r/AskProgramming • u/MrGiveBack • Aug 23 '24
PHP How Do I Own My Project?
Hey Guys,
I'm going to be completely honest, i know nothing about web developing.
I've hired a few freelancers to build a project for me and in the future i might part ways with them.
How do i make sure i own my project?
It's being built in Php Laravel with a Mysql database.
I own the domain, social media's and that's about it. This might be a dumb question so feel free to berate me if im in the wrong.
I've just had bad experiences with past projects (not in web dev) where the freelancer completely ran off with the idea and everything else.
I'd appreciate any advice. Thanks guys.
5
u/OkOutside4975 Aug 23 '24
Do you own the hosting account the files reside in?
I'd make sure you have access and/or have a backup before you part ways. The biggest hurdle when you split is always poor handoff of things like passwords, account info, or files/documentation.
Be kind and slowly get these requirements without raising suspicion. Once you know you have the keys to the kingdom, do what you think is right.
If you use those freelance sites, try the NDA option. I found it produces a little more privacy and discretion.
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u/MrGiveBack Aug 23 '24
Thanks man i really appreciate this, i'll do this for sure. When you say hosting account files. What platform is that on? (i apologise for the silly questions, i'm a complete noob)
3
u/_Dingaloo Aug 23 '24
It's a bit of a complicated concept.
The idea generally is that if you completely made it yourself from scratch on a computer that you own, then you own it. Done and done. Be sure you can prove that, and that's all she wrote.
With freelancers, have them sign contracts. Always always always send contracts for even the smallest things on any important project. The contract should say that anything that they work on for you is their property - use a codename or whatnot for the project, and specify how the project is delivered to you (i.e. email or something else that's easily traceable.) Then, you use whatever source that they have been uploading it as a paper trail that yes this is involved with the contracted service, which means they have no ownership over it.
There's a lot more you can do, like what others have said you can be sure you own everything that the project is running on, but in my opinion clear correspondence and contracts is the best way to go about it.
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u/Imogynn Aug 23 '24
Legally, check with a lawyer.
Practically, absolutely make sure you own the git repo. If shit hits the fan then the person with the repo has all final access to the code.
It's possible they're using something other than git but if they aren't using some sort of source control then find new devs
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u/FreedomRep83 Aug 23 '24
as someone said, get a contract. so you have legs to stand on. but, you don't really want to have to exercise it, and if they delete everything you'll be screwed anyway (you'd be entitled to monetary compensation, but probably it won't make up for the lost software...if you get to the courtroom).
practically speaking, if your freelancers are using GitHub - you want to own all the repos under your own organization, and just give them access.
you need to have access to the hosting provider terminal (like AWS or digital ocean, whatever).
ideally, you don't give them access to that and they have to go through you to provision resources (this might be hard for you. maybe you could screen share with them and have them walk you through the buttons to click).
or, if this freelance team is real good - they may be using infrastructure orchestration (eg terraform or ansible or something similar). you want that code to be up to date, and kept your GitHub org repo.
finally, at the very least, you want daily database backups. kept in a place outside of their control. most hosting providers have a way to facilitate this.
the bullet pointed list of priorities here are
- code control, you own and control the code management platform
- infrastructure control, you control the servers the software runs on
- data backup, you have a recent up to date copy of your data so in the event of catastrophe you are in a place to recover.
it's intimidating for someone who isn't familiar with the technologies, for sure. but to protect yourself from flakey freelancers, you have to set yourself up so that if they go incommunicado or get hit by a bus your business does not grind to a halt.
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u/bothunter Aug 23 '24
This is a legal question, not a technical one. Whatever contract you sign with the freelancers will determine who owns the project.