Terms of Service

Design

We create look-and-feel designs, and flexible layouts that adapt to the capabilities of many devices and screen sizes. We create designs iteractively and use predominantly HTML and CSS so we won’t waste time mocking up every template as a static visual. Instead we will discuss with you to get an idea of the type of design you’re looking for and get started. Once we’ve got a design put up that we think you’ll like we submit to you for any revisions. We don’t limit the number of revisions you need but do only include 3 rounds of revisions in the initial flat rate quote. Anything more than that would be subject to our hourly rate.

Text Content

Unless agreed separately, we’re not responsible for creating text or images to put into website. We provide professional copywriting and editing services, so if you’d like us to create new content or input content for you, we can provide a separate estimate for that.

Graphics and photographs

You should supply graphic files in an editable, vector digital format. You should supply photographs in a high resolution digital format. If you choose to buy stock photographs, we can suggest stock libraries. If you’d like us to search for photographs for you, we have repositories for that as well.

Browser testing

We test our work in current versions of major desktop browsers including those made by Apple (Safari), Google (Chrome), Microsoft (Edge), Mozilla Firefox and Opera. We’ll also test to ensure that people who use Microsoft Internet Explorer 11 for Windows get an appropriate experience. We won’t test in other older browsers unless we agreed separately. If you need an enhanced design for an older browser, we can provide a separate estimate for that.

Testing using popular smaller screen devices is essential in ensuring that a person’s experience of a design is appropriate to the capabilities of the device they’re using. We test our mobile designs in:

iOS 10: Safari & Google Chrome
Android: Google Chrome on Android Emulator

We won’t test in Blackberry, Opera Mini/Mobile, specific Android devices, Windows or other mobile phone browsers unless we agreed separately. If you need us to test using these, we can provide a separate estimate for that.

Search engine optimization (SEO)

We don’t guarantee improvements to your website’s search engine ranking, but the web pages that we develop are accessible to search engines. We do a basic level of SEO, making sure that all pages we create have a Meta Title and Description. We do not submit your website to search engines nor do targeted optimization unless we agreed separately. If you need us to do advanced SEO, we can provide a separate estimate for that.

Web Hosting

In order for your website to be accessible on the internet you will also need a Web Hosting package through a hosting provider. We offer packages that include web hosting. If you do not have one and choose not to use ours then you will need to purchase web hosting and provide us with login and FTP credentials.

Changes and revisions

We don’t want to limit your ability to change your mind. The price at the beginning of this contract is based on the time that we estimate we’ll need to accomplish everything you’ve told us you want to achieve, but we’re happy to be flexible. If you want to change your mind or add anything new, and we believe it will extend outside of the original estimated time, that won’t be a problem we would simply bill you at our hourly rate for additional changes and revisions.

Payment Schedule

We’re sure you understand how important it is as a small business that you pay the invoices that we send you promptly. As we’re also sure you’ll want to stay friends, you agree to stick tight to the following payment schedule. A deposit of 33% of the total estimated costs will be due after the signing of the estimate and before work can begin. An additional 33% will be due when the initial project is submitted to the client. If the estimate is a flat rate estimate, the remaining 34% shall become due when the work is completed to the reasonable satisfaction of you subject to the terms in the rest of this agreement. If the estimate is hourly, the remaining amount due will be the number of hours less amount already paid. We issue invoices electronically. Our payment terms are 14 days from the date of invoice by PayPal, Stripe, or ACH via Dwolla. We reserve the right to charge interest on all overdue debts at the rate of 2% every 5 days after the due date.

Timeline

We know you are excited to receive your final product, and we don’t want to leave you waiting. We will roll up our sleeves and get work and continue until the satisfactory completion of the services. This means that we won’t throw the towel in until the website we develop for you is performing exactly as agreed to.

Termination

We would really hate to see you go. If, at any stage, you change your mind about what you want to be delivered and are not happy with the direction our work is taking, you can end this agreement by giving Us a thirty (30) day written notice and paying us in full for the time we’ve spent working with you until that point and terminate this contract.

If needed, we will assist you in moving your content to your new hosting platform.

This Agreement will automatically terminate when both Parties have performed all of their obligations under the Agreement and all payments have been made.

Legal stuff

We’ll carry out our work in accordance with good industry practice and at the standard expected from a suitably qualified person with relevant experience.

That said, we can’t guarantee that our work will be error-free and so we can’t be liable to you or any third-party for damages, including lost profits, lost savings or other incidental, consequential or special damages, even if you’ve advised us of them.

Your liability to us will also be limited to the amount of fees payable under this agreement and you won’t be liable to us or any third-party for damages, including lost profits, lost savings or other incidental, consequential or special damages, even if we’ve advised you of them.

Finally, if any provision of this contract shall be unlawful, void, or for any reason unenforceable, then that provision shall be deemed severable from this contract and shall not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining provisions.

Intellectual property rights

Just to be clear, “Intellectual property rights” means all patents, rights to inventions, copyright (including rights in software) and related rights, trademarks, service marks, get up and trade names, internet domain names, rights to goodwill or to sue for passing off, rights in designs, database rights, rights in confidential information (including know-how) and any other intellectual property rights, in each case whether registered or unregistered and including all applications (or rights to apply) for, and renewals or extensions of, such rights and all similar or equivalent rights or forms of protection which subsist or shall subsist now or in the future in any part of the world.

First, you guarantee that all elements of text, images or other artwork you provide are either owned by your good selves, or that you’ve permission to use them. When you provide text, images or other artwork to us, you agree to protect us from any claim by a third party that we’re using their intellectual property.

We guarantee that all elements of the work we deliver to you are either owned by us or we’ve obtained permission to provide them to you. When we provide text, images or other artwork to you, we agree to protect you from any claim by a third party that you’re using their intellectual property. Provided you’ve paid for the work and that this contract hasn’t been terminated, we’ll assign all intellectual property rights to you as follows:

You’ll own the website we design for you plus the visual elements that we create for it. We’ll give you source files and finished files and you should keep them somewhere safe as we’re not required to keep a copy. You own all intellectual property rights of text, images, site specification and data you provided, unless someone else owns them.

We’ll own any intellectual property rights we’ve developed prior to, or developed separately from this project and not paid for by you. We’ll own the unique combination of these elements that constitutes a complete design and we’ll license its use to you, exclusively and in perpetuity for this project only, unless we agree otherwise.

Displaying our work

We love to show off our work, so we reserve the right to display all aspects of the creative work, including sketches, work-in-progress designs and the completed project on our portfolio and in articles on websites, in magazine articles and in books.

The small print

Neither of us can transfer this contract to anyone else without the other’s permission. We both agree that we’ll adhere to all relevant laws and regulations in relation to our activities under this contract and not cause the other to breach any relevant laws or regulations. This contract stays in place and need not be renewed. If for some reason one part of this contract becomes invalid or unenforceable, the remaining parts of it remain in place. Although the language is simple, the intentions are serious and this contract is a legal document under exclusive jurisdiction of the courts.