Ask Your Dev Team about their warranty or guarantee

Most software development teams don’t offer a warranty on their work. If that surprises you, you’re not alone. But before you take it as a red flag, let’s talk about why.

Why warranties are rare in software

When you buy a car, the manufacturer warranties it against defects. If the transmission fails within 60,000 miles, they fix it. The scope is clear: the car should work as designed.

Software is different. It doesn’t wear out, but it does exist in an environment that’s constantly changing. Operating systems update. Browsers release new versions. Third-party services change their APIs. A feature that worked perfectly on launch day can break three months later through no fault of the developer.

That makes it genuinely hard to define what “defect” means in software. Is it a defect if a new iOS update breaks your app’s login screen? The developer didn’t change anything. Apple did. But your users still can’t log in.

This is why warrantying software isn’t an industry standard. It’s not that developers are dodging accountability. It’s that the thing they built exists in a world that changes underneath it constantly.

If they do offer a warranty

Some developers offer a warranty period, typically 30 to 90 days after delivery. If they do, get the details in writing:

• What’s covered? Usually it’s bugs in the code they wrote, not issues caused by third-party services, user error, or changes to the environment.
• What’s the response time? A warranty without a defined response time isn’t worth much. You need to know how quickly they’ll investigate and fix an issue.
• What’s excluded? New feature requests, changes to scope, and issues caused by modifications made by someone else are almost always excluded. Make sure you understand the boundary.

A warranty is a signal of confidence, but the specifics matter more than the gesture.

No warranty isn’t a deal breaker

Here’s what actually matters: does your developer intend to stick around after delivery?

A developer with no warranty but a solid maintenance plan (issue 4) and a clear process for handling hot-fixes (issue 5) is a better partner than one who offers a vague warranty and disappears after the final invoice.

The question isn’t “do you guarantee your work?” It’s “what does post-delivery support look like?”

A good developer should be able to explain:

• How they handle bugs discovered after launch
• Whether they offer ongoing maintenance, retainer-based or on-demand
• How they distinguish between a bug fix and new scope
• What their response time looks like for production issues

Warranty vs. maintenance

These are two different things, and it’s important to understand the distinction:

• Warranty covers defects, things that should have worked but didn’t. It’s typically time-limited and included in the original project cost.
• Maintenance covers ongoing care, keeping the software healthy, applying updates, fixing issues that emerge over time. This is an ongoing cost, usually billed as a retainer or on-demand hourly rate.

A warranty ends. Maintenance doesn’t, at least not if you want your software to keep working. Most developers will tell you that a maintenance relationship is more valuable than a warranty period, and they’re right.

What to ask

• “Do you offer a warranty period after delivery?” If yes, get the details. If no, don’t panic.
• “What does post-delivery support look like?” This is the more important question. You’re looking for a clear, structured answer.
• “How do you define the line between a bug fix and new scope?” This matters because it determines what you pay for. A button that doesn’t work is a bug. A button that works but you want it in a different place is new scope. Your developer should be able to draw that line clearly.

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Expect better. Build better.