WEB DESIGN AGREEMENT

Agreement by and between Christopher Merrill Web Design (“CMWD”) and _____________________ (the “Client) this ____ day of ___________, ______.

CMWD shall provide Client with online access to a design test site so that Client may review construction of the website in progress and make suggestions.

CMWD shall provide online versions of client-requested changes on a timely basis and shall provide Client with an estimated completion time upon receipt of each request from Client.

Client is responsible to proofread all new material that has been posted to a website. While CMWD does its best to avoid errors, Client is advised to take care with proofreading. Client shall copyedit and finalize all material BEFORE submitting it to CMWD so as to minimize the editing process after new pages are posted. Time spent editing after text has been submitted to CMWD should be limited as much as possible to catching proofreading errors and typos — this time is not meant to be used as a interval to use for fine-tuning written material already submitted to CMWD. Please consult: How to Submit Web Design Changes and how to proofread changes.

Any typographical errors that are found by the client after they have approved the copy will be charged at regular rate. CMWD shall assume all updates sent to client for their review are APPROVED if client has not responded to these updates within five (5) business days. Any typographical errors found by client 30 days after the change has been made will be charged at regular rate, even if client can show that the typographical error originated with CMWD. Please double-check all changes that you request after they have been completed and uploaded to the live site.

CMWD shall use default formats for html design unless otherwise specified by the client in advance.

Should Client desire a font or fonts not currently owned by CMWD, Client will be required to purchase that font or fonts on their own behalf.

CMWD is not legally responsible for any items Client chooses to post on Client’s website. CMWD cannot provide legal advice.

Client is responsible to keep track of payments for domain name registration and hosting so as to make sure neither of these services lapse at any point.

Client is responsible for keeping their address and e-mail contact information current with their domain name registrar and hosting company. Client is advised to make sure that they do not establish any anti-spam filters on their contact e-mail address that will block important e-mails from their domain name registrar or the hosting company.

All requests to re-send information (such as user names and passwords) that has already been sent to Client by CMWD shall be billed appropriately by CMWD. Client is advised that most websites utilize 2-3 separate user names and passwords for various aspects of the account, Client should be aware that it is important for Client to maintain accessibility to these user names and passwords at all times.

Client shall provide content to CMWD in a standard formats: Microsoft Word, E-mail, Notebook, Notepad, Photoshop, jpg, gif, tiff, and png formats are acceptable. MS Publisher, Front Page, PowerPoint are not acceptable as methods for providing content to CMWD.

CMWD is not responsible for services provided by your hosting company: namely website outage, email outage, security issues, software limitations and any and all other services provided exclusively by the hosting company.

Client is requested to make requests for changes in written form by e-mail as much as possible so as to provide a method for both Client and CMWD to track changes. If Client chooses to make requests solely by phone, Client will be billed at CMWD’s regular rate for phone conferences. Client will not be charged for time spent by CMWD in reading and reviewing instructions sent by e-mail; however, Client will be billed for time spent in responding to Client requests via e-mail. Requests sent by e-mail will take priority over requests made by the telephone.

Client shall pay in advance in 5-hour increments. Under no circumstances will CMWD continue work on a project that has an amount of $260 or more due for work already completed by CMWD. All accounts with balances due of less than $260 will be billed once a month. Accounts will balances higher than $200/month may be billed more frequently than once a month.

All time is billed in 15-minute intervals, with a minimum 15-minute charge for the first request acted upon within a 24-hour period. CMWD shall make every effort to address all Client requests in the most cost-effective manner possible. Clients are encouraged to "lump" requested changes together so as to consolidate costs and avoid unnecessary fees. Clients are encouraged, as well, to make all requested changes in the clearest possible language so as to avoid miscommunication and/or unnecessary fees.

Time spent in generating separate invoices as attachments to emails WILL be billed. Time spent generating email bills (where the invoice is in the body of the email) will NOT be billed. Client may choose either method.

A RUSH RATE is available for items submitted that must be posted within the same day or within a few hours of submission. The RUSH RATE is twice the normal design rate ($200/hour) or update rate ($146.00/hour). The RUSH RATE is also prorated in 15-minute intervals, with a minimum 15-minute charge.

Client will be billed for all time spent re-sending password information after said password information has already been sent to the client.

All deadlines agreed upon and stated in the original web design proposal will be strictly honored by CMWD. If deadline is not reached, Client shall be due an appropriate deduction from their bill. CMWD shall not be required to honor any new deadlines requested by the Client unless said deadline is stated in writing by Client and CMWD agrees in writing to honor said new deadline at a rate stated in writing by CMWD.

When client fails to respond to CMWD requests, or to offer feedback on pages, or fails to respond to emails sent my CMWD, CMWD reserves the right to discontinue work until CMWD receives the appropriate client response. Ultimately, the client is responsible for setting the pace of all projects; the faster the client moves, the faster CMWD will move. The slower the client moves, the slower CMWD will move. Clients who are paid in advance will receive priority over clients that have not paid in advance. Clients are responsible for assuring important emails have been actually sent to CMWD by checking their email outbox.

If Client decides to move in a significantly different direction with the design in the middle of the design process, and this direction was not agreed upon or mentioned beforehand, CMWD may be entitled to adjust any cap amount stated in an original estimate, and will not be required to honor any previous estimate that did not include this new, significant change in the design strategy. CMWD is required to inform Client of any requests Client may make that do not fit within the original estimate and/or may result in additional costs to Client.

Client will be billed at established rate (one quarter-hour of work) when CMWD is forced to re-bill for for services already invoiced. Client is encouraged to pay all bills promptly so as to avoid late charges. E-mail reminders regarding unpaid balances may accrue additional fees, if duplicate reminders are needed in order to assure timely payment.

CMWD is not responsible for code that has been harvested from other websites, upon Client's request, that contains viruses or other compromising material.