If you decide to hire me to help you with your website then I’ll ask you to agree to the following terms.
I will develop a WordPress website for you as discussed in person or via email.
You will pay me the sum we agree during the discussion, which will be due 10 days after the project is completed.
My working hours do not include evenings and weekends, and I am in the UK so you may need to take into account differences in our time zones.
Hosting and Installation of WordPress
The price you pay me does not cover website hosting or the installation of WordPress.
If you choose to use self-hosted WordPress for your website then you will
- Purchase hosting and a domain name (I can give you some suggestions about how to do this)
- Install WordPress (which is free of charge)
- Give me access to your WordPress dashboard by supplying me with a password
- Accept that you are responsible for keeping your site up-to-date and backed up.
Most hosts make it easy to install WordPress from their control panel. I will need access to the WordPress dashboard but should not need to access your host’s control panel or to deal directly with your host.
WordPress Themes and Plugins
I will use 3rd party themes and plugins to develop your site. I will consider the source of these and will look at reviews, but I cannot guarantee that they are 100% reliable.
Using an existing theme as a starting point should save time and money. I’ll customise the theme to get it as close as possible to your requirements. However, you will need to accept that there may be some things that do not look exactly the way you would like.
The amount you have agreed to pay me does not cover the purchase price of premium themes and plugins with the exception of ones for which I already hold a license that allows me to use them on clients’ websites.
Text, Images and Graphical Elements
You will either provide me with all the text and images that are to be displayed on your website or you will add them yourself. WordPress is set up in such a way that it should be relatively easy for you to update the content of the site.
It will be helpful if you can supply draft text and provisional images even if you plan to change them later, as it will give us both an idea of how the final site will look.
You are responsible for ensuring that any images you provide to me have been legally obtained, respecting the copyright of their creator.
The amount you have agreed to pay me does not cover the purchase price of any stock photographs or graphical elements. I will not spend time searching for graphics for your site (e.g. backgrounds, buttons, decorative elements etc.) except in special cases where we have agreed beforehand that you will pay extra for this service.
I can give you some ideas about where to find graphical elements for your site and may be able to purchase them on your behalf once you have found ones that you like. You will reimburse me for any images and graphical elements that I purchase on your behalf.
I will not add any content that you provide to me that I believe to be unethical, immoral, illegal or pornographic. You agree not to add any such content to the site yourself, and if you do so then I refuse to be held accountable for any consequences. I will terminate this contract immediately if you add this sort of content and you will forfeit the money you have paid up to that point.
Feedback and Support
At various points during the project I may contact you for feedback to check that you are happy with the work done so far and so that you can let me know of any changes you would like.
If you request additional work during the development stage, which falls outside the scope of the original project, then I will calculate a revised total price. You will need to agree to this price before I start doing the extra work.
Once I hand the website over to you I will support you for 10 days while you familiarise yourself with what you need to do to update and maintain the site. This agreement does not oblige me to provide ongoing support or to maintain your website for more than 10 days after I finish this project.
During this 10 day period you should check that you are happy with the site and bring any problems to my attention so that I can fix them. You may also request changes to the site during this time, so long as they fall within the scope of the original project.
Any changes that you ask for after this time will be treated as a new project. I will give you a new estimate for this work and you can decide whether you would like to hire me to carry out the additional work.
Responsibility
You are responsible for checking that your website works properly, that any text I have added is correct and that all the links work.
You should check the website on any different browsers and mobile devices (tablets, smart phones etc.) that you have available and confirm that you are happy with the way it performs. I will aim to develop a responsive website that will work on screens of varying sizes. You must realise that it will not look exactly the same on a phone as on a desktop monitor (and it would not be sensible for it do so).
I cannot be considered liable to you, or to any 3rd party, for any loss of business, damages, legal action, or other consequences, arising from problems with the website or with any goods or services provided through the site.
I am not to be held responsible if your website is hacked, if your site goes down due to problems with your host, or for any loss of data.
I am not responsible for ensuring that your website is GDPR compliant or fully accessible.
I cannot advise you on business rules or regulations, or on legal or financial matters (including taxes). You are responsible for making sure you comply with any relevant rules and produce your own privacy policy, and terms and conditions, if necessary.
I am not an expert on WordPress security or S.E.O. (Search Engine Optimisation) and cannot guarantee that your website will rank highly on google.
You are responsible for keeping the version of WordPress, the theme and the plugins up-to-date, and for backing up your site.
You need to ensure that you have a current subscription with your host, as your website will disappear if the hosting plan expires.
You should keep back up copies, in a safe place, of any documentation and files that I send you and not rely on me keeping a copy.
Publicity
Unless you tell me otherwise, I will assume that you are happy for me to include the work I have done for you in my portfolio, to write a blog post about it and to include links to your site on my website and in social media.
