General
You (the Client) are hiring us (the Company), Ester Digital Agency LTD to design and\or develop a website or carry out web-related work for you as outlined in the Cost Estimate or as discussed in our email communication. Please note that website care plans (if any needed) are considered part of a separate agreement.
Project Scope and Booking
Quotes and estimates: Quotes are valid for 30 days from the date of issuance.
Booking: Bookings are confirmed through a project booking form. Clients are encouraged to check availability and select a start date that best suits their schedule. Once selected, adherence to the booked start date is important to keep the project on track.
Work Commencement: The start date is confirmed once the initial 50% payment is received, and the selected start date is secured on the project board.
Project Rescheduling Limit: Clients may request to reschedule their project start date up to two times. For additional rescheduling requests, the project may be re-evaluated for availability, potentially incurring additional fees or requiring a revised agreement. If a requested start date cannot be filled by another project, a 15% rescheduling fee will be added to the final bill. Rescheduling beyond this limit may also require a new quote, particularly if extending into a new pricing period.
Supplying Content
Content Deadlines: All content must be submitted one week prior to the start date. If content is not available, we reserve the right to use placeholder text or scrape content from your existing website. Alternatively, if content isn’t received on time, your project may be rescheduled, and your slot offered to another client.
Incomplete Content: Placeholder text or existing website content may be used to move the project forward. Updates can be made post-handover, or we can update the content at our hourly rate.
Image Requirements: Provide editable vector files for logos and high-resolution photos for other images. We can source images at our hourly rate, with additional licensing fees if applicable.
Access Requirements: Full access to your web host and website is required upfront. If not available, we will develop on our server, and a charge of £55 ($65) for migration may apply.
Post-Placement Content Edits: Requests to edit or adapt content after it has been placed on the page will be billed at my hourly rate, with a minimum charge of one hour.
Image Sourcing: If suitable images (in terms of size or quality) are not provided in advance, I will source these from my stock library at an additional cost of £55 ($65).
Delays, Suspension, Abandonment
Pause/Restart Clause: If required content is not supplied by the agreed deadline, the project will go on pause. A restart fee of 15% of the total project fee will be applied for the first two weeks of delay, with an additional 10% per week thereafter. If no content is provided within 4 weeks, the project will be considered cancelled.
Delays: A project is considered delayed if responses to requests for assets, information, feedback, or approvals exceed one week. Timely responses are essential to keeping the project on schedule.
Suspension: If the delay extends beyond two weeks, the project may be suspended. To resume, all pending information must be provided along with a reactivation fee of 10% of the total project cost per week of delay.
Abandonment: If no response is received within 30 days, the project will be considered abandoned, and the remaining balance will still be due. To make space for new projects, any files stored on our servers, including website and email data, will be permanently deleted. We are not responsible for backups or restoring previous versions. Should the project be reinstated, a new quote and scope will be required.
Feedback, Scope Creep and Approval
Feedback: Provide feedback in one batch (email, document, or Figma) by one team member per review stage to ensure efficient management.
Approval Stages: Two review opportunities are provided. Five working days are allotted for providing feedback during each approval stage. Uncontested work (not reported as unsatisfactory within the feedback period) is deemed approved and cannot be rejected later. The completion of approved work triggers the remaining payment(s).
Scope Creep: Changes are welcome, but separate estimates will be provided for additional tweaks. Scope changes must be documented in writing.
Project Completion: A project is considered complete after addressing changes requested in the second review stage.
Payment Schedule and Information
Prompt payment is essential for our small business to operate efficiently and deliver exceptional service. We appreciate your understanding and adherence to the following payment terms:
Initial Payment: 50% of the total project cost, non-refundable, is required to secure your start date and initiate project work.
Final Payment: The remaining 50% of the total project cost, plus any agreed-upon out-of-scope extras, is due just after the second review phase. To ensure timely completion, this final invoice will also become due 30 days from the project’s official start date, even if the project timeline extends beyond initial expectations.
They are non-transferable and non-refundable.
Payment Methods: We accept electronic payments via BACS and ACH. Invoices are due upon receipt.
Currency Conversion: Proposals are quoted in GBP in most cases.
Late payment procedures:
To maintain service continuity, ongoing work or subscriptions, such as hosting, may be halted immediately if payment is not received by the due date.
If payment is not received within the next working day following a missed deadline, we will be forced to temporarily suspend your website.
After 30 days of non-payment, any files (including your website and emails) stored on our servers will be permanently deleted, as per our terms and conditions.
Reactivation of your website after 30 days may require a new design quote and additional fees.
Warranty
Initial Warranty: 14 days from password/site access handover.
Client Responsibilities: Avoid making changes during the initial 14-day period to maintain warranty coverage.
Post-Warranty Period (Client-Managed Sites): Any work carried out or requested after this period will be billed at the standard hourly rate. Urgent repair work will be billed at time and a half
Plugin Considerations: Occasionally, both paid and free plugins might face developer abandonment and require replacement. The warranty does not apply if a plugin / theme causes sudden conflicts after site launch or in the unlikely event that the developer abandons it.
Design Credit and Marketing
Website Credit: A discreet link to our website will be placed at the bottom of the client’s website.
Portfolio Inclusion: The client allows their developed website to be featured in Our Creative’s portfolio.
Technical
Browser Testing: We focus on ensuring functionality and visual consistency across the most recent versions of popular desktop browsers. For older browser versions, basic functionality remains a priority, but visual discrepancies may occur.
Responsiveness: Your website will automatically adjust to various screen sizes and viewports for optimal viewing on all devices. We optimise for a responsive design, not separate designs for different devices.
Device Testing: We primarily test designs on the following platforms: iOS: Safari and Google Chrome and Android: Google Chrome
Technical Support: Please note that we’re a web design agency, not an IT provider. We cannot offer ongoing hosting or email support. However, we’re happy to guide you in choosing suitable hosting and email solutions.
Website Speed & Performance: We optimise websites for speed and performance using industry best practices. However, we cannot guarantee the speed and performance of websites hosted on third-party servers or those migrated from our hosting environment to another provider.
SEO (Search Engine Optimisation): We design websites using search engine optimisation best practices to enhance their visibility. However, due to external factors like ongoing algorithm updates and strong competition, we cannot guarantee specific ranking improvements. Content quality plays a significant role in SEO, so providing keyword-rich and engaging content will further boost your website’s ranking potential.
Legal
Liability: We strive to deliver error-free work following industry standards and our expert skills. However, due to the inherent nature of technology and creative processes, complete error-free work cannot be guaranteed. Therefore, we and our affiliates are not liable to you or any third party for damages, including lost profits, lost savings, or other consequential damages, even if we are informed of the possibility of such damages.
Your Liability: Your financial liability under this agreement is limited to the total fees outlined in the contract and cost estimate. You are not liable for any damages, even if informed.
Contract Clauses: If any part of this agreement is found to be illegal, void, or unenforceable, that part will be severed from the rest of the agreement, and the remaining provisions will remain in full force and effect.
Intellectual Property Rights: You guarantee that you have the legal right to use all content and assets provided to us for the project. We similarly guarantee that the copyrighted materials used in the project are either rightfully ours or appropriately licenced. Upon full payment and completion of the project (assuming no contract termination), all intellectual property rights associated with the website design will be assigned to you. We reserve ownership of any pre-existing or separate intellectual property not expressly included in the project scope and paid for by you.
Domains and Hosting: You are solely responsible for the legal and ethical use of your domain names, hosting, and email services. You agree to hold us harmless from any claims arising from your use of these services. Please provide us with the necessary access details for uploading the website and content upfront. We reserve the right to decline any domain- or hosting-related work at our discretion.
Indemnification: You use our services at your own risk. You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold us harmless from any claims, liabilities, costs, or damages arising from your use of our services, products sold by you or third parties, or any violation of this agreement. This indemnification covers all project aspects and extends to potential losses, injuries, copyright infringement, and other legal or regulatory issues.
Cookie Policy and GDPR Compliance: The client acknowledges and agrees that the designer is not responsible for creating the cookie policy or ensuring GDPR compliance for the website. While the designer may provide plugins or tools to help manage cookies and data privacy, the client is solely responsible for customising them to meet legal requirements.
Client Content and Settings: The client must provide all necessary information, consent texts, disclosures, and other content to establish an effective and compliant cookie policy and ensure GDPR adherence. The designer can offer guidance and assistance with integrations but will not generate policy content or configure settings.
Client Understanding and Liability: The client understands that failure to provide the required content and ensure GDPR compliance is their sole responsibility and may result in legal consequences. The designer will not be held liable for any legal or regulatory issues arising from the client’s failure to comply with GDPR or other relevant data protection laws.
Small Print
Just like a parking ticket, neither of us can transfer any contracts to anyone else without the other’s permission.
We both agree that we will 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.
Although the language is simple, the intentions are serious, and this contract is a legal document under the exclusive jurisdiction of English and Welsh courts.
