App or Website Development Contract in Egypt: 12 Clauses to Check Before You Sign
Most disputes with developers come from what was never written down: the source code, the accounts, the revisions, the small feature that was not small. 12 clauses to check before you sign with a freelancer, software house or studio.
A good development contract answers five questions in writing: what exactly will be delivered, who owns it, when you pay, what happens when something changes, and what happens after launch. In Egypt many projects start with a WhatsApp message and a price, and most disputes come from what was never written down: the source code, the hosting account, the number of revisions, or a "small" feature that turned out not to be small. Below are 12 clauses to check before you sign with a freelancer, a software house or a studio.
This is practical guidance from the agency side, not legal advice. For anything with real financial risk, have a lawyer review the final contract.
The 12 clauses
1. Scope of work, in detail
List the pages, screens, features and platforms: iOS, Android, web, admin panel. Attach the design files or a feature list as an annex. "A delivery app like Talabat" is not a scope.
2. What is not included
Content writing, photography, hosting fees, app store accounts, SMS costs, payment gateway fees, translation. Writing down the exclusions prevents most arguments later.
3. Deliverables
Design files (for example the Figma file), source code, a deployed version, the admin panel, documentation, and app store releases where relevant. See what a web development company should deliver.
4. Ownership of the code and designs
State that after full payment you own the source code, the designs and the content created for you. Ask whether paid themes, licensed components or the developer's own framework are involved, and what licence you get for them.
5. Accounts in your name
Domain, hosting or cloud, Apple Developer and Google Play accounts, the code repository, email services, payment gateway and analytics. Open them in your name or your company's, and add the developer as a user. This single clause prevents the most painful disputes.
6. Timeline and milestones
Split the project into phases with dates: design, development, testing, launch. Link the dates to what you must provide too, such as content, feedback and access, so delays on either side are clear.
7. Payment schedule
Tie payments to approved milestones, not to the calendar. A common structure is a deposit, then payments on design approval, on a working version, and on launch. Keep the last payment until the handover is complete.
8. Revisions and change requests
How many rounds of design revisions are included, and how a new request is priced and scheduled. A simple rule: anything not in the scope annex is a change request with its own estimate, approved in writing before work starts.
9. Testing and acceptance
How you will test (usually on a staging link), how long you have to report issues, and what counts as accepted. Without this, a project can stay "almost finished" for months.
10. Warranty and bug fixing
A period after launch, often one to three months, in which bugs in the delivered scope are fixed at no cost. Define a bug (something that does not work as agreed) as opposed to a new feature.
11. Support after the warranty
Optional, but write the terms: a monthly fee or an hourly rate, response times, and what is covered, such as updates, security and small changes. See website maintenance after launch.
12. Confidentiality, termination and handover
A confidentiality clause for your idea and data, how either side can end the contract, what you pay for work already done, and what must be handed over if the project stops: code, files and credentials.
A quick checklist before you sign
| Question | Where it should be answered |
|---|---|
| Do I own the code and designs after paying? | Ownership clause |
| Are all accounts in my name? | Accounts clause |
| What exactly am I getting? | Scope annex and deliverables |
| What is not included? | Exclusions |
| When do I pay, and for what? | Payment schedule |
| How are new requests priced? | Change requests |
| Who fixes bugs after launch, and until when? | Warranty |
| What happens if we stop halfway? | Termination and handover |
Red flags
If a developer refuses to put code ownership or account access in writing, treat that as your answer.
- No written scope, only a price and a deadline
- Full payment upfront
- Hosting and app store accounts opened in the developer's name
- "Unlimited revisions" with no process, which usually means the scope is unclear
- No staging link until the very end
- Nothing about what happens after launch
Freelancer, software house or studio: does the contract change?
The clauses are the same. What changes is the risk. With a single freelancer, handover and continuity matter even more, because there is no team behind them if they become unavailable. See freelancer or design studio in Egypt.
How Flowlix handles contracts
Flowlix Studio is a UI/UX design and development studio in Ismailia, Egypt. Our proposals include a written scope, milestone payments, a defined number of revisions and a documented handover, with the accounts set up in the client's name. We work with clients in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar. More on our MVP development service.
Frequently asked questions
Is an agreement on WhatsApp enough?
Messages can help show what was agreed, but a signed contract with a scope annex is far clearer for both sides.
Who should write the contract, me or the developer?
Either. Many agencies send their own; read it against this list and ask for changes before you sign.
Should I sign an NDA before sharing my idea?
If the idea is sensitive, yes, and most serious studios sign one without hesitation. In practice, the idea is rarely the risk; execution is.
What if the developer disappears halfway?
This is why accounts in your name, a code repository you can access and milestone payments matter: you keep what was built and can continue with someone else.
Can I pay in installments?
Yes. Milestone payments are installments tied to delivered work.
Talk to us
Book a free consultation on WhatsApp. Send us your idea or the proposal you received, and we will point out what is missing from the scope, with a fixed quote within 48 hours.
