@mitso Why would you need a contract to promote yourself on your own site? I’m not understanding what you mean exactly. Can you give a hypothetical?
In general, it is smart for both parties to sign a contract so there are no “surprises” during the relationship. It not only protects them but it also protects you. To answer your vague question, do you have to get the client to sign a contract? No, you don’t. If a client won’t sign a contract, I wouldn’t do business with them. Simple as that. Should you always have one in place? Absolutely.
Example:
I once worked for an agency as a Designer and Typographer to create logos, etc. We mutually parted on bad terms and they left me a voicemail to take down a shot I had posted on dribbble. It was a logo that I had made for one of their clients (which has now been butchered). In the voicemail they said that I had signed an agreement stating all the work was theirs and I couldn’t show it on my portfolio or represent it as my work. I volunteered to include their agency but that was quickly turned down. Thankfully I kept all the papers I signed and it turned out there was no such contract that stated this. Dribbble also turned down their request to have that shot removed. So in this case it would have benefited my former employer to have had a contract.
