You, the client, request of me, the web developer, to work on a project either in part or in whole. A project may constitute a complete web build or amendments to a previous web build which may or may not have been built originally by me. These are the terms of my work.
All work performed by me will be completed in accordance with these terms of service. In commissioning me to work on a project you are agreeing to be obligated by these terms of service.
I will always do my best to fulfil your needs and meet your expectations.
You agree that I am an independent contractor and not your employee.
What do both parties agree to do?
*You:* You have the authority to enter into this contract on behalf of yourself, your company, your organisation or in the case that you do not own the website: your client – the owner of the website. You’ll provide everything I need to complete the project as and when and in the format needed. You’ll review my work, provide feedback and approval in a timely manner too.
*Me:* I have the experience and ability to do everything we’ve agreed with you and I will do it all in a professional and timely manner. I will endeavour to meet every deadline that’s set and on top of that I will maintain the confidentiality of everything you provide.
Content
I am not responsible for writing or inputting any text copy or photo content. I will create the structure for your content. If your text or photography content is not provided I will use placeholder content and where possible provide you with ability to update this via the CMS.
You accept to take responsibility for all content used on the website. This includes but is not restricted photography, text content, file documents and fonts. You are responsible for making sure you or the website owner has all the necessary up-to-date licensing, that the content is legal and you have permission to use it.
HTML, CSS and JavaScript
I deliver web page types developed from HTML markup, CSS stylesheets for styling and JavaScript. My CMS of choice is WordPress.
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. I adhere to the philosophy of progressive enhancement and graceful degradation.
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 will also test to ensure Microsoft Internet Explorer 10 for Windows users get an appropriate, possibly different, experience.
If you need an enhanced design for an older browser or specific support for an older or alternative browser, this must be stated in the project brief / specification and a separate quote for this can be provided.
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. My work is tested in:
iOS: Safari, Google Chrome
Android: Google Chrome and Firefox
I currently don’t test Blackberry, Opera Mini/ Mobile, Windows Phone or other mobile browsers. If you need me to test using these, I can provide a separate estimate for that.
Technical support
I am not a website hosting company so I don’t offer support for website hosting, email or other services relating to hosting.
I can set up your site on a server, plus any statistics software such as Google Analytics and I can provide a separate estimate for that. Updates to, and management of that server will be up to you or the website owner. You or the website owner will be responsible for the security and activity on the hosting server.
Plugins
Where appropriate I will assist in making arrangements so that our projects have all the necessary licenses. However it is the responsibility of the website owner to renew and manage ongoing license agreements. Plugins such as Gravity Forms require a valid license in order to access plugin support from Gravity Forms and all Gravity Form updates.
As a WordPress developer I will often make use of third party code and plugins. I will make recommendations of such plugins based on my industry experience and peer review. However, I cannot be responsible for the future performance and ongoing compatibility of such products.
Updates
WordPress and plugins used in my work often require updates. Please note, that any updates which you, your client or website administrator deploy are done so at the risk of this user. I am happy to provide a maintenance quote to perform updates and compatibility reviews of future plugin updates.
Backups
I do not provide a managed backup service. I am not responsible for ensuring your work is appropriately backed-up. I would be happy to discuss with you backup options and advise on a robust backup policy. I would encourage you to speak with the hosting provider about backup services. I highly recommend that you have a backup policy for your work.
Costs
Unless expressly stated and agreed prior to starting a project, all my work is billed at my hourly rate. I have a minimum fee of one hour. Usually I will provide you with an estimate at the start of a project and should the project costs go beyond this, you will be notified at the earliest point. I issue invoices every two weeks or at the end of a project. Should you require a custom payment plan, you will need to agree this with me prior to commencing the project. I request all invoices to be paid within 14 days of being issued.
Legal stuff
I do not guarantee that my 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 of them.
I shall not, under any circumstances, be liable to you or the website owner for consequential, indirect, incidental, special, punitive, or exemplary damages or losses arising out of or related to this agreement, even if I am advised of the likelihood of such damages occurring.
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
I will retain no copyright over the project and project assets.
I would love to show off our work and share what I’ve learned with other people, so I reserve the right, with your permission, to display and link to your project as part of my portfolio and to write about it on websites, in magazine articles and in books including my website and other social profiles such as LinkedIn and Twitter.
Miscellaneous
These terms cannot be transferred to anyone else without prior permission. These terms stay in place and need not be renewed. If for some reason one part of these terms become 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 Australia courts.
If you have any questions or concerns about my terms of service, please don’t hesitate to call or email me.
These terms and conditions are based on the “Killer Contract”, a popular open-source contract for web designers and developers by Stuff & Nonsense