Hello,
Sometimes the client pays up 50% and expects to test it and clear the payment out. most of them do it in the same week.
Some do not, most don’t value agreements and i cant take them to court.
Is there a way i can have the website break every month so they have to reach out to me?
Most clients i get have their own hosting and domain.
Don’t ever release files till you get the final payment but taken something down when it’s on their server is a big no no. That’s why I develop everything on my own staging server.
There is a more ethical way than destroying a website, because they’ll just go with the next person and do the same:
1. Build the website on YOUR staging (and hosting) and don’t transfer to their domain and hosting until the full payment has been received per agreement.
2. Don’t forget to include this in your contract
Look for better clients.
Going around breaking things, including your own contracts, doesn’t do anything but create more work for yourself and, in the end you’ll still not be paid.
Hmm.
You could embed an iframe into the client’s website, right on top, above the menu. The iframe displaying a html file on your server.
That iframe normally stays empty, making it 0px high.
If your bills don’t get paid, add some text on the html file on your server that says something along “This website hasn’t been paid for in full. To remove this notice, please make sure to pay any open fees”.
That’s just a silly idea though. Make sure to have your clients sign contracts, then you’ll have an easier way to collect your money.
Well, I would really not recommend it – the better option is to get better clients (the higher paying ones are usually a million times better and more professional), or dont move the site to the clients server until you have been paid in full. Also – always get a good bit of the payment up front. This is really the solution you want to go for.
However – while this is really blackhat as fuck, its really quite simple, especially if you code some plugins or the theme custom and they dont know how to code. I’m not even sure if the mods would let me outline what you would have to do, and to do what you ask for is probably even illegal in many places, and also unethical, so I dont want to tell you how to do it here.
Yeah, look for better clients. Or look for a business lawyer to help you draw up better contracts and agreements. Because if you break their site without your own written agreements you could need a lawyer if your own.
I’ve been in business for a very long time and never had a client stuff me outright. If you’ve ever had more than one you really do need to find better clients.
Weird hint I got from a talk I heard by a webdev business advisor was “raise your prices.” Business owners who are just barely scraping by will often nickel and dime you, ask for all kinds of free extras, and all to often they’ll claim they won’t pay you because you did a bad job when really the just don’t have the money.
I was terrified to try it myself but it’s surprising how rarely good business owners who can actually afford what you’re worth cause any trouble. You don’t have to gouge people but if you’re going to work for free do it for charities that deserve it instead of cheap business owners that don’t.
set a monthly cronjob to inject die(); into the file index.php or maybe die(“Your message here”); when they access the site they will just see the message on a blank screen
put something like this in. lets them test it out and all, but has a little ribbon in the corner.
remove when done.
`#dev-ribbon {`
`float: left;`
`top: 1.0em;`
`left: -4em;`
`position: fixed;`
`transform: rotate(-45deg);`
`background: red;`
`color: white;`
`font-weight: bold;`
`padding-left: 3.0em; padding-right: 2.0em;`
`padding-top: .2em; padding-bottom: .2em;`
`border: 0; margin: 0;`
`height: auto; width: auto;`
`z-index: 999999999; /* or whatever is needed to show on top of other elements */`
`}`
`#dev-ribbon::before {`
`content: “⚠️ DEV⚠️”;`
`}`