Between me Francis Creative Consulting and you The Client.
Summary:
I’ll always do my 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. I’ve no desire to trick you into signing something that you might later regret. What I do want is what’s best for both parties, now and in the future.
This contract becomes binding when you The Client provide your electronic signature* by:
- Authorizing work by paying a deposit or retainer or clicking on the “I accept terms and conditions” check box.
- Sending us an email that authorizes work including but certainly not limited to saying “Sure let’s do it, go for it!” or “Sounds good to me! Go for it!”.
*Yes this is a real thing and it is enforceable in court, trust me I’ve done this before.
So in short;
You (The Client), are hiring us (Francis Creative Consulting) located at 3351 5th St, Muskegon, MI 49444, to provide the service package you have requested for the total price stated on the order form or as outlined in our previous correspondence. Of course it’s a little more complicated, but we’ll get to that.
What do both parties agree to do?
You: You have the authority to enter into this contract on behalf of yourself, your company or your organization. You’ll give me everything I need to complete the project as and when and in the format I need it. You’ll review our work, provide feedback and approval in a timely manner too. Deadlines work two ways, so you’ll also be bound by dates we set together. You also agree to stick to the payment schedule set out at the end of this contract.
Us: I have the experience and ability to do everything I’ve agreed with you and I’ll do it all in a professional and timely manner. I’ll endeavor to meet every deadline that’s set and on top of that I’ll maintain the confidentiality of everything you give me.
Getting down to the nitty gritty
Design
I create look-and-feel designs, and flexible layouts that adapt to the capabilities of many devices and screen sizes. I create designs iteratively and use predominantly HTML and CSS so I won’t waste time mocking up every template as a static visual. I may use a single mock-up to indicate a look-and-feel direction (color, texture and typography.) I call that ‘design atmosphere.’
You’ll have opportunities to review my work and provide feedback. If, at any stage, you’re not happy with the direction the work is taking, you’ll pay me in full for everything I’ve produced until that point and cancel this contract.
Text content
I will provide basic, standard text based on information that you have provided me with and information that I was able to gather about you and your project. I will do my best to provide you with starter text and content that is easily accessible to your clients and search engines that accurately describes you and your project. You will be given access to all content to be able to make editorial changes or updates.
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, I can suggest stock libraries. If you’d like me to search for photographs for you, I can provide a separate agreement for that.
HTML, CSS and Javascript
I deliver templates developed from HTML5 markup, CSS2.1 + 3 stylesheets for styling and unobtrusive Javascript for feature detection, poly-fills and behaviors.
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.
Desktop browser testing
I test my work in current versions of major desktop browsers including those made by Apple (Safari), Google (Chrome), Microsoft (Internet Explorer), Mozilla Firefox and Opera. I’ll also test to ensure Microsoft Internet Explorer 8 for Windows users get an appropriate, possibly different, experience. I’ll implement a simplified design for Internet Explorer 7 and below for Windows and I won’t test in other older browsers unless you specify otherwise. If you require an enhanced design for an older browser (any Internet Explorer Browser below V.9), I can provide a separate agreement for that.
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. I test my work in:
iOS: Safari, Google Chrome and Opera Mini Android 4.1: Google Chrome, Firefox and Opera Mini Android 3.2: Browser, Firefox and Opera Mini
I currently don’t test Blackberry OS or Blackberry QNX, Opera Mobile, Symbian or other mobile browsers. If you need us to test using these, I can provide a separate agreement for that.
Technical support
I will provide you with 24/7 email support and phone support on M-F during regular business hours (9-5 PST). Part of your package purchase includes coaching to get you started managing your website and understanding your applications, metrics and interpretation of data provided on your dashboard.
If you choose you have your website hosted on your own server I am not responsible for site downtime and can not provide you with technical support for server issues. All support will be limited to questions related to WordPress and the associated plugins and applications installed by myself. I can not guarantee support for third-party plugins or software that you install.
Hosting
I use third-party companies to provide server hosting and DNS services. I am not responsible for server downtime related to problems with third-party services.
Social Networks
When I set up your social networking sites (Facebook, Twitter, Google + etc.) I design the customization and integrate the sites with your website according to the current best practices and standards, and I do my best to make sure that the customization will be adaptable to future changes in the social network sites.
I DO NOT guarantee that your social network site will continue to work or the integration will continue to be valid as those third-party sites can and do update their API’s and features often.
I DO NOT guarantee results, a certain number of followers or that you will make a ton of friends online that will show up for your birthday party. That is up to you.
You are fully responsible for maintaining your social profile and complying with the terms of service for each site. I AM NOT responsible if you violate the terms of service and your account is terminated or you are banned from the service.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Your site will be designed with the best possible practices to make sure that your site has the best possible chance to perform well in the search engines.
I DO NOT and WILL NEVER use black hat SEO tactics, or compromise the credibility of your site to try to manipulate your site to attempt to game the system. I don’t know witchcraft, alchemy or voodoo and I don’t have a team of ninja spies or MIT geniuses attempting to crack Google’s latest algorithms so I can not, nor will I ever, guarantee you a #1 spot on Google or Bing or Ask Jeeves, so don’t ask. By the way if you do know an alchemist please let me know, I’m always looking for new business opportunities.
What I will do is:
- Coach you on creating great content that appeals to readers
- Teach you to use keyword research and the built-in SEO tools
- Help you develop a strategy for attracting positive attention from the various search engines
- Design your sites according to best practices and web standards (H-tags, alt tags, taxonomies, canonical urls, etc.)
Changes and revisions
I know from experience that fixed-price contracts are rarely beneficial to you, as they often limit you to your earliest ideas. I don’t want to limit your ability to change your mind. The price at the beginning of this contract is based on the length of time I estimate we’ll need to accomplish everything you’ve told me you want to achieve, but I’m happy to be flexible. If you want to change your mind or add anything new, that won’t be a problem as I’ll provide a separate agreement for that.
Additions
If you would like services that are beyond the scope of your selected package, or would like to add on more a-la-carte services I will create a separate agreement for that.
Legal stuff
I can’t guarantee that our work will 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, even if you’ve advised us 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.
Phew.
Copyrights
First, you guarantee that all elements of text, images or other artwork you provide are either owned by your good selves, or that you have permission to use them.
Then, when your final payment has cleared, copyright will be automatically assigned as follows:
You’ll own the visual elements that I create for this project. I’ll give you source files and finished files and you should keep them somewhere safe as I’m not required to keep a copy. You own all elements of text, images and data you provided, unless someone else owns them.
I’ll own the unique combination of these elements that constitutes a complete design and I’ll license that you, exclusively and in perpetuity for this project only, unless we agree otherwise. I can provide a separate agreement for that.
I love to show off my work and share what I’ve learned with other people, so I reserve the right to display and link to your project as part of my portfolio and to write about it on websites, in magazine articles and other media.
I retain the rights to the code and design elements used to create your site and I reserve the right to use them in future projects for other clients at my discretion. If you would like exclusive rights to my code I can make a separate agreement for that.
Payments
I’m sure you understand how important it is as 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 payment schedule for your package.
But where’s all the horrible small 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 a legal document under the exclusive jurisdiction of United States courts.
The dotted line