By purchasing any services from Simplicity and Design, you agree to the Terms of Service stated below.
Independent Contractor
Crystal O'Connell of Simplicity and Design is an independent contractor; and is not an employee, partner or affiliated with any company of you, the Client's. Crystal O'Connell will provide graphic, blog and web design services under your direction; however, Crystal O'Connell retains the right to decide the manner and means that the services are accomplished.
Proposal
The email received after your initial inquiry will have a Proposal attached and will serve as what Crystal O'Connell notes as your "Proposal" throughout the entire process. The Proposal itself will be effective only for the period of time listed under the "validity date" found on the Proposal itself. If Crystal O'Connell receives an eMail from your after the validity date has expired, another proposal may be drafted and emailed to you for approval, and the start date may be adjusted as well. Once signed, Crystal O'Connell's Proposal Acceptance Agreement, will serve as a binding contract between you, the Client, and Crystal O'Connell in conjunction with the Proposal itself, along side the Terms of Service Agreement. Pricing and terms of each Proposal are subject to change anytime after the validity date has expired.
Concepts & Revisions
Crystal O'Connell provides clients up to 3 design concepts for each project as described in your Proposal. Web projects may or may not include 3 design concepts, please refer to your Proposal to see if your package includes multiple concepts. Out of the 3 concepts presented to you, one concept is chosen to develop further. Once a concept is chosen, you may receive up to 3 revisions as included in your quote. Once the amount of maximum revisions has been reached no further revisions can take place unless you pay an additional fee for each additional revision(s). Additional revisions may extend or delay the completion date or deadline at no fault of Crystal O'Connell.
Client Responsibilities & Project Completion
Crystal O'Connell prefers correspondence via eMail for all projects. Crystal O'Connell does not accept any type of questions or troubleshooting for current or past projects made via Social Media. Testimonials are welcome via email and/or via my feedback form on the Simplicity and Design website.
a) It is imperative that you, the Client, return all correspondence with detailed, constructive feedback within 5 business days to keep all projects moving forward smoothly. In the event, there is no response within 5 business days, I reserve the right to bill you for any additional fees incurred. If there is no response within 15 days, I reserve the right to terminate the Proposal Acceptance Agreement and bill any unpaid balances and/or additional fees incurred, if any, at that point. Payments made towards the project(s) as described in the Proposal will be used as a kill fee in order to compensate Crystal O'Connell's time and expenses in the event the Agreement has been terminated.
b) I reserve the right to additionally bill you, the Client, to complete a project from the stopping point in the event the Client does not continue the project within a reasonable time frame as set by these terms, the proposal, correspondence or by Crystal O'Connell.
c) It is extremely important to Crystal O'Connell, that you, the Client, are happy with your new website design. To achieve this, it is very important that you take the time to explore and think about how you want your design to look and feel before we start and to clearly communicate your ideas to Crystal O'Connell by thoroughly completing all materials given to you.
d) The Client is responsible to backup a copy of their original website, template, widgets and plugins.
e) The Client is responsible for all content creation for both pages and posts. Simplicity and Design is in no way responsible for writing, photographing, editing or hiring of additional professionals to complete these tasks unless otherwise described as such in the Proposal.
f) The Client agrees to provide Simplicity and Design access to usernames and passwords for any hosting, domain account, and blog account for installing and updating the web products as needed. This information will only be used for the purpose of completing your project.
g) Simplicity and Design project completion dates vary based on response times to Crystal O'Connell's eMails and the type of project being worked on. I prioritize and plan out a design schedule for each day, week and month depending on the current amount of clients and/or work that needs to be completed. All design briefs must be returned before any work will begin on a project. In general, the initial design process is the most lengthy potentially taking up to 10 business days for initial concepts to be delivered. Please allow up to 5 to 7 business days for revisions to be made and returned to you. For all rush/weekend/holiday services please inform Crystal O'Connell of the extent of the project, as well as the rush completion date, and expect to pay a premium for all rush services.
h) Once a project has begun and you have acknowledged either by digital signature, visiting the Simplicity and Design website and/or on Crystal O'Connell's forms that you have read, understand, agreed to this Terms of Service Agreement; you, the Client, will be held to all standards set in the Agreement, as well as any and all legal fees necessitated to resolve any dispute that may arise at no fault of Crystal O'Connell of Simplicity and Design.
i) Once final(s) have been released, distributed, reviewed and signed off by you, that Simplicity and Design no longer holds any responsibility for any/all errors and will not be held responsible for any errors once a project has been sent to print, been published, distributed, displayed, etc. in any way. You, the Client, also acknowledge that you will incur any/all costs to remedy the error in any manner at no fault of Simplicity and Design.
Testing & Installation
Crystal O'Connell uses and tests web designs in the latest versions of these browsers: Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Internet Explorer/Edge on Windows. Your website will display correctly in the most current versions of Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Internet Explorer/Edge as of the installation date. Crystal O'Connell does not guarantee that your website will display exactly the same on the internet browsers mentioned above. Crystal O'Connell cannot guarantee that your website will display properly in any outdated or future versions of any of the mentioned web browsers. I highly suggest you download the most updated version of your browser and view all revisions or test sites on a computer monitor, not a mobile device.
a) Before installations of the test website, Crystal O'Connell will ask for approval of the test site. Upon approval, there will be no more revisions made to the design during or after installation.
b) Your website will be "under construction" for several hours while Crystal O'Connell installs the new site.
c) Once you have signed off on a project, Crystal O'Connell considers the project to be in full working order and complete. In addition, if you do not respond or complete the sign-off agreement within 10 business days of the request or last communication with said Client, Crystal O'Connell will consider the project to be in full working order and complete, at no fault of Crystal O'Connell.
d) Any changes or revisions requested and made after project completion and sign-off will be billed at Crystal O'Connell's current hourly rate.
e) All digital signatures made to online agreements signed by you, the Client, are considered legally binding.
Please note: Not all designs are considered mobile responsive.
Additional Costs
Additional costs include, but are not limited to: additional revisions above and beyond what was included in the Proposal; hosting fees; domain name registration; fonts; installation of additional plugins; photographers; custom illustrations; digital scrapbook kits; stock photography; and/or any other graphic or item or coding not specifically listed in the Proposal.
Security
Simplicity and Design uses the StudioPress Genesis Framework which is built to follow all WordPress Security best practises. However, we do not guarantee and cannot be held responsible for potential website attacks or hacks.
Legal Stuff
The completed services are provided “as is” once the service has been paid in full and all assets have been delivered. Simplicity and Design cannot guarantee that the functions contained in any web page templates or in a completed website will always be error-free or uninterrupted. In no event shall Crystal O'Connell be liable to the Client or any third party for any damages (including, without limitation, damages for loss of data or profit, or due to business interruption) arising out of the use or inability to use the materials and services provided by Crystal O'Connell, even if Crystal O'Connell, or an authorized representative has been notified orally or in writing of the occurrence or possibility of such damage. This includes, but is not limited to: failure of the hosting service, failure of any service provider, failure of any telecommunications carrier, failure of the internet backbone, failure of any internet servers, failure of your or your site visitor's computer or internet software, service interruptions caused by Acts of God.
Crystal O'Connell makes no warranties, expressed or implied, and hereby disclaims and negates all other warranties including, but without limitation: implied warranties or conditions of merchantability.
If any provision of this agreement shall be unlawful, void, or for any reason unenforceable, then that provision shall be deemed severable from this agreement and shall not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining provisions.
Privacy
Crystal O'Connell respects the privacy of your personal & confidential information at all times.
a) Crystal O'Connell takes extreme caution to keep the information shared with me for billing & project set-up/installation purposes private & secure.
b) At no time will any information from past or present clients given to Crystal O'Connell for billing & project set-up/installation, by the Client, be shared or sold for any reason.
c) In the event, any of Crystal O'Connell's accounts or personal property are hacked or stolen, you will be notified immediately. You agree to not hold Crystal O'Connell responsible for loss of information. In addition, any dispute filed against Crystal O'Connell of Simplicity and Design by you, the Client, as a result of a privacy issue will be held to all standards set in the Agreement, as well as any and all legal fees necessitated to resolve any dispute that may arise at no fault of Crystal O'Connell.
d) Email subscription lists will not be shared or sold for any reason.
Copyrights & Trademarks
The Client unconditionally guarantees that any elements of text, graphics, photos, designs, trademarks, or other artwork furnished to Simplicity and Design for inclusion in the Web Design Project are owned by the Client, or that the Client has permission from the rightful owner to use each of these elements, and will hold harmless, protect, indemnify, and defend Simplicity and Design and its subcontractors from any liability (including attorney’s fees and court costs), including any claim or suit, threatened or actual, arising from the use of such elements furnished by the Client.
Crystal O'Connell retains the Copyright to any and all work completed by me in the event a project is terminated at no fault of Crystal O'Connell or until full payment is made on all fees including: quote, additional fees, etc. incurred for the project.
a) Crystal O'Connell will retain the right to reproduce, publish and display all work created for the Client in Crystal O'Connell's portfolios, websites, galleries, periodicals, exhibits, etc. for the purposes of recognition of creative excellence or professional advancement.
b) Copyright violation is strictly prohibited and protected by federal law.
Support
Crystal O'Connell provides limited support via email after the project completion date for a period of 14 days dependent upon the type of service provided. Support applies only to the functionality of the website design and does not include or apply to: additional graphic(s) or a change to any graphic(s); content changes or additions; additional coding, etc.
Design changes and/or website maintenance is not included and will be billed at Crystal O'Connell's hourly rate.
Design Credits
The Client agrees that Simplicity and Design may put a by-line/Copyright located within the footer of your website establishing design and development credit.
Simplicity and Design reserves the right to re-use any code it creates for another project.
Fonts
Crystal O'Connell will only use commercial use fonts, purchased fonts, or open source fonts such as Google Web Fonts in the images created. Clients will be offered both free and paid fonts to choose from for type purposes on their website. Webfont licenses will be purchased at the client's expense and added to the final bill. Clients who request a specific font that requires a commercial license will be asked to purchase that font and webfont license at their expense.
Image Purchasing
There is a $5 allowance for image purchasing. Beyond that images will be purchased at the client's expense and added to the final bill. Images that clients will be billed for will only be purchased with the clients consent.
Printing
Proposals do not include fees that may be incurred to have the project printed after final file delivery. Crystal O'Connell recommends Moo for your printing needs. Please get a printed proof before confirming your order.
Domain Registration
The Client may secure a Domain Name (www.YourCompanyName.com) independently and is encouraged to do so as a way to help control Client costs. If however, the Client does not wish to do so, Simplicity and Design will be more than happy to secure a Domain Name on the Client’s behalf for a nominal fee. If the Client already has a Domain Name, we will coordinate redirecting the address to the new host.
Hosting
Crystal O'Connell recommends Siteground for all web hosting purposes; however, if you have secured another hosting company please contact me first to see if I can work with the host of your choice before accepting Crystal O'Connell's Proposal Agreement.
Not all hosting companies are created equally, if at any time I determine your host isn't compatible with the work I am performing for you, you may be asked to switch hosts.
Payment & Refunds
Crystal O'Connell accepts payments made via Checks or Electronic Transfers.
a) All payments must clear before work can begin.
b) A 50% deposit is required to hold your place in the design queue with full payment due before any work on the Client's project can begin. If full payment is not received within 5 business days of the initial invoice being sent, you will lose your place in the design queue and the project will need to be rescheduled based on Crystal O'Connell's current design schedule.
c) If the Client cancels the project prior to the project start date, the initial down payment is non-refundable.
d) Once work has begun, cancellation of the Project may be made by the Client in writing via email.
e) Any amount paid will be used as a kill fee to cover the time and work that has been put into a project in the event the Client wishes to stop working with Crystal O'Connell, at no fault of Crystal O'Connell.
f) The Client will then be invoiced for all completed work over and above the non-refundable deposit that will have been made at the time of signing the contract. The balance must be paid within 30 days.
g) Any additional costs not specified in the initial proposal will be billed prior to installation. In addition, final files will only be sent after full payment has been received and has cleared. Crystal O'Connell reserves the right to put a hold on all projects and/or files until payment has cleared.
h) In the event, Crystal O'Connell is working at an hourly rate, the rate will be billed in 30 minute increments with a 30 minute minimum and described as such on the invoice. All hourly work is tracked by Crystal O'Connell; and must be paid in full before final files will be released in any capacity to you.
i) In the event a payment or other dispute is filed against Crystal O'Connell or payment is overdue , Crystal O'Connell reserves the right to revoke all Client rights to the deliverables described in the Proposal and they will remain the property of Simplicity and Design until the dispute is resolved. In addition, Crystal O'Connell reserves the right to hold all deliverables until full payment is received.
j) All payment information given to Crystal O'Connell in any form is kept confidential at all times.
Special Notice: Simplicity and Design reserves the right to terminate a project with a Client at any time without prior notification if it finds the Client in breach of these Terms and Conditions. Simplicity and Design shall be the sole arbiter in deciding what constitutes a breach. No refunds are given in such a situation.
These terms of service are subject to change at any time without notice, at Crystal O'Connell's discretion.
If you have any questions about these terms please contact Crystal O'Connell: CrystalOConnell@Outlook.com.