Terms and Conditions

The following are our general terms and conditions for clients who book our services, including web design and copywriting packages. If we’ve provided a proposal or mentioned specific terms while discussing your project in writing, those terms will apply. But otherwise, the following general terms and conditions apply for clients:

Scope

The amount quoted in your proposal covers the deliverables listed only. This will clearly lay out what you get and when you get it. If you see that anything is missing, please request an updated proposal before agreeing to your proposal and terms so we can add the missing items. The quoted amount does not include anything that’s not specifically mentioned in your proposal.

If you need additional work, we will confirm the scope and fees in writing. In this case, your agreed upon terms and conditions will apply to this and any future work you engage us on.

Note that if you change your project requirements or scope during the project, requiring changes to work that’s already completed (e.g. you change your services or target audience), we’ll need to charge extra to cover the time spent working on your project. A new timeline may also apply.

We will always do our best to produce work that fits the brief, and so far, we’ve found that two rounds of revisions are plenty to nail it on both your copy and design. However, if you need further changes beyond the included rounds of revisions, we’ll be happy to continue. At this point, you’ll be billed for all the work completed up to this point. Any additional revisions will be completed at an agreed upon project fee or hourly rate. 

Standard format

The end product of a website package is your responsive website, hosted for you on our platform, or uploaded to your chosen hosting (depending on our agreement). Your site will be optimised for any screen resolution.

Copy for your site will be added to the site on your behalf. Drafts of your copy will also be provided via Google docs. After your site is live and handed over, you’ll have access to your content management system (WordPress) to log in and update the content yourself. Or you can engage us for additional updates. 

All graphics provided for your site need to be in .gif, .svg, .jpg, or .png and sent electronically via email, Google Drive, or Dropbox. If your images are not in a usable format please let us know before agreeing to your proposal as charges may apply to convert them to the correct dimensions/file type.

Fee conditions

The project conditions and fees are valid through to the expiry date listed on your proposal. If you wish to move forward with the project after this date, we may provide you with a new quote for approval before commencing.

All amounts listed in your proposal and on your invoice are in Australian dollars. Payment is via Credit/Debit/Bank transfer. If you’re an Australian business, we’re required to charge GST. This will be calculated and added to your invoice in addition to the amount listed here.

For one-off projects under $1000 (excl. GST) payment in full is required upfront. 

For one-off projects over $1000 (excl. GST) we invoice:

• Your first instalment (50%) upfront
• Your second instalment (25%) on completion of your first draft
• Your final instalment (25%) before launch or two weeks after completing the final version of your site (whichever comes first)

Payments are due within 7 days. 

Please note that we can’t guarantee time/availability in our schedule until after your first instalment or initial payment clears on our end.

If you’re unable to pay on time, please contact us as soon as you are aware so that we know when to expect your payment and can give you some grace.

We reserve the right to add a late fee of 2% interest on the total amount for every month your payment is late to help cover the extra admin costs required to recover payment. But we’d rather not do that, so we’ll be sure to remind your finance team when payment is due.

If your invoice remains unpaid 45 days from the due date, your account will be considered in default. At our discretion, we may temporarily remove your website. We will always attempt to call or email you before we do this – it’s a last resort that we hope to never do. Please note that removing your website does not mean you are no longer obligated to pay any remaining charges against your account. 

Clients with accounts in default agree to pay our reasonable expenses, including legal fees and costs for collection by third-party agencies, where they are incurred by The Digital Brew in obtaining payment.

If your invoice remains unpaid 6 months after the due date, we may, at our discretion, take down or sell the website to try and minimise financial losses. In some cases, we may choose to engage a debt collection agency. Only once your website is paid in full, along with any late fees, will we hand over your site. 

Communication

We will endeavour to be reachable and respond to any questions/enquiries you make within 1 business day.

It’s your duty to provide accurate data and background information needed according to the nature of the product we are producing. It’s also your duty to respond in a timely manner to all communication and requests for feedback to ensure that the project timeline is adhered to.

Acceptable lines of communication are primarily email, followed by text messaging, with phone calls to be reserved for more urgent matters or scheduled ahead of time. You’re also welcome to join our Slack workspace and message us there – we’re on Slack throughout the day, most days.

If we do not hear from you during a project for more than 14 days (after multiple attempts by us to contact you), your project will be considered inactive. If you would like to continue the project after these 14 days you will be required to pay a project restart fee and we will reevaluate your delivery timeframes and project fees.

Reviews and feedback

We love getting your feedback! When we deliver the first version of your content and site, we’ll tell you how to give us feedback. We use a range of collaborative tools, including Trello, Google docs, and Userback.

By working with us you are agreeing to provide and feedback within the timelines that have been outlined so that we are able to meet the project deadlines.

We find that projects always go smoother if there’s just one person managing the feedback process, so we strongly advise that you pick just one company representative for this task. But if there’s more than one person on your team who would like to provide input and feedback, please ensure you do this as a group (all in one go) and let us know when you’re done. This ensures we get a clear picture of what you want changed and we can make the updates within a single round of revisions (that way, you can make the most of the included revisions).

Google Docs

We love using Google docs, but like any tool, it’s important to avoid relying on it 100%. 

It’s your responsibility to make a copy of all delivered files for your own records. 

Due to the digital nature of the files, we cannot guarantee their availability beyond 1 week after they are delivered. While we have backup systems in place, we do not take responsibility for files after they are delivered. You can download, copy, and backup all delivered files once we deliver a project. If you’re unsure about how to do this, we’ll be happy to walk you through the process.

SEO

We follow current best practices to help optimise your site for SEO. Please note that good SEO results generally take time, though – and they’re impossible to guarantee.

There’s also more to the picture than just what’s on your website. There are many factors outside of our control that may impact your ranking in Google – from media mentions and backlinks to algorithm changes. If SEO is important to you, we recommend undertaking an off-page SEO strategy (whether you do this yourself or engage an agency) along with regular content/blogs on your site. This will complement the on-page search engine optimisation techniques we’ve done.

Outdated browsers

We only develop websites for modern and up-to-date browsers (for example: Google Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Edge). We do not develop for old, abandoned, and outdated browsers (for example: Internet Explorer or previous versions of Safari, Firefox, Opera, etc.)

If you need your website to function on a specific outdated browser, this will need to be outlined in the scope of work before the proposal is signed. If you’re unsure about your users’ browser requirements, please consult with us beforehand. 

We may charge additional fees to design, develop, test, and support the look and functionality of your website on old, unsupported, and outdated browsers. We also reserve the right to refuse or cancel projects that require support for these browsers.

If you decide that your website needs to support an outdated browser part way through your project, we will either:

1. Charge additional fees to cover the additional design, development, and testing requirements, or
2. Cancel the project – in which case, you’ll be billed for any work produced up to that point

Intellectual property

All materials produced by The Digital Brew will become the client’s intellectual property once paid for in full; however, we reserve the right to use materials produced in our portfolio.

Ownership of any software or designs and assets not created by The Digital Brew are subject to the terms of the licence for that specific piece of property. Examples of this property can include, but are not limited to:

• Content management systems
• Plugins
• Themes
• Designs
• Images
• Videos
• Icons
• Code
• External software
• Integrated SaaS products

You guarantee that any text, graphics, photos, designs, trademarks, or other artwork that you provide to us for use on your project is either owned by you, or you have the proper licences and/or permissions to use them.

Credit

We will include a link back to The Digital Brew in your site footer. If you do not want to credit The Digital Brew, please let us know before agreeing to the proposal. Note that if another party takes over the site, you are responsible for ensuring they do not put their name on the design unless the site’s content and appearance changes by 50%+ from the original look designed by The Digital Brew. 

Confidentiality

We will ensure confidentiality of any data shared which remains the property of the client. You also agree to keep our specific processes and intellectual property/templates for private use only.

Subcontracting

We reserve the right to subcontract out any parts of the project as we see fit. 

Extra expenses

If designing and launching your website requires additional expenses beyond what we’ve included in your proposal, you agree to reimburse us for these (we’ll send an invoice). This may include stock photography, third-party software, plugins, fonts, templates, and more. 

We’ll make it clear if you’ll be up for an extra expense before we make the purchase, and let you know what your best options are to fit your budget.

Plugins/Software

Any plugins installed on your website are to be used in accordance with the individual licence terms of that plugin. If you are on a maintenance plan with The Digital Brew, you will have access to our library of premium plugins that we can use on your website. If your website requires specific functionality from a plugin that we do not have a licence to, you will be required to purchase that licence separately.

Most of the plugins we use are licenced under the GPLv2 licence, and are therefore free to use, modify, and distribute as needed, as long as no trademarks or copyrights are infringed. 

Please note that if you decide to cancel your maintenance plan with The Digital Brew and move your website services to a different company:

• Your website will be provided to you in an ‘as is’ state
• Our licences will be removed from the premium plugins, however, they will still continue to function in their current state. 
• If you require updates and support for specific plugins, you will need to purchase your own licence
• If your website is using a plugin that is not GPL licensed and requires a licence to function, we will notify you, and you will be required to purchase your own licence

Pricing Changes

We reserve the right to change the pricing of our products or services at any time. You will be given one month notice prior to the pricing change. If you continue to use our services and products after the notification period, it is implied that you agree to the new pricing terms.

Liability

You, the client must agree to indemnify, save and hold harmless The Digital Brew from any and all damages, liabilities, costs, losses or expenses arising out of any claim, demand, or action by a third party arising out of any breach of your responsibilities or obligations, representations, or warranties under this agreement.

The services and the work product are provided “as is.” In no event shall we be liable for any lost data or content, lost profits, business interruption or for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages arising out of or relating to the materials or the services provided.

Your approval

We will undertake projects under your direction, and create/publish products only with your expressed approval. As such, all work completed must first be approved by you before it goes live. We do not accept responsibility for any outcomes or actions as a direct result of the work produced.

Termination

Our working relationship will remain ongoing until our one-off project ends or either party decides to end our ongoing engagement.

Either party may choose to terminate the engagement at any time. If the engagement is ended part-way through a project (i.e. after briefs are provided and work has begun), we’ll finish up by delivering the content for these briefs. If you’re ending an ongoing maintenance/hosting plan, you’ll need to provide 30 days notice. As such, hosting services will end one month after you provide notice.

When the engagement ends, you’ll be sent an invoice for any work delivered.

Other legal stuff

This contract cannot be transferred to any other person, company, or organisation without our permission. If any part of this contract is or becomes invalid or unenforceable, the rest of the contract will still remain valid and in place.

This contract is a legal document under exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Queensland, Australia.