Table of Contents

What Do Both Parties Agree To Do?

As our customer, you have the power and ability to enter into this contract on behalf of your company or organisation.

You agree to provide us with everything that we’ll 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 approval in a timely manner too. Deadlines work two ways and you’ll also be bound by any dates that we set together. You also agree to stick to the payment schedule set out at the end of this contract.

I have the experience and ability to perform the services you need from me and I will carry them out in a professional and timely manner. Along the way, I will endeavor to meet all the deadlines set but I 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 my work on-time at any stage. On top of this, I’ll also maintain the confidentiality of any information that you give me.

I cannot take responsibility for other hosting companies and the way their company operates. Their business is their business. I will always try and help the best I can, but I cannot control what happens with hosting transfers and other technicalities within your hosting and emails.

By using the services of The Website Architect, you agree to these terms.

Getting Down to the Nitty Gritty

Design

If I am designing your application I’ll create designs for the look-and-feel, layout, and functionality of your website. This contract includes one main design plus the opportunity for you to make up to two rounds of revisions. If you’re not happy with the designs at this stage, you will pay me in full for all of the work that I have produced until that point and you may either cancel this contract or continue to commission me to make further design revisions at my standard design rates.

HTML and CSS Layout Templates

If the project includes HTML markup and CSS templates, I’ll develop these using valid HTML and CSS code…
The landscape of web browsers and devices changes regularly and my approach is to look forward, not back. With that in mind, I will test all our markup and CSS in current versions of all major desktop browsers to ensure that I make the most from them. Users of older or less capable browsers or devices will experience a design that is appropriate to the capabilities of their software.

NOTE: I do not cater for people using Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 and cannot predict the behaviour of that browser.

I will also test that these templates perform well on Apple’s iPad.
I will not test old or abandoned browsers, for example, Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 or 5.5 for Windows or Mac, previous versions of Apple’s Safari, Mozilla Firefox or Opera unless otherwise specified. If you need me to consider these older browsers, I will charge you at my standard old browser rate for any necessary additional design work, development and testing.

Text Content

I may have written a hundred blog posts but I’m not responsible for writing or inputting any text copy unless I specified it in the original estimate. I’ll be happy to help though, and in addition to the estimate, I will charge you at my standard copywriting or content input rate.

Photographs

You will supply us photographs in digital format.
If you choose to buy stock photographs I can suggest vendors of stock photography. Any time I spend searching for appropriate photographs
will be charged at my standard discovery rate.

Changes and Revisions

I know from plenty of experience that fixed-price contracts are rarely beneficial to you, as they often limit you to your first idea about how something should look, or how it might work. I don’t want to limit either your options or your opportunities to change your mind.

The estimate/quotation prices at the beginning of this document are based on the amount of work I estimate I’ll need to accomplish everything that you have told me you want to achieve.
If you do want to change your mind, add extra pages or templates or even add new functionality, that won’t be a problem. However, you will be charged accordingly and these additional costs will need to be agreed to before the extra work commences. This additional work will affect deadlines and they will be moved accordingly. I’ll be upfront about all of this if and when it happens to make sure we’re all on the same page before proceeding. I may also ask you to put requests in writing so I can keep track of changes. If the nature or functions of the project change significantly throughout the process, I reserve the right to deem the current project cancelled.
At this point, you will pay me in full for all the work I have done and may commission me to complete the new project based on the new requirements. This will require a new quote and contract.

Technical Support

You may already have professional website hosting, you might even manage that hosting in-house; if that’s the case, great. If you don’t manage your own website hosting, or your current hosting environment does not support the solution we are providing, I can set up an account for you at one of my preferred, third-party hosting providers. I will charge you a one-off fee for installing your site on this server, plus any statistics software such as Google Analytics, then the updates to, and management of that server, plus any support issues will be up to you. I am not a website hosting company and so do not offer or include technical support for website hosting, email or other services relating to website hosting.

Legal stuff

I can’t guarantee that the functions contained in any web page templates or in a completed website will always be error-free and so I can’t be liable to you or any third party for damages, including lost profits, lost savings or other incidental, consequential or special damages arising out of the operation of or inability to operate this website and any other web pages, 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. Phew!

Copyrights

You guarantee to me that any elements of text, graphics, photos, designs, trademarks, or other artwork that you provide me for inclusion in the website are either owned by your good-selves, or that you have permission to use them.

When we receive your final payment, copyright is automatically assigned as follows:

You own the graphics and other visual elements that I create for you for this project.

I’ll give you a copy of all files and you should store them really safely as I am not required to keep them or provide any native source files I used to make them.

You also own text content, photographs and other data you provided unless someone else owns them. I own the markup, CSS and other code and I license it to you for use on only this project. I love to show off my work and share what I have learned with other people, so I reserve the right to display and link to your completed project as part of my portfolio and to write about the project on websites, in magazine articles and in books about web design.

Payments

I am sure you understand how important it is for a small business that you pay the invoices that I send you promptly. As I’m also sure you’ll want to stay friends, you agree to stick tight to the following payment schedule.

50% deposit up front
30% installment once functionality and design has been agreed upon
20% balance once the application has been tested and everyone agrees it is ready to go live.

Please note, if you are on a payment plan and you do not keep up repayments, The Website Architect reserves the right to invoice for the full amount, payable within 7 days.

NB: If you are unable to supply all of the right content at this stage, it does not mean I have not done my job. Once the site has been tested and is ready to go live, either with your content or placeholder images and dummy text, I will issue the final invoice. Once the final invoice is paid I will hand over the keys and show you how to put your own content in once it’s ready. If the final invoice is not paid within the credit terms I have given you, I am under no obligation to keep the site on my testing server or continue with the project in any way.

But where’s all the horrible small print?

Just like a parking ticket, you can’t transfer this contract to anyone else without my 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 a legal document under exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Greater Manchester, UK.

Small Business Websites

Small budget and start up websites are subject to the below conditions.

T&C’s apply:

To begin the project you must pay 75% of the total cost of the product and on completion the final 25% before the website goes live.

On all start up websites, there is only one revision. All amends must be sent in a list via email. All amends must be included in this one email, if there are any more after this round then they will be chargeable.

Web Architect will keep your website up to date and check for errors for the first 30 days after the website goes live. After that the website is the owners responibility.

30 days before the 12 months hosting is up, you will be notified of your hosting coming to the end of the term. You will then have a choice on whether to stay with me or move your hosting to another provider of your choice.

Malware, attacks & viruses

it is the responsibility of the website owner to ensure their website is secured, backed up and protected from attacks. It is not the responsibility of The Website Architect to defend, or clean up any Malware or viruses in any way. Although I can recommend plugins and will always make an effort to add security in builds where I can.

This is the case before, during and after the website build is in effect.

WordPress is the most popular CMS software available, and therefore the most attacked, it is your responsibility as the owner of your website to take measures to protect your website the best that you ca.

Nothing is ever 100% safe. Therefore it is up to you should the website get attacked in any way to get the website ‘cleaned’ to ensure you don’t infect any other systems that may visit your website.

The Website Architect is always security aware and will always take measures to protect the best that I can with the tools that are currently available. All of the software used in builds is kept up tp date for the duration of the build. After that I keep things up to date for 30 days and then the responsibility falls on the owner of the site to update softwares. Which if left out of date can leave your website vulnerable.

No refunds will be given if your site falls victim to attack.

Transfers to our server

I will always try to make this transition as smooth as possible, but technology can be tricky and it isn’t always in my power to do an instant transfer.

I will always do my very best to make sure it is as quick and painless as possible, but it can take up to 24 hours for a url and emails to move over to the servers. 

I accept no liability  for this and it is your responsibility to back up any old emails.

I accept no liability for lost time while emails are down, as this is something that is not in my power. Me and 34SP will always make sure the transition is as painless as possible.

 

Transfers away from our server

I will always try to make this transition as smooth as possible, but technology can be tricky and it isn’t always in my power to do an instant transfer.

If you choose to move your website away from my servers, that is fine. there are no hard feelings!

I will provide you with all your database and files, but I will not upload to your new server, this is your responsibility. and you need to either do this yourself or pay someone to do it for you.

I will remove all backups from my servers within 24 hours of your transfer and I will not hold any of your data. 

I also reserve the right to not renew your Elementor Pro licence. This is something I pay to renew each year, so if you choose away from my services, you will need to add this software back to your website or purchase it from me on a yearly basis.

I charge this out at £50 per year. 

Monthly Maintenance Packages

The Web Architect will keep your website up to date and backed up, should the worst happen and your site be attacked. This is a monthly package and requires a 30 day notice period from the first of the month. Giving The Website Architect a full 30 days to make sure your site is ready for you to take over manitenance.

This service is a 30 day rolling contract and renews from the 1st of every month.

Coaching & Consulting

The Web Architectwill coach you to the best of her abilities. Following all the knowledge she has gained throughout her career in web design. 

I will do my very best to get you the best results I can. However there are sometimes occasions when other things can interfere with your results. I cannot take responsibility for the results and I cannot always guarantee results.

SEO

While I do everything I can to make sure your site is ready for Search Engine Optimisation, it is searchable, unless we’ve discussed SEO at the quoting stage and this is something we’re working together on, your page will not be on page 1 of Google when we have built your site. SEO is a complicated and long term strategy that all businesses need to work on, continuously to get any results. I am happy to help you to work on this, but sadly it is a process and I cannot take responsibility for your rank.

Website Search Results: Google etc

The results you get from your website cannot be guaranteed from builds or from coaching. Everything I advise is there to help your business grow. The Website Architect cannot be help liable for anything that you choose to do within your business.

Websites are organic. They grow alongside your business and take constant work.

I do not guarantee that your website will be on page one of Google after any website build. And unless you do the work with an SEO expert, or you do the task yourself, your website may never get there. I always advise seeking the advice of a professional to take on these tasks to get the best results.

Emails:

While I offer emails as part of my package I do not and I am not able to set them up on your systems. The set up of your emails is your responsibilty.

I have tutorial videos avaialble and will always try and make the changeover as easy as possible. However I can not take responsibilty for you not being able to do this.

I always advise you to back up your files and emails, but this is your own responsibilty to get this done in time before switching.

Your New Website:

If you choose not to take out one of the care plans I offer (click for care plans) it is your responsibility to take proper care of your website. This includes keeping your software up to date and secure.

If you ‘break’ your website by making amends, The Website Architect will not take responsibility for this and any fixes will be chargeable.

At the end of every project, there is a free 30 day support period, here I make sure everything runs smoothly. You do need to alert me to anything that isn’t working correctly (broken links, buttons going to the wrong places etc are common, and an easy fix) and is considered a bug. This does not include content, design, or feature changes.

If you find an issue on your website, use the contact form in your dashboard or email me at hello@website-architect.co.uk

For changes to content, design or features, this will be considered a new project and a price will be given.

After the 30 day period is up, everything will be up to you.

It is very important to keep your website maintained and up to date to avoid issues, security breaches and hacks, and also to get the best on-going results.

I have developed very budget friendly care plans that are available to all my customers and are accessible and affordable to everyone. Find them here: Care Plans

Refund policy:

All deposits are non-refundable. 

If you pay a deposit and don’t begin work or set a date, within a 6 month period, we reserve the right to charge you in full again when you are ready to begin the work. 

If you feel that you need a refund for whatever reason, please approach us within 30 days of working together to discuss. However refunds are only offered within the 14 days of your purchase.

If you default on any monthly payments, we reserve  the right to close down your services until the payment is cleared.