SUMMARY
We’ll always do our best to fulfil 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. So, in short:
You are hiring Us (The Profitable Firm) located at 16 Blackfriars Street, Manchester M3 5BQ (company number 10026597), to provide creative consultancy services for the estimated total price 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 (the Client): You have the authority to enter into this contract on behalf of yourself, your company or your organisation. By asking Us to provide creative consultancy services (including in relation to branding, animation, video, social media marketing and other corporate identity or branding elements), and/or submitting details of an existing or potential project via the world wide web, email, phone, fax or in person, you agree to our standard Terms and Conditions for Supply of Services as outlined below.
You may cancel an Order (Contract) without charge within 7 (seven) calendar days of placing an order by contacting Us. We will confirm Your cancellation in writing to you. If You cancel any order after that period, any deposits paid are nonrefundable, and you will pay to Us a sum equal to 50% of the Charges payable.
You’ll give us the assets and information we tell you we need to complete the project. You’ll do this when we ask and provide it in the formats we need. 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. In the event that You notify Us that a Deliverable (as set out in the Proposal) is unacceptable, We will be permitted to amend it within 28 days of receipt of any such notification without any discount being applied to the Charges payable. You agree not to use any Deliverable which You have indicated to be unacceptable and to return it immediately to Us.
You also agree to stick to the payment schedule set out within the accepted quote or proposal.
Us: We have the experience and ability to do everything we’ve 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. If we believe there is a chance that a deadline or milestone will need to be adjusted, we’ll inform you straight away.
Getting down to the nitty gritty
We have broken the following down dependent on your creative project(s):
WEBSITE
Design
For Customised and Conversion sites, we use an existing WordPress template as a ‘starting point’ to build your new site, and we will customise this theme according to your selected website agreement. This means we won’t waste time mocking up every page of your site as a static visual but will confirm your chosen WordPress theme before beginning development work. We may use visuals to indicate a creative direction (colour, texture and typography.)
For Customer Journey sites, we will custom design and build your site on the WordPress platform, but we will not use an existing WordPress template. (There may be elements of your new site that are similar to existing templates, but this will be a result of best-practice in website design, not a copy and paste job.) Your site will be exclusive to you and will represent the work we did with you to explore your own unique customer journey.
You’ll have plenty of opportunities to review our work and provide feedback. We’ll share all communications on this project in Basecamp, in a unique project to which we and you (and any team members you identify) have access.
If, at any stage, you’re not happy with the direction our work is taking, you’ll pay us in full for the hours we have spent on this project to date (at a rate of £95/hour +VAT, if applicable), and cancel this contract. (Please note that these hourly costs could far exceed the original quotation, as proposals are provided on the presumption that you will complete the full project.)
Text content
As part of your website design and build, we will write custom content for the primary pages of your website as detailed in your project plan. These pages will be clearly agreed with you at the outset of our project and will be communicated to you upon agreement of site structure. Content for additional pages identified at any point following this agreement will be available at an hourly rate of £95/hour (+VAT, if applicable).
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
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 agreed separately. If you need an enhanced design for an older browser, we can provide a separate estimate for that.
Mobile browser testing
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 9: Safari, Google Chrome Android: Google Chrome on Android Emulator
We won’t test in Blackberry, Opera Mini/Mobile, specific Android devices, Windows or other mobile browsers unless we agreed separately. If you need us to test using these, we can provide a separate estimate for that.
Technical support & hosting
Website hosting is not included in your website design & build package; however, we do offer this as part of our monthly outsourced marketing packages (view here). We are not an IT or support company, so we do not offer website support, email support, IT support, or other services relating to hosting.
You may already have professional hosting and you might even manage that hosting in-house; if you do, great. If you don’t, we can set up an account for you with our preferred hosting provider. We can set up your site on a server, plus any statistics software such as Google Analytics and we can provide a separate estimate for that. Then, the updates to, and management of that server will be up to you.
Search engine optimisation (SEO)
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.
We will custom design the item we’ve agreed on based on strategic conversations with yourself and/or your representatives in the firm. We may use rough wireframes, sketches, or scamps to indicate a creative direction (colour, texture and typography), before completely designing or re-designing the item.
Your design will be exclusive to you and will represent the work we did with you to explore your business purpose and brand. There may be similarities to other design work (in the world), but as far as it depends on us yours will be designed exclusively for you by members of our team or authorised partners.
You’ll have plenty of opportunities to review our work and provide feedback. We’ll share all communications on this project in Basecamp, in a unique project to which we and you (and any team members you identify) have access.
If, at any stage, you’re not happy with the direction our work is taking, you’ll pay us in full for the hours we have spent on this project to date (at a rate of £95/hour +VAT, if applicable), and cancel this contract. (Please note that these hourly costs could far exceed the original quotation, as proposals are provided on the presumption that you will complete the full project.)
If you wish a separate SEO quote (setup, analysis, and ongoing SEO), just ask.
GRAPHIC DESIGN
We will custom design the item we’ve agreed on based on strategic conversations with yourself and/or your representatives in the firm. We may use rough wireframes, sketches, or scamps to indicate a creative direction (colour, texture and typography), before completely designing or re-designing the item.
Your design will be exclusive to you and will represent the work we did with you to explore your business purpose and brand. There may be similarities to other design work (in the world), but as far as it depends on us yours will be designed exclusively for you by members of our team or authorised partners.
You’ll have plenty of opportunities to review our work and provide feedback. We’ll share all communications on this project in Basecamp, in a unique project to which we and you (and any team members you identify) have access.
If, at any stage, you’re not happy with the direction our work is taking, you’ll pay us in full for the hours we have spent on this project to date (at a rate of £95/hour +VAT, if applicable), and cancel this contract. (Please note that these hourly costs could far exceed the original quotation, as proposals are provided on the presumption that you will complete the full project.)
GENERAL (ALL CREATIVE PROJECTS)
Imagery and photographs
We may source potential imagery in connection with your design work, but unless agreed separately, we’re not responsible for purchasing these images or ensuring the correct license has been purchased.
If you supply graphic files to us, these need to be supplied in an editable, vector digital format. Photographs are to be supplied in a high-resolution digital format. If you choose to buy stock photographs, we can suggest stock libraries. If you’d like us to search for photographs for you, we can provide a separate estimate for that.
CHANGES AND REVISIONS
We know from experience that fixed-price contracts are rarely beneficial to you, as they often limit you to your earliest ideas. We don’t want to limit your ability to change your mind. The price at the beginning of this contract is based on the number of weeks that we estimate we’ll need to accomplish everything you’ve told us you want to achieve, but we’re happy to be flexible. If you want to change your mind or add anything new, that won’t be a problem as we’ll provide a separate estimate for those additional weeks.
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’ve 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 we create for this project. We’ll give you source files and finished files and you should keep them somewhere safe as we’re not required to keep a copy. You own all elements of text, images and data you provided, unless someone else owns them.
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 love to show off our work, so we reserve the right to display all aspects of our creative work, including sketches, work-in-progress designs and the completed project on our portfolio and in articles on websites, in magazine articles and in books, and on social media.
DATA PROTECTION
With regards to Us processing any personal data (the meaning given in the Data Protection Act 1998) on behalf of You, We confirm we will only act only on instructions from You; and that We have in place the appropriate technical and organisational security measures against unauthorised or unlawful processing of personal data and against accidental loss or destruction of, or damage to, personal data.
THE LEGAL STUFF
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. 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.
FORCE MAJEURE
For the purposes of this Contract, Force Majeure Event means an event beyond Our reasonable control including but not limited to strikes, lock-outs or other industrial disputes (whether involving Our workforce or any other party), failure of a utility service or transport network, act of God, war, riot, civil commotion, malicious damage, compliance with any law or governmental order, rule, regulation or direction, accident, breakdown of plant or machinery, fire, flood, storm or default of suppliers or subcontractors.
We will not be liable to You as a result of any delay or failure to perform its obligations under this Contract as a result of a Force Majeure Event.
If the Force Majeure Event prevents Us from providing any of the Services for more than two weeks, We will, without limiting Our other rights or remedies, have the right to terminate this Contract immediately by giving written notice to You.
PAYMENT SCHEDULE
We’re 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 agreed payment schedule. Please see your quote or proposal for identification of your deposit amounts.
We issue invoices electronically. Our payment terms are 7 days from the date of invoice by BACS, GoCardLess, or by credit card as provided on file to us. All proposals are quoted in GBP and payments will be made at the equivalent conversion rate at the date the transfer is made. You agree to pay all charges associated with international transfers of funds. The appropriate bank account details will be printed on our electronic invoice. We reserve the right to charge interest on all overdue debts at the rate of 10% per month or part of a month.
VAT applies (and is accounted for in your proposal) if your place of business is in the UK. If you are outwith the UK, generally VAT does not apply, but if you are unsure, please ask us in advance of agreement.
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 exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.
Oh and don’t forget those men with big dogs.
