Terms of service
Last updated: April 20, 2023
We’ll always do our best to fulfil your needs and meet your expectations, but it’s important to have things written down so that we both know what’s what, who should do what and when, and what will happen if something goes wrong.
You won’t find any complicated legal terms or long passages of unreadable text in this contract. We’ve no desire to trick you into signing something you might later regret. We do want what’s best for both parties, so in short;
What both parties agree to
You: You have the authority to enter into this contract on behalf of yourself, your company or your organisation. You’ll give us the assets and information we need to complete the project. You’ll do this when we ask and provide the formats we ask for. You’ll review our work, provide feedback and approval in a timely manner too. Deadlines work two ways, so you’ll also be bound by dates we set together. You also agree to stick to the payment schedule at the end of this contract.
Us: We have the experience and ability to deliver everything we’ve agreed with you and we’ll do it all in a professional and timely manner. We’ll endeavour to meet every deadline that’s set and on top of that we’ll maintain the confidentiality of everything you give us.
By doing business with Metal Potato, you agree to the following:
Design services
We’ll create responsive designs which adapt to the capabilities of many devices and screen sizes. To give you a better understanding of our designs, we’ll use HTML and CSS predominantly, which will also avoid us wasting time mocking up every template as a static visual. Sometimes, we’ll use visuals to indicate a creative direction (colour, texture and typography.)
You’ll have plenty of opportunities to review our work and provide feedback. We’ll share access to a private development server where you can inspect your new website as the project progresses. We’ll have regular, possibly daily, contact by phone, email, Zoom or WhatsApp.
If—at any stage—you change your mind about our deliverables or aren’t happy with our work, you’ll pay us in full for the time we’ve spent working with you. Then, we agree to terminate this contract.
Written content
Unless agreed separately, we’re not responsible for creating the written content that fills your website. This must be provided by you for us to input.
Graphics and photographs
You will supply graphic files such as logos in an editable, vector digital format such as Adobe Illustrator (Ai) or EPS. You will provide high resolution digital photographs. If you don’t have good quality photography, you could obtain high-resolution stock photos at Unsplash.com.
Changes and revisions
We won’t limit your ability to change your mind. Our price is based on the number of weeks we estimate are needed to deliver everything we’ve agreed to achieve. If you change your mind, adding extra work won’t be a problem and we’re happy to be flexible. We’ll provide a separate estimate for any additional work.
Testing
You understand that browser testing no longer means attempting to make a website look the same in browsers of different capabilities or on devices with different size screens. You agree it does mean ensuring someone’s experience of a design should be appropriate to the capabilities of their browser or device.
We will test our work only in current versions of major desktop browsers including those made by Apple (Safari), Google (Chrome), Microsoft (Edge), and Mozilla Firefox. We won’t test in older versions unless agreed separately. If you need an enhanced design for an older browser or specific device, we will provide a separate estimate for that. We will test your design using the latest versions of:
iOS: Safari on iPhone and iPad
Android: Google Chrome
Search engine optimisation (SEO)
You understand we don’t guarantee improvements to your search engine ranking, but that the websites we develop are accessible to search engines.
Hosting
We know how important ‘peace of mind’ is when it comes to your website. That’s why for a modest fee we offer Potato Care, so that your site is equipped with the ever-evolving code and plugins that keep your site mobile-friendly, secure and working to its full capacity.
Potato Care includes ongoing hosting, monthly inspections for updated plugins and software, and full security, including backups that virtually eliminate downtime. In short, we’ll take care of your website while you take care of your business.
Services not considered standard website maintenance are subject to be charged at a regular hourly rate of £55. Example: Edits, revisions, updates or creating new content on your website. Website redesign or re-development. Installation of new plugins or software. Fixing any problems or damage made on your website by you or your agents.
Potato Care can be cancelled at any time with 60 days notice.
Retained work
Our normal hourly rate is £55 and can be scheduled around our current workload with no guarantee of start date. Pre-purchasing our time in minimum blocks of 3 hours will enjoy a lower £45 p/h fee which will be charged to a debit/credit card of your choice monthly. The retainer is non-refundable and any hours not used will not rollover to the following month. We guarantee that we will be available to start work within 24 hours of an approved brief. You can cancel your retainer at any time by serving us with 30 days notice.
Legal stuff
We carry out work in accordance with good industry practice and at the standard expected from qualified people with relevant experience. That said, we can’t guarantee our work will be free from errors. We won’t be liable to you or any third-party for damages, including lost profits, lost savings or other incidental, consequential or special damages, even if you’ve advised us of them.
Your liability to us will be limited only to the overall cost of your project. You won’t be liable to us or any third-party for damages, including lost profits, lost savings or other incidental, consequential or special damages, even if we’ve advised you of them.
Finally, if any provision of this contract shall be unlawful, void, or for any reason unenforceable, then that provision shall be deemed severable from this contract and shall not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining provisions.
Phew.
Intellectual property rights
You guarantee the written content you provide is original, or that you have the rights to use it. You also guarantee that you have licences to use images which are owned by photographers or have been purchased from stock libraries. You agree to protect us from any claim by owners of copyrighted material. When our work requires licensed fonts or images from stock libraries, we’ll ask you to purchase them so you’ll be licensed to use them.
We guarantee our work is original. When you’ve paid us in full—and if this contract hasn’t been terminated—we’ll assign intellectual property rights to you as follows:
You’ll own the graphic files we produce during your project. We’ll give you permission to use these files for any purpose.
We’ll own the unique combination of elements which constitute the complete design. We’ll license it to you, exclusively and in perpetuity, for this project only.
Displaying our work
We love to show off, so we reserve the right to display any aspect of our work as long as doing so doesn’t breach any confidentiality agreement. This may include sketches, work-in-progress designs and the finished project on our website, in magazine articles, or in books.
Payment schedule
You understand how important it is for a small business that you pay your bills promptly. We’re also sure you’ll want to stay friends, so you agree to stick tightly to the following payment schedule. All payments are non-refundable.
- 50% downpayment
- 50% ten weeks later or upon completion, whichever occurs first
Our payment terms are 5 days from the date of invoice. We issue invoices electronically and our bank account details will be included. Our invoices will be in pounds-sterling. If your currency is different, you agree your payments will be the same value.
But, where’s all the small print?
Just like a parking ticket, neither of us can transfer this contract to anyone else without the other’s permission.
We both agree to adhere to laws and regulations in relation to our activities under this contract and not to cause the other to breach any relevant laws or regulations.
This contract stays in place and need not be renewed. Although its language is simple, the intentions are serious and this contract is a legal document under exclusive jurisdiction of English and Welsh courts.
Oh and don’t forget those men with big dogs.