asked about this a while back and then got this answer from @Waldo
Hi Jörn,
Thank you very much for reaching out.
Really hoping that doesn’t happen anytime soon. I would recommend always having some sort of emergency contact and having a plan in place if need be.
They could reach out to us and verify their ownership of the site though, and you could always create say a site in your Webflow account with listed emergency contacts which we could reference.
Please let me know if this is helpful, or if you have any additional questions, I’m happy to help further.
