Web Development
Support &
Online Marketing

Terms and Conditions

Website Development Payment Obligations

A down payment is required upon start of development of your website. This is usually 50% of the fee, unless an alternative contract or proposal specifies a different amount. The outstanding balance on your website is due after the design, navigation and pages have been approved and built. Final payment is due regardless of whether all content for the pages was provided by the customer. This guarantee is in place to encourage the client to get content submitted timely, so that the project be deployed in time. It also ensures that EcomExpertise Inc. gets paid for their services under the proposal, despite the lack if content from the client. After payment, EcomExpertise Inc. will still post remaining content at no charge for 1 month. EcomExpertise Inc. will post one copy of any text/pictures on existing pages only, for up to 1 month after publish date. After the one month have expired, content posted to site will be billable at our current regular hourly rate. In the event that design and navigation changes are requested after they have been specifically approved by the client, these changes will be billable at our current regular hourly rate.

Website Development Cancellation

Once website design and development work has already begun (such as creating a design concept), then the down payment is non-refundable. EcomExpertise Inc. my decide at its sole discretion to offer a partial refund depending upon the circumstances.

Stock Photography Payment Obligations

Stock photography includes most photos and/or images not provided by the client. Stock photography purchased on behalf of client for use in website development is billable at a minimum of $10 per picture. This amount is separate from the amount quoted for website design and development. Some pictures are more expensive than $10, in which case we will request client approval and negotiate the price before purchasing.

Domain name registration

Billed annually. Domain name registration gives you exclusive rights to a certain name, such as www.YourSiteName.net, so that you can use it for your purposes. You are NOT required to register a domain through us, but we strongly suggest that you do. Many services are not dutiful in the way they sell names and we spend a lot of time helping people re-secure rights to the name they thought they had already purchased. If you have registered your own name, make sure you have yourself as the Registrant and Administrative Contact with a current, easily accessible e-mail address. This will help to ensure that your domain can be renewed or transferred should the need arise. Domain name registration fees are not refundable.

Hosting

Billed annually. Hosting is basically a server (computer) your website is located in. You are NOT required to host through us, but we strongly recommend that you do.

Our hosting service includes:

  • domain-based e-mails
  • bandwidth
  • storage space
  • database
  • security tools
  • and other features.

Projects that involve custom programming must be hosted with EcomExpertise Inc. to ensure the software we created work properly. If you want to host your site on another server this must be announced before beginning of the project.

Hosting Renewal Payment Obligations

We renewing hosting account automatically under the same time and fees unless you give written notice to EcomExpertise Inc. thirty (30) days before the renewal date that you do not wish to renew the account.

Hosting Cancellation Payment Obligations

You may cancel at anytime. If you cancel before the first 30 days from the opening of your account, please refer to the details under “Limited 30-day Money Back Guarantee.” If you cancel after the first 30 days, you will be obligated to pay all fees and charges accrued prior to the effective date of the cancellation. EcomExpertise Inc. will refund the prepaid fees for basic hosting for the full months remaining after effective date of the cancellation, less any prior fees and charges, and an early cancellation fee of $25. Accounts that are terminated by EcomExpertise Inc. for abuse or violations of internet standards or these terms and conditions will not receive any refund. All cancellations must be received in writing according to the deadlines indicated: regular mail and e-mail are acceptable. Phone requests will not grant acceptance of any cancellation. Refunds will be issued back to you within 10 business days from your cancellation date.

Hosting Transfer Payment Obligations

If you wish to transfer your hosting to another provider EcomExpertise Inc. can, upon request, download your site onto a CD and mail it to you. The cost for this service $50 per copy. FTP access to your site is not available for transfer purposes.

Also EcomExpertise Inc. can help you with the migration and setup of the website to a different hosting provider. The cost of this service starts from $400 per website. The final estimate depend on the project’s size and it’s complexity.

Limited 30-day Money Back Guarantee on Hosting

If you are not completely satisfied (substantiate by the customer) with our services within the first 30 days from the opening of the account, you will be given a refund on your hosting fee excluding setup fees and time accrued from setup date. If paid by credit card, refunds will be issued to the original credit card provided at the time of purchase. If your account has been cancelled by us due to a violation of the terms and conditions on your part, you will not be eligible for a refund. Domain name registration is non-refundable.

Sites NOT Hosted by EcomExpertise Inc.

In case, the client decide to host his website on another server, EcomExpertise Inc. cannot guarantee the all elements of the site will work properly (as desingned). EcomExpertise Inc. will make a reasonable effort to research the problem on the foreign platform to help the client to find out wha the problem is. However, we cannot take responsibility for problems caused by or on another hosting server, including but not limited to:

  • e-mail
  • FTP
  • SSL
  • database
  • server
  • software
  • site security issues

If EcomExpertise Inc. believes it will take a significant amount of time to fix the problem, we will advise the client before proceeding. In most cases, fixing problems on a foreign hosting server is billable.

Website Maintenance

Most people do some work on their site every year, for which we offer several plans. We can make certain parts of the site updatable by you by implementing a custom Content Management System, or installing a blog. For work we do on the site after going live, we charge on an hourly basis. If you expect that maintenance will be a regular event, we can offer a prepaid maintenance contract that affords a discounted hourly rate. If need be, we can customize a maintenance plan for your particular needs.

Website Maintenance Payment Obligations

Depending upon the nature of the website changes, prepayment may be required. Should the client be invoiced after the changes are completed, the invoice is due upon reciept. If payment is not received within 30 days, the maintenance changes may be taken down until payment is received. After 60 days, there may also be a $75 reposting fee added to the late maintenance invoice balance.

Development Process Homepage Design

Once the website design is approved by the client, usually via e-mail approve letter, the design is considered ready for implementation. If the client wish to make changes to a design they have approved, those changes are billable at our standard hourly rate.

Navigation

Once site map/outline is approved by the client, usually via e-mail letter, the site navigation is considered ready for implementation. Combined with the approved graphic design, this becomes the site structure. Once we build this structure per client approval, any changes after are billable at our standard hourly rate.

Content

Provision of content is customer’s responsibility, unless specifically negotiated ahead of time as part of the project proposal.

Text content

Copy for all website pages and links needs to be delivered digitally and should be carefully proof-read by the client. Two rounds of revisions will be provided free of charge. Every revision after will be billable at our regular hourly rate.

Copy development

Should client wish EcomExpertise Inc. to develop content for the site, website copy is billable at our regular hourly rate. Development of copy is accomplished via EcomExpertise Inc. Web Development interviewing the client about the topic areas to be addressed on their web pages. EcomExpertise Inc. then composes appropriate copy, submits to the client for review, edit, and approval. Approved copy is then posted to the website.

Graphical content

Images outside of the website design must be provided in digital form or in a form that can be easily scanned, unless otherwise provided for in customer’s contract. Every revision after will be billable at our regular hourly rate.

Database Implementation

Entry of data for database applications is considered client’s responsibility. Entry of data by EcomExpertise Inc.is billable, unless otherwise provided for in customer’s contract.

E-mail

We offer free domain-based e-mail accounts to our clients as part of any hosting contract. If site is not hosted by EcomExpertise Inc., we take no responsibility for setting up and troubleshooting e-mail problems.

Training

A video lesson created by EcomExpertise Inc., will be uploaded to Youtube.com

To help the client to maintain/edit the website via administrative control panel or content management systems.

Also we can offer two (2) one-hour training session.

Technical Support

We offer phone support to our clients. We do not normally bill for technical support depending on the source of the problem, its our time invested. If EcomExpertise Inc. is not the source of the problem, technical support may be billable.

Training and Tutorials

Customer service is an important part of our business strategy
Our projects include a one-time no-cost training session, to allow our customers an effective use their new website. Additional training hours can be purchased at our standard hourly rate or included in your existing maintenance plan.

Domain Transfers and DNS Management

For domains not originally registered with EcomExpertise Inc., there will be a $35 fee to either transfer to the domain into our registration platform, or to transfer-out to another registrar.

Websites with Custom Source Code

If client contract with EcomExpertise Inc. to write custom code for a website application, this code is not transferable to a new developer or host.  Custom written source code is considered the property of EcomExpertise Inc. Web Development and cannot be shared with other developers. Clients are granted a license to use custom software code while on EcomExpertise Inc. servers only.  EcomExpertise Inc. Web Development retains ownership of the code.

In some cases, EcomExpertise Inc. will install software for the client’s use that has been built by a third party. Examples include WordPress blog software, Joomla, shopping carts, photo galleries, etc. In these instances, clients will be subject to the terms and conditions of the third party who owns the software, and may use the software as a licensee only. No ownership rights of any kind are transferred to the client.

If client want us to build software to run on another server, it must be announced before the project begins.

Website components that ARE transferable to another host include html code, graphics, logos, pictures, navigation, text, and the data residing within a database (but not the code).  Hourly fees will apply for any special work that needs to be done to transfer those parts of website that do not violate the other paragraphs.

Non-Website-Based Troubleshooting

EcomExpertise Inc. Web Development maintains and troubleshoots the websites we develop for our clients, as well as any website-based e-mail accounts of those websites. We do NOT carry any responsibility for upkeep or provide non-billable troubleshooting on our clients’ ISPs (Internet Service Providers), ISP-based e-mail accounts (name@yoursitename.com), your home or office internet connections, or any other non-website-based issues outside EcomExpertise Inc. Web Development’s area of service. Provision of non-website-based troubleshooting services will be billable at our normal hourly rate.

Website Setup on the hosting server

Regular informational website (up to 25 pages, up to two forms) – $400

E-commerce website (up to 100 products) – $800

E-commerce website (up to 2,000 products) – $1,200

Publication website (up to 20,000 articles) – $2,100

Our standard hourly rate

Project Management and Business Analytics: $120/hour

Database Development and Administration: $140/hour

Design: $85/hour

Development: $100/hour

Quality Assurance: $65/hour

Copyright and proof-reading: $65/hour