Terms Of Business

What Do Both Parties Agree To?

You are hiring us to design and develop a website for the price outlined in our order email.

You … have the authority to enter into this contract on behalf of yourself, your company or your organisation. You agree to provide us with everything we need to complete the project including text, images and other information as and when we need it, and in the format we ask for. You agree to review our work, provide feedback and sign-off approval in a timely manner. Deadlines work two ways so you will also be bound by any dates that we set together. You also agree to stick to the payment schedule that we agree on.

We … have the experience and ability to do everything we have agreed with you and we’ll do it all in a professional and timely manner. We’ll endeavour to meet every deadline that’s set and on top of that we’ll maintain the confidentiality of everything you give us.

Detail & Scope Of Work

Design

We create look-and-feel designs, and flexible layouts that adapt to the capabilities of many devices and screen sizes. We create designs iteratively and use an online development environment that we share with you to move the project to completion. You’ll have plenty of opportunities to review our work and provide feedback from demo to completion. We share a development site with you and we’ll have regular, possibly daily, contact.

Demo/ Vision

You may request, or be offered, a demo, at the initial consultation stage when no contract is in place. You are under no obligation to take up our services on the basis of being presented with a demo. It is part of our marketing to develop the relationship and get your creative juices flowing. We find it moves the process along by giving you a vision of how the end result will look. We define the scope of the demo. We reserve the right to refuse a demo.

Tools Used

We specifically use for your website:

1) WordPress, the latest version, running on an up to date version of PHP.
2) Divi, a premium WordPress theme by Elegant Themes, the latest version. Divi meets modern web standards and we are familiar with what plugins and configurations work with it. This reduces risk. We have built up considerable expertise in using Divi to develop websites.
3) A set of pre-tested and compatible WordPress plugins, both specific and non-specific to Divi.
4) For e-commerce websites we specifically use the plugin WooCommerce due to its compatibility with Divi. We may also use supporting WooCommerce add-on plugins to add extra functionality.

Text Content

We are not responsible for writing any text copy unless specified in the original estimate. If required, we will suggest a free initial consultation for copy writing services.  The copy you provide should be complete and correct. To change copy after implementation may be subject to charge.

Graphics

Any graphics you provide us will be either in JPG, PNG or vector format. Unless otherwise agreed, we do not include the creation of a corporate logo/identity. We can provide you with a quote for the creation of a corporate identity if required. We may copy your logo from an existing online source and use this if we are not provided with a suitable image to use by you.

Photographs

You will supply us photographs in a digital format. If you choose to buy stock photographs we can suggest vendors of stock photography. There are numerous royalty free websites dedicated to providing royalty free images for general and commercial use. We may suggest you source photographs from these websites or can undertake this work on your behalf. Any time we spend searching for, or taking appropriate photographs, will be charged at a rate agreed upon during a free initial consultation to determine if this is the best route to take.

We optimise your photos so that they could be no smaller i.e. scale and resolution.

Videos

If required, you will supply us videos in either YouTube, Vimeo or as an MP4. If you choose to buy stock videos we can suggest vendors of stock videos. There are numerous royalty free websites dedicated to providing royalty free videos for general and commercial use. We may suggest you source videos from these websites or can undertake this work on your behalf. Any time we spend searching for videos will be charged at a rate agreed upon during a free initial consultation to determine if this is the best route to take. 

Merchant Account / Payment Gateway

If you require the ability to take online payments you will need a Merchant Account and/or Payment Gateway. Any charges necessary to secure a Merchant Account and/or Payment Gateway are your responsibility. You also understand that we are not liable for the processing of payment transactions.

Browser Testing

Browser testing 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 and so any cosmetic differences in the finished website are not to be considered defects. 

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 agree that with you separately. If you need an enhanced design for an older browser, we can provide a separate estimate for that.

We will not test your website in old or abandoned browsers, for example Microsoft Internet Explorer 5, 5.5 or 6 for Windows or Mac, previous versions of Apple’s Safari, Mozilla Firefox or Opera unless otherwise specified. If you need to show the same or similar visual design to visitors using these older browsers, we can provide a separate estimate for that.

Mobile Browser Testing

Mobile browser 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 designs in:

iOS latest: Safari, Google Chrome
Android: Google Chrome on Android Phone
We won’t test in Blackberry, Opera Mini/Mobile, specific Android devices, Windows or other mobile browsers unless we agree that with you separately. If you need us to test using the aforementioned mobile browsers, we can provide a separate estimate for that.

Compatibility

You are aware that some advanced techniques on the Internet may require a more recent browser version and brand or plug-in.  As new browser versions are released, or new Internet-capable products are developed, the new versions and/ or products may not be backward compatible. Time spent to redesign a site for compatibility due to the introduction of a new browser version or product will be separately negotiated and charged for. If additional pages are necessary to accommodate specific browsers, plug-in technology, screen resolutions, or platforms, additional charges will apply.

Google Analytics

By default, we do not setup Google Analytics unless discussed. If we setup Google Analytics it will be through a Gmail account of your own that you will provide us access to. We will then integrate the Google Analytics script into your website.

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)

The web pages that we develop are accessible to search engines. However, we do not guarantee listings on search engines and you accept that it is search engines and not us who determine whom they list and whom they will not.  You further understand there is no guaranteed placement or rank on the search engines and that a new website may never even appear on search engines at all.  We do not control search engines’ algorithms and huge shifts can appear daily, weekly and even hourly.

The work does not include any on-page search engine optimisation. This is because SEO is a very time consuming and costly endeavour. It is not a one-off task, it is a marketing process that requires planning and research.

However, we build every site in a way that is accessible to search engines in an effort to increase its chances. Consider:

1) WordPress is the best content management system for SEO ‘out of the box’.
2) All websites are fully-responsive and mobile-friendly.
3) All websites are SSL-enabled i.e. https://
4) Website permalinks are optimised.
5) All images are optimised – size and resolution – they should be no smaller.
6) All images are named properly.
7) All viable images have ALT tags.
8) The proper use of <h1> tags is considered.
9) Website is verified with, and XML sitemaps are submitted to, Google Search Console.
10) Page speed is tested and is good.
11) Yoast, an SEO plugin, is installed and ready for on-page optimisation

If you require SEO services we can quote you separately.

Changes & Revisions

We develop your website in an iterative way. This results in a lot of small revisions as we move towards the end-point. However, there is a difference between a revision and a change. A revision moves the project towards its end-point. A change, however, moves the goalposts in a way that can affect the scope of the project. This can be changing the menu structure of a website requiring pages to be rewritten/ designed or simply just adding new pages. The price in our order email is based on the number of days that we estimate we’ll need to accomplish everything you’ve told us you want to achieve. If you want to change your mind and/or add anything new we’ll provide a separate estimate for those additional hours. We might ask you to put requests in writing so we can keep track of changes.

We insist on one point of contact for web design projects. This is to prevent multiple changes and revisions happening from multiple sources.

Extent Of Work

We will install your website and configure it on our hosting platform. We require you to take up our hosting services for the total price provided in our order email. We have expertise in installing websites on our hosting platform i.e. Siteground. By default, we do not install websites on other hosting platforms. We do not work on other hosting platforms as handling a platform that we are not familiar with, the security, the type of server, the nuances of the interface, setting up all the config and FTP accounts, etc, demands a greater amount of our time with significantly less control. If you wish to move we will provide you with a full backup of all files and a database for you to install with your new host. However, we will consider each case on a one-to-one basis. If you require us to, and we agree to, install your website on another hosting platform, we will charge you at our current hourly rate of £60ph. 

We will configure your website to work with your chosen domain. You will secure, and be responsible for renewing, your chosen domain as it is your property. We may advise you on how to go about purchasing a domain. We will access your domain provider’s configuration settings and set an A Record, a CNAME record and a wildcard A record. We will not amend the nameservers or change the MX records, that govern your email, in any way. We will also forward any domains to your preferred domain.

We will configure your website to be SSL-enabled so it will resolve in a browser to https://

We will add protection rules to your htaccess file to protect the htaccess file itself, the login page and the admin page. This is done by IP address exclusion. We will also protect your wp-config file, block your include-only files and disable hotlinking of images. We also add a security plugin and ‘harden’ your wordpress install.

We will add a site icon to show in browser tabs and as a shortcut on smartphones.

Acceptance Of Work

You have a period of 15 business days following the date of delivery of the website (as notified via email), during which you can review and test.  You shall notify us no later than the 15th business day following such delivery of any items contained in the website that, in your reasonable view, do not conform to expectations.  In the event that you do not notify us within such 15 day period, you shall be deemed to have accepted the website in all respects.  

Liability

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

However, 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. This includes any action that involves hacking or other malicious activity by a third party resulting in damage to your website, reputation, goodwill or revenue. If your website is hacked, it’s not our fault. We’ll do everything in our power to rectify the situation but we are not responsible for any damages or actions that may occur.

WordPress is open source software and we are not responsible for the development of its core files. It’s entirely possible that bugs, security flaws and compatibility issues, which are out of our control, may arise with future releases of WordPress.

Your liability to us will also be limited to the amount of fees payable under this contract 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.

Website Legislation and Regulations for the UK

You agree that it is your responsibility to comply with Website Legislation and Regulations for the UK. Although we can discuss this with you we cannot provide legal advice. You should seek advice from a lawyer if you are uncertain as to what your obligations are.

Laws Affecting E-Commerce

You agree that it is your responsibility for complying with the laws, taxes, and tariffs related to e-commerce, and will hold harmless, protect, and defend us from any claim, suit, penalty, tax, or tariff arising from your use of Internet electronic commerce. You are aware that there are legal requirements for e-commerce websites. You also understand that we cannot provide legal advice.

Copyright

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. 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 reserve the right to display the completed project on our portfolio and in articles on websites.
We reserve the right to have a credit in the footer of your website.

Prices & Payment

Price

We provide you with a price in our order email. The price in this order email is based on the number of hours that we estimate we’ll need to deliver the project. The price of £500 for Website Development, as advised on our website, is subject to a review to define the scope of the job. It is merely an indication and not definitive. Prices only relate to us developing a site on our hosting platform that requires you to take up one of our hosting plans.

Quotes

Quotes are valid for a period of one month from the date issued. We are not bound to honour quotes that have expired.  Quotes are not legally binding until an acceptable timetable for the work has been agreed between us.  This timetable must be agreed within the month that the quote is valid. If an acceptable timetable has not been approved by us within one month of the quote being made, the quote is deemed to have expired. Quotes relate to us developing a site on our hosting platform that requires you to take up one of our hosting plans.

Payment Terms

Our payment terms are as follows:

1) Payment of invoices due on completion of website. We configure the website to ‘Go Live’ on payment.
2) We issue invoices electronically. We therefore require a valid email address.
3) We may request 50% of the total estimated fee upon agreement of an order and invoice you accordingly. Work would only start on completion of this payment.
4) We require payment by bank transfer to our bank account. All payment details, including bank sort code and account number, are on our invoices. We do not take payment by cheque.
5) All payments must be made in UK pounds sterling.
6) We may consider a payment plan in individual cases.

Cancellation

If, at any stage, you change your mind about what you want to be delivered and/or are not happy with the direction our work is taking you agree to pay us in full for the time we’ve spent working with you until that point and terminate the contract between us in writing via email.

We reserve the right to cancel the project at any stage for any reason, if necessary, and will issue you a full refund for all money received, as well as return all materials furnished by you.  If the project is partially completed, you may opt to pay for services already rendered, in exchange for release of all files that you may then take to another website business for completion of project.

Considerations On Leaving Our Services

This is just to give you a heads up that if you wish to transfer to another hosting provider in the future, and keep going with the same site, you should be aware that:

1) Divi has an annual cost, at the time of writing, of $89 or a one-off lifetime payment of $249. This is built into our cost to you via economies of scale so you don’t have to pay for it. You can carry on using Divi but if you want to update the version you will have to pay for a valid licence from Elegant Themes. Our licence is not transferable. This also applies to any premium plugins we have used on your website.

2) We will remove your website entry from Google Search Console. You will have to add your website to your own accounts. You will have to verify your website and submit XML sitemaps. This isn’t difficult and there is no cost.

What Do Both Parties Agree To?

You are hiring us to provide monthly hosting, maintenance & support services for the website that was developed and designed for you by us. The services come in the form of either a ‘Standard Hosting Plan’ or ‘Premium Hosting Plan’ as highlighted on this website.

Details Of Service

Website Hosting

We are a reseller of hosting services. We do not host your website on our own servers i.e. we do not supply the hosting platform. We use a managed wordpress hosting company called Siteground. Due to economies of scale we can provide you with a superior level of hosting service than you could get for the same price yourself. Essentially you get high performance scalable hosting.

However, please be aware that because we have no control over the service we cannot guarantee 100% uptime of your website and be held responsible for any downtime of your website. Your satisfaction is very important to us and we will do everything we can to ensure that your website is available. Of course, we will liaise on your behalf with the hosting provider with the same level of care and urgency as we would with our own website.

We do not ‘babysit’ or look after websites that are required to be ‘offline’ for any significant period. The responsibility for caring for an ‘offline’ website and ensuring it is restored ‘up-to-date’ and fully operational is beyond the remit and scope of the service provided.

Website Maintenance

Monthly plans consist of the following regular maintenance services:
– Update WordPress Version
– Update Divi Theme
– Update WordPress Plugins
– Site Backups
– Spam & Revisions Cleanup
– Security & Performance Scans
– Provision Of Staging Sites (discretionary)

Website Support

Monthly plans consist of the following support services:
– Direct phone access to developer with fast call-back.
– Email Support
– Monitor login attempts to account
– Monitor website uptime
– Contact form submission monitoring
– Annual cost-saving of $90 on Divi WordPress Theme
– Monthly Website Care Report (discretionary)
– 30 Minutes of Change Requests (applies to premium plan only)

Scope Of Change Requests For Premium Plan

– Only 30 minutes for change requests is allowed per month.
– Any work that exceeds the 30 minute threshold will be charged for at our current hourly rate of £45ph.
– The 30 minute availability is not cumulative from month to month i.e. unused time does not transfer from month to month.
– Change requests are prioritised to the front of the queue and handled as soon as possible. However, we cannot guarantee a particular timeframe for completion.
– Includes minor changes, amends, updates to vouchers, adding of photos.
– Does not include website redesign, re-development or extending the functionality of the website. For example, adding a woo-commerce plugin that handles delivery date functionality could break a site, may require extensive testing across all browsers, and may demand a significant learning element on our part. For work of this nature we will quote at our current hourly rate of £60ph. Terms reflect that of our Website Design and Development service

Change Requests For Standard Plan

If you are on the standard plan we will quote you for any work at our current hourly rate of £45ph. We charge to the minute. The quote will be an estimate. We will schedule the work in. However, the work is not given priority over other work.

Scope Of Online Form Submission Notification

We monitor any web form submissions you receive. We will check with you that you have received notifications as a fail-safe. We will do this about 50% of the time. It is to check the integrity of the system we are providing you. Inline with GDPR we delete submission emails from our system once dealt with.

The Use Of Staging Websites

We may setup a ‘staging’ website if the work undertaken requires significant changes to your site. A ‘staging’ site is a clone of your ‘live’ site. It reduces risk and prevents breaking your ‘live’ site. A ‘staging’ website is an extra website on our account and consequently consumes resources and costs. We may setup a staging website on request for Premium Hosting Plan clients on a temporary basis for practice purposes.  The use of a ‘staging’ site is entirely at our discretion. We reserve the right to set them up and take them down entirely at our discretion.

Limitations Of Phone & Email Support

We will respond to all support requests from you within 24 hours on weekdays and 48 hours on weekends, via email or phone. We will advise you on a timeframe for any work.

We will try our best to answer all your questions regarding your website in a timely manner. We will phone you back if you call us as soon as we can. We will also answer emails as promptly as possible. We cannot provide an ongoing consultancy service regarding your website marketing. We may suggest a meeting if you have a lot of ongoing issues to develop a roadmap. We reserve the right to charge for ongoing consultancy services. We will notify you beforehand if this is a requirement.

Liability

Although there are limitations to the guarantees we can provide, your satisfaction is very important to us. Please read and understand our limits of liability before engaging in our services.

Although we strive for your website’s optimal performance and security, we did not build the WordPress software or plugins used on the website, nor are supplying the hosting platform it runs on. For this reason, we do not represent, guarantee or warrant that the functions contained in your webpages or website will be uninterrupted, error-free, free from loss, corruption, attack, viruses, interference, hacking, or other security intrusions, and we disclaim any liability relating thereto.

To the extent not prohibited by law, in no event will we be liable to you or any third party for any damages, including, but not limited to, any lost profits, lost savings, loss of data, business interruption, or incidental, consequential or special damages arising out of the operation of, or inability to operate, these webpages or website, however caused, even if we have been advised of the possibility of such damages.

Third Party or Client Modifications

You may require to independently edit or update your web pages e.g. blog articles. This is understandable.  Be aware, however, that if you, or a third party, attempts to update or amend the website in any way which results in damages to its design, or impairs the ability for the web pages to display or function properly, and you require us to rectify the situation, we will charge you at our current hourly rate of £60ph. However, we cannot guarantee a ‘drop-of-a-hat’ repair service. We also cannot guarantee that recovery or repair will be successful. With this in mind, you are encouraged to utilise our services for future updates.

Website Legislation and Regulations for the UK

You agree that it is your responsibility to comply with Website Legislation and Regulations for the UK. Although we can discuss this with you we cannot provide legal advice. You should seek advice from a lawyer if you are uncertain as to what your obligations are.

Laws Affecting E-Commerce

You agree that it is your responsibility for complying with the laws, taxes, and tariffs related to e-commerce, and will hold harmless, protect, and defend us from any claim, suit, penalty, tax, or tariff arising from your use of Internet electronic commerce. You are aware that there are legal requirements for e-commerce websites. You also understand that we cannot provide legal advice.

Prices & Payment

Our Plans are “Pay As You Go” and payment is required monthly, in advance, by standing order to our business bank account. We do not provide any form of credit. “Pay As You Go” services are non-refundable.

We issue invoices electronically. We therefore require a valid email address. No invoices are sent by regular mail. Invoices are sent directly to you via email shortly after the purchase or standing order is completed.

We reserve the right to change prices and/or the nature of our services by giving you written notice of those changes. Notice of changes to prices and/or services will be provided by e-mail to the e-mail address held for your account. It is your responsibility to amend your standing order.

We reserve the right to suspend services until payment is received in full and all outstanding debt is cleared. Any non-payment of a recurring invoice may be subject to a £20 administration charge. You are responsible for all money owed on the account from the time it was established until we receive your cancellation request. You are responsible for any additional costs incurred by us in the collection of an outstanding debt.

If you fail to pay all prices due, we reserve the right to interrupt, suspend or cancel the services to you. Such interruption, suspension or cancellation does not relieve you from paying all prices which are overdue and payable to us.

Services provided that are not part of a plan are subject to be charged at our current hourly rate of £60ph. Work is billed to the minute. Essentially, we put a stopwatch on the table. We are fast.

Cancellation

You may cancel your recurring website service plan at any time. There is no time constraint. There are no termination fees. You are under no obligation to continue the ongoing service. You cancel your account and website yourself by notifying us by email and cancelling/ amending your standing order. Your account and website will stay active until the time you have paid for expires. If you are transferring to another hosting platform then we require 14 days notice to supply you with a full current backup. We cannot provide consultancy services regarding your move away from us. It is beyond our remit.

We reserve the right to cancel your service at any time. We would notify you by email and advise you to cancel your standing order. Your account and website will stay active until the time you have paid for expires. We provide you with a full current backup to reinstate on another hosting platform. 

We reserve the right to cancel and/or suspend your service at any time without notice if you breach these Terms Of Business.

Considerations On Leaving Our Services

This is just to give you a heads up that if you wish to transfer to another hosting provider in the future, and keep going with the same site, you should be aware that:

1) Divi has an annual cost of $89 or a one-off lifetime payment of $249. This is built into our cost to you via economies of scale so you don’t have to pay for it. You can carry on using Divi but if you want to update the version you will have to pay for a valid licence from Elegant Themes. Our licence is not transferable. This also applies to any premium plugins we have used on your website.

2) We will remove your website entry from Google Search Console. You will have to add your website to your own accounts. You will have to verify your website and submit XML sitemaps. This isn’t difficult and there is no cost.

Access To Your Website

If you require access to your website we will set you up as a user.
There are times when you may want to get access to your website. In the event of an irreconcilable dispute or being unable to contact us for reasons of injury or death, etc, please refer to the following: https://www.siteground.com/kb/lost-access-account/

What Is NOT Included In The Agreement

– We do not handle client domain renewals
– We do not handle websites designed and developed by someone else
– We do not include Onpage SEO. We can quote you separately for SEO services