Summary
We’ll always do our best to fulfill your needs and meet your expectations, but it’s important to have things written down so that each party feels confident in the arrangement we’re about to make. 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, [CLIENT NAME], are hiring us, Blu3 Management Group, to build a website for the estimated total price of [TOTAL] as outlined in the project’s proposal/specification. 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 us everything we need to complete the project as, when and in the format we 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: We have the experience and ability to do everything we’ve agreed upon and we’ll do it all in a professional and timely manner. We’ll endeavor to meet every deadline that’s set and on top of that we’ll maintain the confidentiality of everything you give us.
Project Breakdown
Development
We build websites using best practice techniques which conform to web standards. We believe in creating sites which are easily accessible to all, so we place a high focus on accessibility and usability.
We are experienced in a number of development platforms, and would have made recommendations on the best to use for this project. If any platforms for the project require premium licenses, you will need to obtain said licenses, and supply us anything required to make the platforms work; i.e. source code, assets, documentation and license keys, etc. If you’d like us to obtain platforms on your behalf, we can provide a separate estimate for that.
Design
We are not a design studio. This means that at times, if proper images are not provided to us by you, the client, we will have to purchase images in order to satisfy the project requirements. These cost for these images will be invoiced to you monthly. We ask that you share with us information about your budget so that we do not surprise you with the design fees along the way.
Working with others
If required for the project, we are happy to work with third-parties who are able to provide additional skills. To ensure a smooth build process, we will require direct access to them, in accordance to the separate agreements you have with them.
Review process
Because we want you to be happy with the site we create for you, there will be two formal opportunities during the build to review and sign-off our work. The first will be at a suitable pre-arranged halfway point, while the second will be upon completion of a working site for you to preview.
If, at either stage, you’re not happy with the direction our work is taking, you’ll pay us in full for everything we’ve produced until that point and cancel this contract.
Content
We’re not responsible for writing or inputting any text copy, nor creating any images or videos. If you’d like us to write new content or input text for you, we can provide a separate estimate for that. If you choose to buy stock images, we can suggest stock libraries. Any content needed for the website should be given to us in a timely manner, as the needs of progress determine.
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 site 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 (Internet Explorer), Mozilla (Firefox) and Opera. We’ll also test to ensure Microsoft Internet Explorer 9 for Windows users get an appropriate, possibly different, experience. We don’t support Internet Explorer 8 and below for Windows, and we won’t test in other older browsers unless you specify otherwise. If you need an enhanced build for an older browser, we can provide a separate estimate for that.
Mobile browser testing
Testing popular small-screen devices is essential in ensuring that a person’s experience of a site is appropriate to the capabilities of the device they’re using. We test our work in:
- iOS: Safari, Google Chrome and Opera Mini.
- Android: Google Chrome, Browser, Firefox and Opera Mini.
We currently do not test Blackberry OS or Blackberry QNX, Opera Mobile, Symbian, Windows Mobile or other mobile browsers. If you need us to test using these, we can provide a separate estimate for that.
Technical support
Guess what!… We’re a website hosting company too so we offer support for website hosting, email or other services relating to hosting. Our Hosting Solutions Specifications and Pricing are kept current on a document outside of this agreement and will be included in your proposal. Shopping for the right shoes is fun, why shouldn’t web hosting solutions be? Once you’ve selected the package that is best for you, we’ll take it from there. It is our responsibility to install the working site on the server.
You may already have professional hosting and you might even manage that hosting in-house. If you do, great, but it will be your responsibility to ensure it is compatible with the platforms used in the build. If not, we can recommend a package for you at one of our preferred hosting providers.
If required we can install the working site on your server for you, but to do this we will need access to its FTP/SSH, databases and any other control panel software it uses. Any server management issues, and/or software updates required, as well as managing updates to the platform used in the build, will be up to you. If you require an on-going maintenance agreement, 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 length of time 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 that.
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 have 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.
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. You will also own the unique combination of these elements that constitutes a complete build.
We love to show off our work and share what we have learned with other people, so we reserve the right, with your permission, to display and link to your project as part of our portfolio and to write about it on websites, in magazine articles and in books.
Intellectual property rights
Just to be clear, “Intellectual property rights” means all patents, rights to inventions, copyright (including rights in software) and related rights, trademarks, service marks, get up and trade names, internet domain names, rights to goodwill or to sue for passing off, rights in designs, database rights, rights in confidential information (including know-how) and any other intellectual property rights, in each case whether registered or unregistered and including all applications (or rights to apply) for, and renewals or extensions of, such rights and all similar or equivalent rights or forms of protection which subsist or shall subsist now or in the future in any part of the world.
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. 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 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 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.
This means, that what we do for you belongs to us and what you do for you, belongs to you.
Payments
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 following payment schedule:
- 50% on sign-up (this will secure our time, and allows us to get started).
- 50% on sign-off of completion.
You may also, optionally, retain us to proceed with website management services after the go-live date. Such services would include:
- Quick repairs and changes
- Feature debugging
- Technical assistance
- General website upkeep
All post completion agreements will be made verbally between parties and placed in writing for safe-keeping. The needs of each client are different and therefore, we hold no standards.
Annual Hosting Fees are due to Blu3 MG upon receipt of invoice. Hosting packages include domain renewal. Upon partnering with our clients, Blu3 MG chooses a hosting package that best suits the projected usage of bandwidth and other hosting resources. If website usage exceeds these projections, we have no choice but to upgrade your hosting package to avoid service interruption. We will make this decision on your behalf and provide the details to you as quickly as possible.
There’s No Fine 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.