Web Designers Must Protect Their Work and Earn Fair Wages

The business adage that implies "you get what you pay for" does not apply to all parties in web design or development projects. In 2017, the average hourly rate for website development was around $65; a small business client who requires an e-commerce site in 2018 should expect to pay more than $1,000 upon completion, but the financial and contractual risks almost exclusively fall upon the freelance designer.
Let's say a web developer accepts a verbal agreement to design three pages for $400. If this is a project that can be completed in just a few hours over a weekend, a temptation to quickly build a demo based on the discussion with the client is hard to pass up. What freelancers must keep in mind is that clients are also faced with the temptation of saving the page, viewing and copying the source code, or simply taking screenshots that can be put through PhotoShop or other image editing applications to remove watermarks. Unfortunately, this happens more often than newcomers think.
Absent a contract or money received upfront, there is not much freelance web designers can do to avoid being ripped off. It is too easy for unscrupulous clients to fall for the aforementioned temptation of lifting work that has been completed according to their specifications and instructions. Naturally, independent contractors have legal recourse in the United States and many other jurisdictions, meaning that they can file lawsuits against scheming clients, but is this a viable solution for the $400 project mentioned above?
Aside from ignoring invoices, shady clients who settle contracts via PayPal or by means of credit card payments can also dispute payments or initiate a chargeback process. Just like clients ask to see portfolios, testimonials and proof of completed projects, web design professionals should be able to insist upon the execution of a contract and money upfront. As long as down payments or advance fees are reasonable, clients are not likely to balk; they may still be tempted to ignore their contractual obligation of paying off the remaining balance, but this can be managed by means of only presenting parts of the project. For more information click here https://www.reddit.com/r/web_design/comments/a6w78b/reminder_contracts_money_up_front/.