Aussie Websites - Terms of Service
Standard Terms and Conditions: These are the standard terms and conditions for Website Design and Development and apply to all contracts and work undertaken by Aussie Websites for its clients.
Fees and Deposits: A 50% deposit of the total fee payable under our proposal is due immediately upon your instructing us to proceed with the website design and development work. The remaining 50% will be due when the project tasks are completed to your reasonable satisfaction through User Acceptance Testing in a staging environment. Work will commence upon receipt of the deposit. The final project code will be released once the balance is received. The 50% deposit is only refundable if we have not commenced the work under the agreement. The deposit is not refundable once development work has started and you terminate the contract with no fault on our part.
SEO and SMO work requires payment in advance. We operate on a minimum 3-month contract, with discounts available for 12-month commitments only.
Supply of Materials: You must supply all materials and information required by us to complete the work in accordance with any agreed specifications. Such materials may include, but are not limited to, photographs, written copy, logos, and other printed material. Any delay in supplying these materials that leads to a delay in the completion of work allows us the right to extend previously agreed deadlines by a reasonable amount.
Should you fail to supply materials, and this prevents the progress of the work, we have the right to invoice you for any part of the work already completed.
Variations Our website development phase includes only minor variations to the original specification. Significant deviations from the specification will be charged at our standard hourly rate of $130.00 or at a specially agreed rate for hourly billing.
Project Delays and Client Liability: Time frames or estimates are contingent upon your full cooperation along with complete and final content for the work. Adequate feedback is necessary to progress to subsequent phases promptly. A single point of contact from your side must be available on a daily basis to expedite the feedback process.
Approval of Work: Upon completion, you will be notified and have the opportunity to review the work. You must notify us in writing of any unsatisfactory points within seven days. Work not reported in writing as unsatisfactory within the 7-day review period will be deemed approved. Once approved, or deemed approved, work cannot subsequently be rejected, and the contract will be deemed complete, with the balance of the project price due.
Rejected Work: If you reject any of our work within the 7-day review period or subsequently do not approve subsequent work performed by us to remedy any points noted as unsatisfactory, and we, acting reasonably, judge that you have been unreasonable in any rejection, we may elect to treat this contract as at an end and will bill for the completed work.
Payments: Upon completion of the 7-day review period, we will invoice you for the balance of the project before going live.
Warranty of Work: Aussie Websites provides a 3-month warranty on the functionality and code of your website as delivered. This warranty covers the correction of bugs and errors attributed to the original scope of work. It excludes issues arising from third-party updates, client modifications, or factors outside Aussie Websites' control. For warranty support, contact our team with a detailed description of the issue.
Licensing: After full payment, we grant you a license to use the website and its related software and contents for the life of the website.
Search Engines: We do not guarantee any specific position in search engine results for your website. We perform basic SEO according to current best practices.
Consequential Loss: We shall not be liable for any loss or damage which may be suffered due to any delay in performance or completion of our contract, however caused.
Disclaimer: To the fullest extent permitted by law, all terms, conditions, warranties, undertakings, inducements, or representations relating to the services provided are excluded. Where permitted by law, any liability under any term is limited to the services we were contracted to perform.
Subcontracting: We reserve the right to subcontract any services as we see fit.
Non-Disclosure: We and any subcontractors engaged agree not to disclose any confidential information to any third party.
Additional Expenses: You agree to reimburse us for any additional expenses not included in our proposal, such as design services, purchase of third-party software, stock photographs, domain name registration, web hosting, or similar expenses.
Backups: You are responsible for maintaining your own backups with respect to your website. Aussie Websites will not be liable for restoring any client data or websites except due to negligence on our part.
Ownership of Domain Names and Web Hosting: We will supply your account credentials for domain name registration and web hosting that we have purchased on your behalf when you reimburse us for any expenses that we have incurred.
Application Versions: All new website developments are built on the latest stable version of the chosen application at the project's commencement unless requested otherwise. If a newer version is released after the project's start date, additional costs for upgrading the application will apply if an update is requested.
Governing Law: These terms and conditions constitute the entire agreement and are construed according to and governed by the laws of New South Wales. You and Aussie Websites submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts in and of New South Wales in relation to any dispute arising under these terms and conditions or in relation to any services we perform for you.
Privacy Policy Reference: Your privacy is important to us. It is Aussie Websites' policy to respect your privacy regarding any information we may collect from you across our website, and other sites we own and operate. We are committed to complying with the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs). Please refer to our Privacy Policy for further information on how we manage and protect your personal information.
Updates and Amendments: Aussie Websites reserves the right to update and change these terms and conditions at any time. Changes to the terms and conditions will be effective immediately upon publication on our website. We will endeavour to notify you of changes via email or a notice on our website, but it is your responsibility to review our terms and conditions periodically for any changes.
Adjustments to Estimates and Scope Changes: At Aussie Websites, we strive to provide accurate and comprehensive proposals based on the initial project scope provided by you, the client. However, we acknowledge that in the absence of a comprehensive discovery phase, it is possible to encounter unforeseen requirements or necessary components that were not included in the original proposal.
Should such circumstances arise during the development process, leading to a potential change in the project's cost and delivery timeline, Aussie Websites reserves the right to adjust the project estimate accordingly. We commit to the following principles in such situations:
Transparency: Before any additional work is undertaken that would incur extra costs, we will provide a detailed explanation of the unforeseen requirements and their impact on the project's cost and timeline.
Fairness: We will work with you to assess the necessity of these additional requirements and explore all possible options to mitigate the impact on the project's budget and schedule.
Approval: No additional charges will be incurred without your prior approval. We will provide a revised estimate for the additional work required for your approval before proceeding.
Communication: We understand the importance of keeping you informed and involved in the decision-making process. We will maintain open lines of communication to discuss any adjustments or changes to the project scope and budget.
Contact Information and Notices: All notices under this contract should be given in writing via email or through our designated contact form on our website. Official contact details for such notices will be provided upon entering into a contract with us.
Cancellation of Services: At Aussie Websites, we understand that circumstances can change, leading to the need to cancel services. To address such situations, the following cancellation policy applies:
Web Development and Design Projects: If you decide to cancel a web development or design project after work has commenced but before completion, you will be responsible for the work completed up to the point of cancellation. This will be calculated based on our hourly rate or a proportion of the quoted project cost, whichever is more applicable. The initial deposit is non-refundable once work has begun.
SEO/SMO and Other Monthly Services: For services billed on a monthly basis, such as SEO or social media management, we require a notice of cancellation 30 days in advance. Given the nature of these services, we operate on a minimum 3-month contract. Cancellation before the end of the contract period may incur charges up to the remainder of the contract's value, unless otherwise negotiated.
Web Hosting: To cancel web hosting services, clients must provide 30 days' written notice. Any prepaid fees for the period beyond the cancellation date will be refunded on a pro-rata basis, excluding any discounts applied for advance payment.
Process for Cancellation: To initiate a cancellation, clients must send a written notice via email or through our designated contact form. The notice must include the client's name, contact information, and a brief explanation of the reason for cancellation.
Effect of Cancellation: Upon cancellation, any ongoing work will be halted, and the client will be invoiced for completed work not yet billed. Clients are responsible for any outstanding invoices upon cancellation. For web hosting, access to the hosted site will be terminated at the end of the notice period.
We aim to handle cancellations as smoothly as possible, with fairness and transparency. We encourage clients to discuss their concerns or changing needs with us directly before initiating a cancellation, as we may be able to offer solutions that meet your evolving requirements.
While it's a given that challenges may arise in any project, our response to these challenges is what sets us apart. At Aussie Websites, our dedication goes beyond simply providing outstanding service; we're here to support you through every phase, especially when the unexpected occurs. It's not merely the obstacles we face, but the manner in which we tackle them together that truly showcases our team's resilience.