Thank you for taking time to review these terms and conditions. By paying a deposit for a project-based project, or authorizing the start of an hourly-based project, you agree to these terms.
Project Inquiry
Color & Code LLC (“we,” “our,” “us”) is only able to accept a select few projects per month to ensure each client (“they,” “their,” “you,” “your”) receives the time and attention they deserve. Each new inquiry is reviewed carefully to make sure the services we offer are a good fit for your project. Based on your information, we may suggest other talented designers that might fit your style and project specifications. Project inquiries are not guaranteed to be approved.
Authorization
By submitting your inquiry, you are requesting to engage Color & Code LLC as an independent contractor for the specific project of developing or improving a web site, which may also include related marketing activities such as SEO, social network management and graphic designs (“design project”).
Web design projects will be installed on your account through an Internet Service Provider (ISP) / Web Presence Provider (WPP) such as Go Daddy, Host Monster or 1and1 (“Hosting Service”). If required to perform web design services, you authorize Color & Code LLC to access this account and authorize the Hosting Service to provide Color & Code with full access to your account and any other programs needed for this web design project.
Project vs. Hourly Work
In rare cases, Color & Code LLC will accept hourly-based contracts. We will do our best to make a fair estimate of specific tasks requested by the client, however the client agrees to pay for all hours logged on a bi-weekly basis, regardless of any changes in project scope, deliverables, or unforeseen circumstances which extend hours works beyond the original estimate. In contrast, if the tasks are completed in a shorter period of time than estimated, the client will receive the benefit.
In general, we prefer to guarantee our work by engaging in a project-based contract, as outlined below. We believe that this working arrangement provides the most benefit to both parties.
Receiving Your Project Quote
If your project is accepted by us, you will be provided with a quote for the items requested via e-mail, which will include a PDF and an online version of the estimate. All prices specified in this quote will be honored for 30 days from the date of the estimate. Acknowledgement of your agreement beyond this window will require a review of current pricing and scheduling, and a new quote will be made for you.
Once you have accepted our quote within the time period specified, it will be converted to an invoice. A non-refundable deposit equal to 50% of the project total is required to begin work, as described on the invoice. This deposit indicates your acceptance of the scope and deliverables outlined in the quote, and any changes or edits thereafter are subject to our current hourly rate, which you may request at any time in writing. By sending your deposit in a timely manner, you secure your spot on our project schedule.
Payments and Scheduling
Project work will begin after we have received your initial deposit. You will be sent a receipt of this payment. You may login to our invoicing system at any time to view your outstanding invoices and payment history.
The remaining balance must be paid in full upon your approval of the work completed, before being delivered to you in the final form. Alternately for larger projects, we may arrange a payment plan according to milestones established at the beginning of the project, which will be agreed upon in writing by both parties. Payments must be made promptly based on the agreed schedule to avoid delaying the project.
Delinquent bills can be assessed a late fee equal to 2% of the total invoice amount, if payment is not received within 15 days of the date on the invoice. If an amount remains delinquent 30 days after its due date, an additional penalty can be added for each month of delinquency. We reserve the right to delay publishing any web design project on the Internet until payments are made. In case collection proves necessary, you agree to pay all fees incurred by that process. Please pay on time. All payments will be made in USD.
Due to the nature of the work, the initial deposit is non-refundable. In addition, no refunds will be given for milestone payments once work has been completed and approved by you. After the final project has been published or transferred to the Hosting Service – which indicates your approval and satisfaction with the work completed – there will be no refunds or partial refunds granted.
In the case that a refund is granted for work not yet completed, please allow 30 days for processing.
Copyright and Trademarks
Throughout our working arrangement together, you unconditionally guarantee that any elements of text, graphics, photos, designs, trademarks, or other artwork furnished to us for inclusion in the design project are owned by you, or that the you have permission from the rightful owner to use each of these elements, and will hold harmless, protect and defend Color & Code LLC and its subcontractors from any claim or suit arising from the use of such elements furnished by you.
Original content specifically requested by you and designed under work for hire shall become your intellectual property once final payment under this agreement and any additional charges incurred have been paid. Rights to clip art, photos, graphics, source code, mock-up files and computer programs that are not specifically requested and designed under work for hire are not transferred to you, and remain the property of their respective owners. Color & Code LLC and its subcontractors retain the right to display graphics and other web design elements as examples of our work in our respective portfolios.
Working Together
We will work together with you to complete the design project in a timely manner. We agree to work expeditiously to complete the design project, provided that you have submitted all necessary materials including complete text and graphic content. Any delay in providing the necessary content will cause further delay in the project’s completion and may require proposed milestones and delivery dates to be amended by us.
E-mail is the sole and primary communication method during the design process, as it keeps a detailed record of our conversations. Phone calls, meetings, Skype sessions, and other forms of communication may be used by appointment only, arranged 24 hours in advance. These sessions may be scheduled M-F between 12pm – 5pm EST. E-mail turnaround can generally be expected within 24 hours during normal business days, depending on the nature of your request. It is vitally important to check your e-mail frequently during the design process.
Unacceptable forms of communication for the purpose of initiating project-related discussion include Facebook, Twitter, and other public social media outlets. You may opt to post to these channels in general to provide status updates to your followers etc., but not for detailed conversations which are better suited to private channels. If confidentiality is requested by either party, terms will be discussed and agreed in writing.
Project Delivery
Web site design projects will be completed off-site for you to review at each established milestone, until your approval of the final design and functionality, at which time all content will be transferred to your Hosting Service and the remaining balance of the total project amount considered due. This will be considered the “delivery date” for web design projects. You assume all responsibility for the use and functionality of the web design project following the delivery date.
Graphic design projects will be reviewed at low resolutions by you at each established milestone, until your approval of the final look & feel at which time all content will be e-mailed or otherwise delivered to you at full resolution and the remaining balance of the total project amount considered due. This will be considered the “delivery date” for graphic design projects. We will keep source files on file for a period not to exceed 6 months following delivery date, after which you will be responsible for keeping a backup or archive of your own.
Delivery may be accomplished by publishing, electronic transfer, or physical media. You understand that we will not be providing any hosting services in connection with a web design project unless agreed upon in the original project proposal. Hosting services may require a separate contract and billing agreement.
Web Site Maintenance
Our project agreement allows for minor maintenance to web site pages over a 1-month period, up to an average of one half hour per regular web site, including updating lines and making minor changes to a sentence or paragraph, and revision of the size or file format of graphic design materials. It does not include updating or replacing nearly all the text from a page with new text, major page reconstruction, new pages, guest books, discussion webs, navigation structure changes, repairs to attempted updates by you, major recoloration of graphic materials, or redesigns after approval by you. The period of 1 month begins on the date your site has been published to your Hosting Service. Major web page code, database structural changes, or graphic design work will be charged at our current hourly rate.
Electronic Commerce Laws
You agree that you are solely responsible for complying with such laws, taxes and tariffs, and will hold harmless, protect, and defend Color & Code LLC and its subcontractors from any claim, suit, penalty, tax or tariff arising from your exercise of Internet electronic commerce.
Legal Notice
We do not warrant that the functions contained in the web design project will be uninterrupted or error-free. It is your responsibility to thoroughly review the project for quality and functionality before providing us with your approval of the work completed. In no event will we be liable to you or any third party for any damages, including, but not limited to service interruptions caused by Acts of God or any other circumstances beyond our control, any lost profits, lost savings or other incidental, consequential or special damages arising out of the operation of or inability to operate this web design project, failure of any service provider, of any telecommunications carrier, of the Internet backbone, of any Internet servers, your or site visitor’s computer or Internet software, even if we have been advised of the possibility of such damages.
Amendment
This agreement may be modified or amended if the amendment is made in writing and is agreed upon by both parties.
