Selling your web design work: templates, themes and client-ready sites
Buyers pay for design work they can use without emailing you: complete source files, clear documentation, a licence that says exactly what they may do, and third-party assets they are allowed to keep. Get those four right, add an honest demo and a defined support window, and use escrow so you never hand over files on a promise.
Decide what you are selling
Three kinds of design work sell differently, and each needs its own package and licence.
| Product | Sold to | Buyers expect |
|---|---|---|
| Template or theme | Many buyers, non-exclusively | Easy setup, documentation and updates for a stated period |
| One-off design, such as a Figma file or full site design | One buyer, exclusively or not | Editable source and a clear statement of the rights they receive |
| Client-ready site | One buyer | A working site plus a proper handover of domain, hosting and accounts |
If you are unsure how to package your format, browse the website templates and design files listed on Escrozon, from WordPress themes to Figma UI kits.
What goes in the package
- Source files in editable form: the design file with its components and styles, the full code or theme folder, and uncompressed assets.
- Build setup, if there is one: the dependency file, its lockfile, the build commands and the compiled output.
- Documentation: installation, how to change the logo, colours and fonts, the list of page templates, required plugins or packages with version numbers, and how to update.
- A licence file that matches the listing word for word.
- A credits file naming every font, icon set, image and code library, with its source and licence.
- A version number and changelog, so buyers know which release they have.
Write the licence before the listing
The licence defines what the buyer is paying for. Labels such as single-site or extended mean only what your terms say, so define each one in plain words, put the same wording in the listing and in the files, and let buyers choose between tiers at different prices.
| Term | Example definition | Also spell out |
|---|---|---|
| Single-site | Use on one website or project | Whether a staging copy counts as a second site |
| Multi-site | Use on a stated number of sites | The number, and whether client projects count |
| Extended | Wider rights, such as use in a product the buyer sells | Exactly which uses are covered |
| Non-exclusive | You may keep selling the same design | That buyers may not resell or redistribute the files |
| Exclusive | You sell it once and withdraw it everywhere | Whether copyright is transferred or licensed, and whether you may show it in your portfolio |
If you built the design for a client, check that contract first: the client may own it, and you may not be free to sell it. For an exclusive sale with real money involved, have a lawyer read the wording.
Third-party assets: fonts, photos and icons
You can pass on only what your own licence allows, so check each asset's licence for redistribution, not just for use.
Fonts
Fonts under the SIL Open Font License may be bundled, redistributed and sold with software, but not sold by themselves, and each copy must include the copyright notice and the licence. The official OFL FAQ confirms you can include OFL fonts in CMS themes and templates and sell the whole package, as long as the fonts are sold only as part of a software bundle. Ship the font's licence file beside the font files. For a commercial font, check whether your licence allows embedding and redistribution; if not, leave the font files out and tell buyers which font to license.
Photos
If a photo's licence does not clearly let you pass the image on inside a product you sell, ship placeholders instead, and check that your licence covers showing the image on your demo. Say so in the listing.
Icons and code libraries
Keep every licence notice and attribution comment in the files, and list each icon set or library in your credits file.
Buyers who learn about an excluded asset from the listing can plan for it. Buyers who discover it at handover feel misled.
Build a demo that sells without giving the work away
- Host a live demo on a domain you control, showing every page template with realistic placeholder content.
- Test it on phones as well as desktops, and say which browsers you checked.
- Add screenshots of every template to the listing, in case the demo is down when a buyer looks.
- Accept that anyone can view the demo's front-end code. What buyers pay for is what the demo does not show: source files, documentation, build setup and your support.
- Get the basics right, because buyers check them: one main heading per page, headings in order, unique page titles and fast, usable mobile layouts. Escrozon's list of what buyers look for in SEO-friendly design makes a good pre-launch test.
Define a support window
State what support you give, for how long, through which channel, and what it excludes. A clear promise you keep beats a vague one you cannot.
- Included: setup questions and fixes for bugs in your own code.
- Not included: customisation, hosting problems and third-party plugins.
- Response time: one you can keep in a busy week.
- After the window: paid support or none. Say which.
Keep support conversations in a channel with a record, so both sides can see what was asked and answered.
Why escrow protects the seller
Digital files cannot be taken back. Once a buyer has them, your leverage is gone, and a promise to pay later is only as good as the buyer's honesty. Escrow changes the order: the buyer's payment is secured before you send anything, you deliver, the buyer checks and confirms, and then the money is released to you. You never deliver on a promise of payment.
- Your protection is only as strong as your listing. An accurate description, a written licence and a handover recorded inside the deal are what show you delivered what you sold.
- Escrow protects the payment, not your copyright. The licence still decides what the buyer may do with the files.
When you are ready, see how to list website design for sale on Escrozon and what happens at each step of its escrow.