Scope Creep Examples — Web design
A compressed timeline, without a rush fee attached
The client moves up their launch date by three weeks and expects the same design timeline to compress with it, at the original price.
The original timeline gave six weeks for design, split across discovery, concepting, and two revision rounds, with the designer's calendar planned around that pace. The client emails to say a product announcement moved up, so launch needs to happen in three weeks instead — same deliverables, same price, just faster. Compressing a six-week process into three usually means overtime, reshuffled other-client work, or cutting a revision round, none of which the original quote priced in.
Clause typically implicated
Clause typically implicated
Timeline clause→ — Sets the agreed schedule the price was built around — and that compressing it is a change to the deal, not a free favor.
Suggested change-order wording
Suggested change-order wording (illustrative, not legal advice)
We can hit the new three-week date, but it means reprioritizing other client work and likely running one revision round instead of two to make the timeline work. Compressing the schedule like this comes with a rush fee of [X]% to cover the reshuffled capacity — let me know if you'd like to proceed on that basis, or if the original six-week timeline works better.
How this usually resolves
Presenting it as a real trade-off (rush fee, or fewer revision rounds, or the original date) rather than a flat no usually gets a quick decision — most clients weren't trying to get something for nothing, they just hadn't thought through what "faster" actually costs the agency.
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