We help Dirt Work Businesses grow quicker and actually get an ROI from their marketing investment. Our services include: Website Design, Local Marketing (SEO), Reputation Management, Social Media Management and much more!
Address will not be shown on marketing materials if you choose to keep it hidden (i.e. home address). This is for billing purposes only.
We all hate this part but.....our lawyers make us do it ????
Dirt Marketing Pros, Hometown Creatives & Hometown Logistics Master Services Agreement
Introduction – This Master Services Agreement outlines and covers the agreements in place between Hometown Creatives and their “Client” for Website Design and Development and Hosting (mostly inside a WordPress environment unless notated in the preceding proposal or within this Master Agreement.
Although there is some unavoidable standardized legalese at various places in this document which our attorney required, we try to write everything in plain English. To do this, we frequently use terms like “we” and “you.” “We,” “us,” “our,” and “the Company” means Hometown Creatives, a creative business in the State of Tennessee. The “You,” “your,” “Customer” or “Client” in this document is you, our Client.
The current Hourly Rate as of January 1st, 2023, is $150 per hour.
Throughout this document, reference is made to our current hourly rate. This rate is defined as our hourly rate that is in place at the time a service is requested, not at the time this agreement is signed. We will provide you with our current hourly rate upon request.
The Project – typically Website Design and Development or Online Marketing
You are hiring us to complete your project according to the specific scope of work we described in the proposal of services document you will receive. The proposed cost of the project in the proposal includes only this work. When you hire us, we are independent “work for hire” contractors and not employees of you or your business.
Availability and Communication
We are available via email and phone Monday through Friday from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm (eastern standard time), and while we frequently respond to messages after hours, this is not guaranteed. Our normal response time is the same business day, though our response time may vary. We do not work on weekends or holidays. Clients with current website care plans and marketing plans receive priority response times. Office phone and email are the primary means of communication accepted for our work together. We do not communicate project tasks or timelines via text message, social media, or instant/private messaging (like Facebook Messenger) since we cannot track these requests and delegate them easily to necessary team members.
The Proposal of Services – typically Website Design and Development or Online Marketing
The Proposal of Services details the work we will deliver to you, including without limitation, the deliverables and specifications thereto, and any and all compensation to be paid for such work. If additional services are requested by the Client, the parties may enter into one or more other Proposals of Service signed by the parties. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the terms of any Proposal of Services entered into between the parties, shall be in addition and supplemental to the terms of this Agreement. If there is a conflict between this Master Services Agreement and any part of the Proposal of Services, the terms of the Proposal of Services shall be binding.
Time Frames
It is our experience that a typical website design project takes about 4-6 weeks (not including major holidays). This is a rough estimate and depends on a number of factors, including but not limited to the complexity of your project, our current workload, material availability, and any problems that might arise as we work on your project. Unless specifically defined in the Proposal of Services, we do not guarantee website launch by a specific date, unless otherwise specified in the preceding proposal and scope outline outside of this agreement and notated on the project sign-off page. We have an active queue of work and we do not place your project in that queue until your deposit (explained below) has been received. While we endeavor to start your project quickly, we will not begin your project until it reaches the front of our queue so that it can receive our full attention.
Delayed, Suspended, and Abandoned Projects
In our experience, projects can often stall as we wait on assets, information, feedback, approvals, etc. we have requested from you. While we are waiting on your response, we will normally begin to work on other projects to make efficient use of our time. A project is considered delayed if your response to our request for assets, information, feedback, approvals, etc. is delayed for more than 5 business days. When a project is delayed, we may remove it from our active queue and place it at the back of the line. Work will resume on a delayed project when we have received what was requested, if the timeframe between obtaining your requested deliverables, interferes with other established projects timelines, we reserve the right to place your project in our queue of work, if this was to happen, we will effectively communicate any forecasted delays in your project timeline accordingly. A project is considered suspended if your response to our request for assets, information, feedback, approvals, etc. is delayed for more than 35 business days without a reasonable cause as determined by us. When a project is suspended, a payment for the remaining balance of the project shall be deducted from your payment account on file and considered that the project is paid in full. If this sequence was to occur, your project is subjected to an additional fee to reestablish your project and the work required to get it back into sequence with the timeline established in the scope of work outlined in the proposal you agreed upon at the time of signing. ONCE A PROJECT IS CONSIDERED SUSPENDED, IT IS THE SOLE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE CLIENT TO REACTIVATE THE PROJECT BY (1) SUPPLYING ALL ITEMS NECESSARY TO COMPLETE THE PROJECT AND (2) PAYING THE BALANCE OF THE PROJECT IN FULL. After a project is considered suspended, we will not perform any additional work on the project until the project has been reactivated as explained above. Please note most work is performed in a live environment and the cost of that live environment is factored into your pricing. The reason, we prefer to work in a live environment is to benefit you and your timeline, so you can view the work being done in real time. However, when delays in the project timeline occur as noted above, we incur additional costs that are not caused by us, if we were to cause delays, then we will continue to supply the assets for your live project. A project is considered abandoned if your response to our request for assets, information, feedback, approvals, etc. is delayed for more than 90 days without a reasonable cause as determined by us. WHEN A PROJECT IS ABANDONED, ANY MONIES PAID TO US FOR THE PROJECT IN QUESTION SHALL BE FORFEITED, AND IN ORDER TO REESTABLISH YOUR PROJECT, A FEE OF 25% OF THE INITIAL PROJECT COST SHALL BE PAID.
Rush Projects
Projects requiring a “Rush” will typically incur at least a 50-75% markup of the total project cost. This increase is necessary to cover the overtime and additional costs incurred to complete your project in the time frame you require.
Change Budget
It is our experience that changes to the scope of work often occur during a project. These changes usually require additional costs and time. To allow for these change requests, we normally include a Change Budget in the Proposal of Services as we deem necessary, this is usually based upon the demands determined during the discovery phase, which is prior to the proposal phase, this is solely based upon the feedback we receive from you during the proposal, if the changes, demands, expectations, etc. is outside the established scope during the discovery phase, we reserve the right to incorporate a Change Budget in the final signing of this project. Any questions on the Change Budget please ask. The Change Budget is approved as part of the Proposal of Services and is used only if you request changes to the original scope of work, or want to make changes to previously approved items. We will provide a separate scope of work for the changes you request and a cost for these changes. When you approve this scope and cost, the amount will, at our discretion, be payable immediately or on the final project invoice.
Payment Schedule
In consideration of the services to be provided hereunder, the parties agree that the Company shall be paid in accordance with any Proposals of Service executed by the parties pursuant to this Agreement.
Our standard payment terms for projects with a timeline of 45 days or more are:
Our standard payment terms for a project with a timeline of 45 days or less are:
The project must be paid in full, including any amount of the change budget used, prior to the website launch.
At our discretion in certain cases, we may request that payments be made at certain additional milestones. If milestone payments are necessary, they will be specifically detailed in the Proposal of Services.
Payment Methods
Payment to us can be made using cash, check, ACH, or major credit cards. Postdated checks are not an acceptable form of payment.
If a payment exceeds $5,000 and you elect to pay by credit card a 3% surcharge will be added to your invoice to cover processing charges.
Please note we prefer ACH payments when at all possible.
Late Payment and Collections Policy
All invoices pertaining to web hosting, security, maintenance, or any other work on your website are payable on receipt. If an invoice goes unpaid for more than 30 days after the invoice was sent, WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO SUSPEND YOUR WEBSITE FROM PUBLIC VIEW UNTIL ALL OUTSTANDING BILLS ARE CURRENT, IF UNBAID BALANCES WERE TO SUCCEED 35 DAYS FOR WEB HOSTING OR ANY PLAN THAT MAY INCLUDE WEB HOSTING, DELETION MAY OCCUR IF DELETION OF YOUR WEB HOSTING OCCURS, YOU HAVE 30 DAYS TO PAY IN FULL TO RESTORE YOUR HOSTING, IF NOT PAID IN FULL BY THE 36TH DAY A $250 CHARGE WILL BE REQUIRED TO RESTORE YOUR WEBSITE TO THE PUBLIC. Amounts due and unpaid shall bear interest at the rate of fifteen percent (15%) per annum. Client agrees to pay all costs of collection, including reasonable attorney’s fees, as additional sums owed under this Agreement. Client further acknowledges and agrees that if a check tendered for payment is not honored by the bank for non-sufficient funds (“NSF”), it will not be re-deposited. If the bank does not clear the check, the Client will incur a fee of $30. The Client must immediately send a certified check or payment via credit/debit card for the amount due, including the NSF fee, to the Company to cover returned check. You can check your state’s allowed NSF fees here: https://www.vericheck.com/state-allowed-nsf-fees/
Termination and Refunds
This Agreement may be requested to terminate by either party upon written notice for any of the following:
IF YOU WISH TO TERMINATE THE PROJECT AFTER THIS AGREEMENT HAS BEEN EXECUTED, YOUR INITIAL 50% DEPOSIT IS NON-REFUNDABLE FOR ANY REASON.
IF YOU ELECT TO TERMINATE THE PROJECT AT ANY POINT AFTER PHASE THREE HAS BEGUN (AS DEFINED IN “OUR WEBSITE CREATION PROCESS” BELOW), YOU WILL BE LIABLE FOR THE ENTIRE COST OF THE PROJECT.
If we elect to terminate a project, we will create an estimate of the percentage of the scope of work that has been completed. If the percentage of work completed is less than the percentage of the project that has been paid, we will issue a refund for the difference. If the percentage of the project that has been completed is more than the percentage of the project that has been paid, an invoice will be issued for the difference. Assets for a terminated project (such as the website, custom graphics, etc.) will be delivered to the client when the client’s account reaches a zero balance.
Intellectual Property Rights (Who Owns What)
“Intellectual property rights” means all patents, rights to inventions, copyright (including rights in software) and related rights, trademarks, service marks, 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.
Your new website will be built using the WordPress Content Management System (unless specified in the scope of work, if a software besides WordPress is defined in the scope of work, then that defined software will replace any instance of WordPress upon the final signing of this agreement). WordPress and its associated software are “open source,” distributed under the GNU (General Public License). We use WordPress to power your website, but neither of us “own” WordPress or the third-party plugins used to add features to your website. When you hire us to build your website, you are not purchasing WordPress, you are retaining our services to create a customized website using the WordPress system.
When we utilize images or other content that are licensed for use on your website by a third party, that party retains ownership of the content in question according to the terms of their own license agreements. For example, if we use a stock photo on your site, you typically pay for the license to use the photo on your site but you do not own that photo. If you have questions about licensing issues like this, please let us know.
When your project is completed, or payment in full for your project has been received and provided that this contract hasn’t been terminated, we’ll assign intellectual property rights to you as follows:
You own the website and visual elements we create for you. Upon request, we will provide the source files for any custom artwork that was created for your project. You own all intellectual property rights of text, images, site specifications, and data you provided unless someone else owns them.
We own the unique combination of these elements that constitutes a complete design, and we’ll license its use to you, exclusively and in perpetuity only for the projects you hire us for unless we agree otherwise.
We own any intellectual property rights to anything we have developed prior to, or separately from this project. During the process of creating your website, we may create design, code, functionality, and processes. While this work is used on your website, we retain ownership of these as our intellectual property and reserve the right to use them in future projects. This re-use helps us serve our future clients better, just as your website will benefit from what we have learned and developed in previous projects.
Testimonials, Marketing and Attribution Links
We reserve the right to use your project as an example in our promotional materials including but not limited to case studies, web pages, blog posts, social media posts, magazine articles, and videos. We will place an attribution link in the footer of your website that links back to our home page. At the end of your project, we may also ask you for a various online reviews describing your experience working with us. We may also ask you to be a reference should any future clients desire to speak with people we’ve worked with in the past.
Our Contractors
From time to time we may utilize independent contractors to work on your project. Some of these contractors may work outside the United States. You agree not to directly contact or solicit contractors we use on your project for employment or contract work of any kind.
Disclosure to Law Enforcement
We will disclose information about our clients to law enforcement agencies without further consent or notification to the client upon lawful request from such agencies. We will cooperate fully with the legal requests of law enforcement agencies.
Indemnification
The Client agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Company, its subsidiaries, contractors, employees and affiliates and each of their respective directors, officers, employees, shareholders and agents (each an “Indemnified Party”) against any losses, claims, damages, liabilities, penalties, actions, proceedings, judgments, or any and all costs thereof (collectively, “Losses”) to which an Indemnified Party may become subject and which Losses arise out of, or relate to the Agreement, Client’s use of the Services, breach of any confidentiality obligation or any alleged infringement of any trademark, copyright, patent or other intellectual property right and will reimburse an Indemnified Party for all legal and other expenses, including reasonable attorneys’ fees incurred by such Indemnified Party, in connection with investigating, defending, or settling any Loss, whether or not in connection with pending or threatened litigation in which such Indemnified Party is a party.
Choice of Law and Forum
This Agreement, and any related Statements/Scope/Proposals/Etc. of Work, shall be construed in accordance with, and governed by, the laws of the State of Tennessee without regards to Conflict of Law principles. In the event of any dispute or disagreement with respect to the meaning, effect or interpretation of this Agreement or in the event of a claimed breach of this Agreement, the parties hereto agree that such dispute shall be determined through mediation. The parties will mutually select a mediator and share the cost of mediation equally. Unless otherwise mutually agreed, the location of the mediation will be in Sevier County, TN. The parties agree to cooperate fully with the mediator in good faith in order to reach a mutually satisfactory resolution of the dispute. If the dispute is not resolved within 60 days after it is referred to the mediator, either party has the option to litigate the dispute in a court of law located in Sevier County, TN.
Refusal or Discontinuation of Service
We reserve the right to refuse, restrict or terminate service to any client for any reason.
Disclaimer of Warranty
We will perform our work in accordance with good industry practices and at the standard expected from a suitably qualified person with relevant experience. We cannot guarantee that our work will be error-free and so we cannot 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. THE COMPANY HEREBY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, STATUTORY OR OTHERWISE, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, NON- INFRINGEMENT AND FITNESS FOR PARTICULAR PURPOSE. THE FOREGOING DOES NOT AFFECT ANY WARRANTIES WHICH CANNOT BE EXCLUDED OR LIMITED UNDER APPLICABLE LAW. WE WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE CAUSED BY A DISTRIBUTED DENIAL-OF-SERVICE ATTACK, VIRUSES OR OTHER TECHNOLOGICALLY HARMFUL MATERIAL THAT MAY INFECT SERVER EQUIPMENT, COMPUTER PROGRAMS, DATA OR OTHER PROPRIETARY MATERIAL.
Limitation of Damages or Liability
IN NO EVENT WILL THE COLLECTIVE LIABILITY OF THE COMPANY, ITS AFFILIATES AND ITS LICENSORS, SERVICE PROVIDERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES OF ANY KIND, UNDER ANY LEGAL THEORY, FOR HARM CAUSED BY OR RELATED TO THE CUSTOMER'S SERVICES OR INABILITY TO UTILIZE THE SERVICES, INCLUDING ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PERSONAL INJURY, PAIN AND SUFFERING, EMOTIONAL DISTRESS, LOSS OF REVENUE, LOSS OF PROFITS, LOSS OF BUSINESS OR ANTICIPATED SAVINGS, LOSS OF USE, LOSS OF GOODWILL, LOSS OF DATA, AND WHETHER CAUSED BY TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), BREACH OF CONTRACT OR OTHERWISE, EVEN IF FORESEEABLE. THE FOREGOING DOES NOT AFFECT ANY LIABILITY WHICH CANNOT BE EXCLUDED OR LIMITED UNDER APPLICABLE LAW. Notwithstanding anything else in this Master Services Agreement, the maximum aggregate liability of THE COMPANY any of its employees, agents, contractors or affiliates, under any theory of law should not exceed the amount of fees it has collected on the customer’s account in the last six months.
Severability
No part of this Agreement will be affected if any other part of it is held unenforceable or invalid.
Headings
The headings in this Agreement are inserted for convenience only and are not a part of this Agreement.
Entire Agreement
This Agreement, and any Proposals of Service attached, constitute the entire agreement and understanding of the parties with respect to the transactions contemplated hereby and supersedes any and all prior agreements and understandings relating to the subject matter hereof. This Agreement may not be waived, assigned, extended, amended, supplemented or modified orally, but only by a written instrument signed by the party against whom enforcement of any such waiver, assignment, extension, amendment, supplement or modification is sought.
Modifications
This Agreement may not be changed or modified except in writing signed by the parties.
Construction
The parties acknowledge and agree that they have read, understood, and have actively negotiated the terms of this Agreement, participated in its drafting and have been represented by legal counsel. Therefore, this Agreement shall not be deemed to be the product of either party and shall not be enforced or interpreted any more stringently or strictly against either party.
Assignability
Neither the Company nor the Client may assign this Agreement without the prior consent of the other.
Hometown Creatives Website Design Agreement
Our Website Creation Process
Our typical website creation process is described below. This process may change based on the requirements of your project. If changes to this process are required, they will be outlined in the Proposal of Services.
PHASE ONE: Kick-Off & Content
At the beginning of your project, we will provide a Content Guide to assist you in the process of collecting the content we will need to create your new website.
PHASE TWO: Design and Development
Based on the information you provide in the Design Brief and other assets you supply; we will produce a design concept that has been created to effectively reach your target audience.
PHASE THREE: Final Revisions and Website Launch
We will publish your website so that it is viewable on your domain name. Important Note: Due to the nature of the Internet, it can take 24 hours or longer for a newly published website to be viewable by everyone.
Compatibility
Your new website will be designed for viewing on modern updatable screens for desktops, laptops, and mobile devices. We test for compatibility in the following desktop web browsers: Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, and Google Chrome. We test for compatibility on the following mobile web browsers: Apple Safari (iOS) and Google Chrome (iOS and Android).
Unless specifically requested by the client, we do not code for web browsers or operating systems older than the current release or for those in pre-release or beta at the time the project is begun. There will normally be additional charges for this work.
Theme and Plugin Licenses and Updates
One of the most important strengths of WordPress is its immense ecosystem of third-party add-on software called themes and plugins. Some of these require no specific licensing for use on your website. However, we often use premium WordPress themes and plugins that require an annual licensing fee for ongoing updates and support.
Changes After Launch
The design project described by the Scope of Work in the Proposal of Services concludes when your website is launched. Though we are happy to help you with changes to your website after launch, any changes or modifications that were not included in the original scope of work, other than fixing existing bugs (see below), are billable at our current hourly rate unless you take advantage of our website care plans and select hosting plan services.
An “existing bug” is an error in the programming we provided that existed prior to launch and affects the operation or appearance of your website.
Additional costs at our current hourly rate will be incurred for future support requests such as but not limited to:
The Use of Third-Party Assets
By providing any assets such as text, images, artwork, or any other elements to us, you guarantee that they are either owned by you or that you have secured permission from the owner to use them. You agree to protect us from any claim by a third party that the assets you supplied to us are their intellectual property.
We guarantee that all elements of the work we deliver to you are either owned by us or that we have obtained appropriate permission from the owner to provide them to you. We agree to protect you from any claim by a third party that the assets we delivered as part of the project are their intellectual property.
Securing the appropriate licenses for photography that you provide to us to use on your website is your responsibility. You assume the full risk of liability for the use of all images. If you are in doubt about the licensing status of an image, contact the original artist before providing it for us to use in your design project.
We often utilize royalty-free images obtained from stock photo websites. The cost for licensing this stock photography is not included in the proposal unless specifically itemized. We will secure your approval before purchasing any stock photography. Stock photo charges are typically billed on the final project invoice.
Hometown Creatives Hosting and Care Plan Agreement
Website Hosting
Pricing in our proposal assumes that you will also purchase our website care plans or hosting services. Our website hosting is optimized for our workflow. Since using other servers typically requires a change in our workflow (and makes the project take longer as a result), there will usually be a surcharge added to your proposal if we do not host your website.
In addition, if you elect not to host on our server, we cannot be responsible for the speed of your website, the performance of any of your website features, security certificates for your website, the uptime of your website, or any other hosting-related matter.
FIXING ANY PROBLEMS RELATED TO WEB HOSTING, OR PROJECT DELAYS RELATED TO WEB HOSTING ON A SERVER OTHER THAN OUR OWN IS BILLABLE AT OUR CURRENT HOURLY RATE.
We use commercially reasonable efforts to make sites that we host available 99.9% of the time during each monthly billing cycle. If we are unable to meet this service level, you will be eligible to receive a credit to apply to future billing cycles based on the unavailability for that month. For the purposes of this agreement, unavailability means that either your website is unresponsive, or your website returns a server error response to valid user requests for more than 60 seconds of consecutive requests, and in all cases that the unavailability is not because of local, regional, national or international outages.
Unavailability that is a result of scheduled maintenance is excluded from these conditions and will not be considered for service credit calculations. Scheduled maintenance is defined as maintenance that is announced at least 2 days in advance, and does not exceed one hour in any month. Typically, scheduled maintenance occurs in off-peak hours (usually in the early morning or late at night depending on your determined target audience).
Service credits will be calculated as a percentage of the bill for the billing cycle if unavailability occurred. The percentage for the credit will be calculated by dividing the number of minutes of unavailability by the total number of minutes in that billing cycle. THE CUSTOMER MUST REQUEST SERVICE CREDITS WITHIN 7 DAYS OF THE UNAVAILABILITY OCCURRING.
Website Care Plan and Select Hosting Services
Our Website Care Plans and Select Hosting Services include website hosting, website software updates, website backups, and website security.
Website Security
Our lockdown protocol hardens the WordPress system to make it more resistant to the actions of hackers. We employ industry-leading security software that actively guards your website against hack attempts at multiple levels in the WordPress system.Website Backups
Your website’s files and the database will be backed up automatically daily. This backup is stored in our cloud data vault where we typically retain the previous 30 backups for your site.
Software Updates
Each week, at our discretion, we will apply available updates for the WordPress core software, your theme files, and your plugin files. We perform these updates for the items that appear in the “Updates” area of your WordPress dashboard. We also watch WordPress industry security news and proactively perform these updates more frequently during times of enhanced threat levels. While it is impossible to guarantee that your site will never be hacked, all of these techniques make your website a more difficult target for hackers. In addition, it is well known that hackers tend to exploit easier targets first – sites without security measures in place. However, in the event that your site is hacked, we will restore it to pre-hack condition at no additional cost either by restoring a site backup or performing a malware cleanup at our discretion.
Restoring Backups
Premium (Paid) Themes and Plugins
WE CANNOT BE HELD LIABLE FOR PROBLEMS SUCH AS BUT NOT LIMITED TO HACKS, INOPERABILITY, OR INCOMPATIBILITY THAT ARISE FROM PREMIUM PLUGINS WHICH YOU CHOOSE NOT TO LICENSE AND ARE OUT OF DATE.
Plugin Compatibility If an update to a plugin creates conflicts or causes issues with the functionality of your website, we will consult with you to determine the best course of action. Typically, we will remove the offending plugin and replace it with a similar plugin or programming. If the time required to resolve a plugin compatibility issue exceeds 3 hours, additional time will be billable at our current hourly rate. Please note this will only apply to any plugin that is NOT installed by our team.
IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO INFORM US IF YOUR SITE IS EXPERIENCING PROBLEMS AND NEEDS ATTENTION.
IF YOU ELECT NOT TO PURCHASE OUR WEBSITE CARE PLAN OR HOSTING SERVICES, THE TOTAL RESPONSIBILITY IS YOURS FOR PERFORMING BACKUPS AND KEEPING WORDPRESS (AND ITS THEMES AND PLUGINS) UPDATED.
Payment and Cancellation for Website Care Plan and Hosting Services
Payment for Website Management Services is due on the 15th or 30th day of the period (chosen by you upon project kick-off via the notation of your invoice) in which that service will be performed.
You may cancel the website care plan and hosting services with a 30-day notice.
WE DO NOT OFFER REFUNDS ON WEBSITE CARE PLANS AND HOSTING SERVICES. IF YOU ELECT TO DISCONTINUE THE WEBSITE CARE PLAN AND HOSTING SERVICES, THE TOTAL RESPONSIBILITY IS YOURS FOR PERFORMING BACKUPS AND KEEPING ALL COMPONENTS OF YOUR WEBSITE BACKED UP, SECURED, AND UPDATED.
Please note that upon your 30-day notice, you will need to plan to move your site off our servers or interruptions can occur. We will assist you and your hosting provider in moving your site if it does not exceed a total of 2 hours of excess work upon leaving our company and services. If you desire to migrate your website to another web host. We will at your discretion (1) provide you with an administrator login for your WordPress site so a backup can be performed and migrated to the new location, (2) provide you a backup created using an industry-standard WordPress backup system, or (3) perform the website migration for you at our current hourly rate if it exceeds the 2 hours of work stated above.
Your Responsibilities in Website Security
We employ premium WordPress security techniques when building your website. However, studies have shown that one of the most common ways that hackers gain access to your website is through keylogging programs installed on the infected computers of users. You agree to protect any computer that will log into the website by:
You also agree to use a strong password (as shown by the WordPress password indicator) for any account you use to log in and edit your website, and that this password will only be used on your website. We recommend the use of a password manager so that you have strong unique passwords for every site you access.
Third-Party Services
From time to time, our clients might employ a third party (such as but not limited to a Search Engine Optimization professional, social media professional, or content writer) whose services involve modifications to the website.
WE CANNOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE WORK OF A THIRD PARTY. Should our services be necessary due to any work performed by a third party, these services are billable at our current hourly rate.
OUR WEBSITE CARE PLAN AND HOSTING PLANS DO NOT COVER WORK DUE TO ACTIONS PERFORMED BY A THIRD PARTY. SHOULD OUR SERVICES BE NECESSARY DUE TO ANY WORK PERFORMED BY A THIRD PARTY, THESE SERVICES ARE BILLABLE AT OUR CURRENT HOURLY RATE.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) – All our websites include Standard On-Page SEO setup.
If we build your website, we guarantee that your site will be able to be indexed by search engines like Google and others at the time of launch. Additional SEO services are not included in your project unless specifically itemized in the proposal of services. Your ranking and placement in search engines depend on a myriad of factors. WE CANNOT GUARANTEE RANKING OR PLACEMENT ON ANY SEARCH ENGINE. You can increase your online presence by adding a monthly managed SEO/Online Marketing plan after the launch of your new website.
Website Accessibility and Compliance
If laws require that your website is accessible to users with disabilities, or if you desire it to be, it is your responsibility to inform us of this requirement. We design all websites in accordance with accessibility standards but do not guarantee that all websites will meet all accessibility standards for all visitors, our goal is to make your website accessible within the best accessibility standards of your target audience.
If your website or any associated data must meet compliance requirements of any kind for any entity, organization, or regulatory body (such as but not limited to HIPAA, FERPA, etc.), it is your responsibility to inform us of the specific compliance requirements involved.
WE DO NOT GUARANTEE TO MEET ANY COMPLIANCE FOR ACCESSIBILITY OR OTHER REQUIREMENTS UNLESS WE HAVE EXPLICITLY AGREED IN WRITING TO DO SO.
Legal Pages and Privacy Requirements
Depending on the nature of your site and your location, legal pages such as Terms of Use and Policy pages such as Privacy Policy, Return Policy, etc. may be required for your site by government entities, vendors or licensing agencies.
IT IS THE SOLE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE CLIENT TO DETERMINE WHETHER SUCH PAGES ARE REQUIRED. It is advisable to consult an attorney to determine your responsibilities in this matter. Creation of the content for these legal pages is not included in the Proposal of Services for your new website unless specifically itemized. However, if you provide the content for these pages, we will typically add them at no additional cost.
If we provide any standardized privacy policies and terms of use, we do not guarantee that this language complies with any governing body’s requirements. YOU SHOULD HAVE ANY STANDARDIZED LANGUAGE REVIEWED BY YOUR ATTORNEY IF YOU ARE IN DOUBT. Please note, we employ the services of Termageddon for all our Website Care Plans, and this is updated in accordance with your business type, if your business type is NOT included in the Termageddon services, we will inform you of this before signing this agreement and proposal.
IT IS THE SOLE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE CLIENT TO INFORM US THAT YOUR WEBSITE MUST BE COMPLIANT WITH ANY REGULATORY BODY such as but not limited to the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) or the California Online Privacy Protection Act (CalOPPA). Compliance with regulations such as these will normally result in an additional charge.
Email Deliverability
Occasionally, your website will send emails when certain events occur such as the completion of a contact form, the sale of a product, the update/reset of a user’s password, etc. These emails that are automatically generated by the WordPress system are often flagged as spam (or not delivered at all) by email providers like Google/Gmail, Microsoft, Yahoo, and others. While we do extensive testing to ensure you receive emails from your various website contact methods, we cannot guarantee 100% deliverability of every website communication due to the actions of such stated email hosts above.
SINCE WE CANNOT CONTROL THE RECEIPT OF EMAILS, WE CANNOT BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY EMAILS THAT WERE NOT DELIVERED TO THE CLIENT FOR ANY REASON. IT IS THE CLIENT’S RESPONSIBILITY TO REGULARLY CHECK SPAM FOLDERS AND WEBSITE FORMS AND ORDER INTERFACES FOR ANY NOTIFICATIONS THAT WERE NOT DELIVERED TO THE CLIENT’S INBOX. IF THE CLIENT IS ON A WEBSITE CARE PLAN, WE WILL CHECK THE WEBSITE 3 TIMES A WEEK AND SEND A REPORT TO ENSURE THEY ARE RECEIVING ALL NECESSARY WEBSITE EMAILS.
Email Service
WE DO NOT PROVIDE OR SUPPORT EMAIL SERVICE TO CLIENTS. We do help our clients set up email accounts with third-party services such as Google Apps and Microsoft Office 365. We also partner with various IT Consulting Firms throughout the US for the management of services as such.
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By signing below, I understand and agree that:
I am committing to a 6-month growth (marketing) plan. After 6 months, payments will be month-to-month, and I can cancel at any time with a 30-day notice after 6 months. After my 6-month commitment, my website and all work done is 100% owned by me once my 6-month commitment is fulfilled with Dirt Marketing Pros.
My first payment will be $1,500 ($500 setup fee + 1st month's $1,000), followed by 5 payments of $1,000 per month to fulfill my agreement, and then $1,000 per month thereafter until cancelled (30-day notice applies).
I understand that I can upgrade at any time for a pro-rated amount, if applicable, and I may also downgrade to my original plan with 30 days' notice.
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My first payment will be $2,500 ($500 setup fee + 1st month's $2,000), followed by 5 payments of $2,000 per month to fulfill my agreement, and then $2,000 per month thereafter until cancelled (30-day notice applies).
My first payment will be $3,000 ($500 setup fee + 1st month's $2,500), followed by 5 payments of $2,500 per month to fulfill my agreement, and then $2,500 per month thereafter until cancelled (30-day notice applies).
Hometown Creatives Master Services Agreement
My first payment will be $5,000 followed by 5 payments of $5,000 per month to fulfill my agreement, and then $5,000 per month thereafter until cancelled (30-day notice applies).
My first payment will be $2,000 ($500 setup fee + 1st month's $1,500), followed by 5 payments of $1,500 per month to fulfill my agreement, and then $1,500 per month thereafter until cancelled (30-day notice applies).