We’ll always do our best to fulfill your needs and meet your expectations, but it’s important to have things written down so that we both know what’s what, who should do what and when, and what will happen if something goes wrong. In this contract, you won’t find any complicated legal terms or long passages of unreadable text. We’ve no desire to trick you into signing something that you might later regret. What we do want is what’s best for both parties, now and in the future.
We expressly reserve the right to change these Terms of Service from time to time without notice to you. You acknowledge and agree that it is your responsibility to review this site and these Terms of Use from time to time and to familiarize yourself with any modifications. Your continued use of this site after such modifications will constitute acknowledgment of the modified Terms of Use and agreement to abide and be bound by the modified Terms of Use.
We reserve the right to either modify or discontinue services, including any of the sites features and pricing, at any time with or without notice to you. We will not be liable to you or any third party should we exercise such right. Any new features that augment or enhance the then-current services on this site shall also be subject to these Terms of Service.
AGREEMENT
Our customers must have the power and ability to enter into our contract on behalf of your company or organization. You must agree to provide us with everything that we need to complete the project including text, images and other information as and when we need it, and in the format that we ask for. You agree to review our work, provide feedback and sign-off approval in a timely manner. Deadlines work two ways and you will also be bound by any dates that we set together. You also agree to follow the payment schedule set out at the end of this contract.
We have the experience and ability to perform the services you need from us and we will carry them out in a professional and timely manner. Along the way we will endeavor to meet all the deadlines set but we can’t be responsible for a missed launch date or a deadline if you have been late in supplying materials or have not approved or signed off our work on-time at any stage. On top of this, we will also maintain the confidentiality of any information that you give us.
DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT
We will create designs for the look-and-feel, layout and functionality of our contracted clients website. Clients will have plenty of opportunities to review our work and provide us feedback. We’ll share our working Dropbox and have regular contact as needed.
The total estimated design price agreed to will include one initial main design plus the opportunity to make up to two rounds of revisions. If client is not happy with the design at this stage, they have the option to pay us in full for all of the work that we have produced until that point and either cancel this contract or continue to commission us to make further design revisions at the current hourly rate.
CHANGES AND REVISIONS DURING DEVELOPMENT
We know from plenty of experience that fixed-price contracts are rarely beneficial to our clients, as they often limit them to their first idea about how something should look, or how it might work. We don’t want to limit either options or opportunities to change one’s mind, giving client the ability to make changes after the product has launched and the two revisions have been exhausted. The total estimated design price agreed to is based on the number of hours that we will need to accomplish everything that we have been asked by our client during our consultation process. Prior to launch but after the two rounds of revisions, if a client changes their mind, adds extra pages, changes template or even adds new functionality, that won’t be a problem. As mentioned above, client may commission us to make further design revisions at the current hourly design rate. If at the end of this process a client does not like our design, they must pay us in full for the design work done to that point and the contract will be voided.
TEXT CONTENT
We’re not responsible for writing any text copy. If client wants content written for site, client will need to hire a copywriter for those services and will be responsible for any fees associated with copywriting services.
PHOTOGRAPHS & IMAGES
Client should supply graphic files in an editable, vector digital format. Client should supply photographs in a high resolution digital format. If client chooses to purchase stock photographs, we can suggest stock libraries. If you’d like us to search for photographs for you, we can provide an additional estimate for that.
BROWSER TESTING
We will test all of our markups and CSS in current versions of all major browsers including those made by Apple (Safari), Microsoft (Internet Explorer), Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome on both Mac and PC. We will not test your website in old or abandoned browsers, for example Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 for Windows or Mac, previous versions of Apple’s Safari, Mozilla Firefox, or Google Chrome unless otherwise specified.
Browser testing for responsiveness no longer means attempting to make a website look the same in browsers of different capabilities or on devices with different size screens. It does mean ensuring that a person’s experience of a design should be appropriate to the capabilities of a browser or device.
MOBILE BROWSER TESTING
Testing popular small-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 work in:
iOS: Safari, Google Chrome
Android 4.x: Google Chrome and Firefox
We currently do not test on Blackberry, Opera Mini/Mobile, Windows Phone or other mobile browsers. If you need us to test using these, we can provide a separate estimate for that.
TECHNICAL SUPPORT
You may already have professional hosting and you might even manage that hosting in-house; if you do, great. We can set up your site on a server of your choice, plus integrate any statistics software such as Google Analytics. The updates to, and management of that server will be up to you. We do not provide support for website hosting, email or other services relating to other hosting companies. If something technically goes wrong with your website you must contact your hosting provider directly. Please note that if you decide to edit or update your own website or hire someone else to make changes to the site after completion, we are not responsible for any of these changes or any problems that may arise.
If you prefer us to handle the hosting for your website and/or maintenance of it, we can set up an account for you on our Managed Virtual Private Servers which are managed by WiredTree. We abide by their TOS as well as our own Acceptable Use Policy.
MONTHLY MAINTENANCE (WEBSITE CARE)
If we do not host & maintain your website on a regular recurring basis, we will not be responsible for fixing it if anything does go wrong nor do we provide continued website support for free following our 14 days of website revisions after your website goes live.
Monthly Website Maintenance is an additional service you have the option of purchasing from us. We presently have three packages:
Our BASE Website Care Plan allows 30 minutes of minor website tasks for one website with up to 3 business days for response time. All subscribers must be set up for automatic online recurring payments – no checks allowed.
Our PREMIUM Website Care Plan Plan allows 2 hours of minor website tasks for one website with up to 2 business days for response time. All subscribers must be set up for automatic online recurring payments – no checks allowed.
Our ELITE Website Care Plan Plan allows unlimited minor website tasks for one website with 1 business day response time. All subscribers must be set up for automatic online recurring payments – no checks allowed.
We view ourselves as partners in your business and know that having your website perform at optimal levels is very important. In order for that to happen there is always a need to monitor performance and make changes. Changes to your website include but aren’t limited to adding or deleting content, adding images, wording changes, technical support etc. Please note that graphic design or graphic edits and SEO are not included and are charged separately.
After the allowable time per plan for website edits is exhausted, if further work is desired, you can commission us at our current hourly rate. The time for edits retained from the monthly maintenance fee each month does not and cannot accumulate month to month.
Requests for changes may be made by emailing support @ newmanwebsolutions.com or by submitting a ticket on our client portal.
LEGALITIES
We can’t guarantee that the functions contained in any website templates or in a completed website will always be error-free and so we can’t be liable to you or any third party for damages, including lost profits, lost savings, lost files/data, lost emails or other incidental, consequential or special damages arising out of the operation of or inability to operate website, any other web pages, and emails services even if you have advised us of the possibilities of such damages.
If any provision of this agreement shall be unlawful, void, or for any reason unenforceable, then that provision shall be deemed severable from this agreement and shall not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining provisions.
COPYRIGHTS
You guarantee to us that any elements of text, graphics, photos, designs, trademarks, or other artwork that you provide us for inclusion in the web site are either owned by your good selves, or that you have permission to use them.
When we receive your final payment for launch, copyright is assigned as follows:
You own the graphics and other visual elements that we create for you for this project. We will give you a copy of all files and you should store them safely. You also own text content, photographs and other data you provided, unless someone else owns them. We own a unique combination of these elements that constitutes a complete design, as well as the markup, CSS and other code and we license it to you exclusively for this project. As much as we desire to fulfill your needs and expectations, we need to protect our company and interests. If at the end of contract you wish to take your website design to another provider, the complete design, including all coding, is available to you. We do host with a specific hosting company, which gives us access to a variety of modules and functionality that may not be offered by another hosting provider. We are not responsible for what may or may not work or how the site should function if the website should be transferred from us to another provider or is hosted by another hosting provider. We have absolutely no control over their servers and settings.
We love to show off our work and share what we have learned with other people, so we also reserve the right to display and link to your completed project as part of our portfolio and to write about the project on websites, in magazine articles and/or in any other chosen media regarding web design.
It is our desire to never put your business in a failing position, because of that we are adding this clause. For the time we operate as a sole-proprietorship and in the event of catastrophe or death that renders us unable to perform our end of the contract, ownership will be transferred to you. You will be provided the necessary information in order to to make the transfer.
LAUNCH DATE
Deadlines benefit both parties in contract. Website launch dates are set to ensure the project is being completed efficiently and in a reasonable time frame. In order to give your project the attention it deserves, deadlines must be met by us and by you, otherwise your project may be set back. Missed launched dates due to missed deadlines will be subject to additional fees, unless otherwise rescheduled.
PAYMENTS
We are 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.
DESIGN FEE
50% non-refundable deposit is due at time of contract signing and must be made through our secure payment processing software. Work will not be done until the contract and payment are received.
The remaining 50% must be paid prior to website going live or by projected deadline, whichever comes first. Once site goes live after payment, we will provide you administrative access and full control of your website.
MONTHLY WEBSITE SERVICES – (SEO, MAINTENANCE, HOSTING, ETC.)
Monthly website service fees are due each month in advance via our automatic online payment through our secure payment processing software. We do not accept checks for monthly service plans. They must be set up for recurring payments online. If at any time you miss your monthly service fees, and your website is hosted with us as part of the monthly plan, your website will be disabled within 7 days unless payment is brought current. In order to have your website live again, your account must be brought current and you will be assessed an additional relaunch/reinstatement fee for resuming services with us. A website will not be launched until all payments have been received.
Cancellation of monthly website services (SEO, Maintenance, Listings, etc) requires a written 30 days advance notice. Because website services are provided on a monthly basis, the client will be responsible for service fees already paid regardless of when the client provides notice of termination. Thus, for example, if Client provides notice to terminate prior to the end of the billing cycle, the remaining balance for that month will not be pro-rated or refunded.
If Client has prepaid for services six (6) or twelve (12) months in advance, the client agrees that no refunds will be issued for any unused portion of the services regardless of when the client cancels the services. Therefore, if the client’s account is canceled at any point during the pre-paid contract term, Client will not be entitled to a pro-rated refund.
If cancellation of the monthly website service date occurs after the arranged billing date, the current monthly or yearly bill will remain in effect. We do not prorate our services. Your website will remain live until the final month of payment. It will be the client’s responsibility to move the website themselves by that deadline before we terminate the account. Once the site is terminated, all files are deleted permanently and cannot be restored.
Monthly prices are subject to change due to the hosting provider’s price changes. You will be informed of price changes at least 45 days prior to the change. We do strive to provide our clients with the most affordable and cost-effective service.
SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION
We cannot guarantee any improvement to a search engine ranking, nor can we promise to get a site higher up or to the ‘top of Google’, but we build every site in a way that is accessible to search engines in an effort to increase its chances for success.
FINE PRINT
Just like a parking ticket, you can’t transfer this contract to anyone else without our permission. 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 legally binding.
