Terms and Conditions

Our terms and conditions are kept short, simple, and are written in plain English.

It is important that you read these terms and conditions as they will apply to your website.

If you do not agree with the Terms and Conditions below then you must not order any of our website services from us.

We reserve the right to vary these terms and conditions from time to time.

Introduction:

1. Our websites are simple (static) websites which are aimed at giving you, your company or charity, a presence on the Internet at an affordable cost. They do not contain advanced features normally found within dynamic websites such as back end databases for e-commerce sites, use of flash, and other advanced items such as integrated shopping carts. Such features do not come under the remit of this web design service.

2. The web design service offered under this website is solely for assisting charities, voluntary groups, people who work from home, and small businesses such as self employed people, trading estate units and smaller shops in getting that all important foothold onto the Internet.

Exclusion Notices:

3. When we create a website for you, all of our websites come with an upper ceiling limit of 16 web pages. If you require more than 16 web pages in your website please contact us so that we can discuss your requirements separately.

4. When we create a website for you, all of our starter pack websites (whether they are based on our standard templates or a bespoke design) include the domain name and hosting for the first 12 months but do not automatically include any maintenance package for your website should it need maintaining (e.g. with updates to text or pictures). Visit our 'After Care Packages' section for full details of our individual website maintenance packages and their current prices.

5. Once a website has been prepared by us and launched onto the internet, we only provide a basic submission service to the more popular search engines such as Google. If you require enhanced search engine submission services please visit our 'Promoting Your Website' section below. We do not accept any responsibility whatsoever for the subsequent performance or the success or failure of your website once it is launched onto the Internet.

Ordering your Website:

6. We require a minimum deposit of £20 upfront on all website orders.

7. Before we are able to commence work on a website order, the client must provide us with all written content (and pictures where they are supplying their own pictures). The client must ensure that the written content they supply to us is what they are happy with to appear on their own website. We will not be responsible for enhancing or editing the client's own content submission in any shape or form.

8. Where the customer requests us to supply pictures for their website then the customer must purchase their picture bundles upfront before we can commence work on the website order.

9. You will be asked to confirm your agreement, in writing or via e-mail, to our terms and conditions when you order a website from us. We will not be able to commence work on your website order until you have confirmed this agreement to us.

10. All Domain Names are registered under your name i.e. the name of the client. This is of real importance to our customers as some web designers register domain names under their own names which often causes problems and expense later when a client realises they don't own the domain name.

Cancelling your Website Order:

11. As soon as we receive an order from you for a website you will be given seven days to change your mind and cancel your website order. The £20 deposit taken at the time of the website order is non-refundable.

Paying for your Website Order:

12. We require a minimum deposit of £20 upfront on all website orders.

13. Once we have received your deposit, we will commence building your website within the timeframe agreed between us. We use our very own testing platform so that you can see how your website is progressing.

14. When your website is complete on our testing platform, we will ask you to sign our 'Website Sign Off' sheet to signify that you are happy with your website.

15. Once you have signed the 'Website Sign Off' sheet, we will then require the balance of payment in full for your order before we can release your website to the Internet as a live website. We will issue you with an invoice for the balance of monies still remaining. All invoices must be paid within 28 days from the invoice date. Your website will not be released as a live website onto the Internet until the balance of monies payable under the invoice is received.

16. If payment is not received within 28 days from the Invoice date then the website will not be loaded onto the Internet. A reminder by post and by e-mail will be sent to the client to pay the invoice.

17. Failure to reply to the reminder will result in a final demand by post and by e-mail. The final demand will also include what action we intend to pursue to recover any monies owed under the outstanding invoice should it not be paid e.g. debt recovery, small claims court.

Ecofriendly Website's Intellectual Copyright:

18. All web designs created under this web service have been designed by Ecofriendly Websites. Ecofriendly Websites will hold intellectual copyright of the website, including any source code, which they have created for you.

The Supply of Written Content and Images for your Website:

19. We do not provide any written content for your site. Before we are able to commence work on a website order, the client must provide us with all written content (and pictures where they are supplying their own pictures). The client must ensure that the written content they supply to us is what they are happy with to appear on their own website. We will not be responsible for enhancing or editing the client's own content submission in any shape or form.

20. Where the client requests us to supply pictures for their website then the client must purchase our picture bundles upfront on all website orders before we can commence work on their website. Any images provided by us in the construction of your website will be purchased under licence from stock image suppliers. These images are only licensed for use on a single website (i.e. your website) and must not be used in any other materials. You, the website owner, are legally responsible for ensuring that this does not happen. Again, we accept no responsibility for such possible breaches of copyright law.

21. It is entirely your responsibility to ensure that the content you will be placing onto your website (whether it be textual content or graphical content such as images) is yours to use. If it is not your own content then you must seek the necessary permissions from the legal owner of the content. Failure to do so may put you in direct breach of copyright law i.e. using someone else's content without their permission. We accept no responsibility for such possible breaches of copyright law.

After your Website is Launched onto the Internet:

22. Once your website is uploaded onto the Internet, you agree that you will have your website hosted by us (and maintained by us if your website is of the type which requires maintenance) for a minimum period of one year after your website has been launched onto the Internet.

23. After the first year has expired you are absolutely free to leave Ecofriendly Websites if you so wish. If you wish to take your website with you when leaving us you will be need to pay us a website release fee before your website can be released to you.

24. After the first year has expired, we would be delighted and you are more than welcome to simply continue to keep your website with us. Your website will then be placed under a normal twelve month hosting and/or maintenance contract plan as required by you.

25. Please refer to our 'Aftercare Packages' section for full details of our maintenance packages offered. Our maintenance packages for your website consists of updates to your existing website content only (i.e. changes to text and changes to pictures on your existing website pages) and also the servicing of up to two e-mails or two telephone calls per month (dependent upon the level of maintenance package chosen). Time sheets are always provided for work completed under our maintenance packages. Please note: Where extra work is required over and above the time limit offered under our maintenance packages, this extra work will be charged at a rate of £19 per hour. Furthermore, If you require extra features, or pages, adding to your website after it has been launched onto the Internet then this will also incur extra charges (currently £19 per hour together with the additional price of the item or items required). Please contact us so that we can discuss your requirements in this respect.

Promoting your Website:

26. Once a website has been prepared by us and launched onto the internet, we only provide a basic submission service to the more popular search engines such as Google, Yahoo, MSN and a small number of other search engines.

27. If you require paid Google Search Engine Optimisation services from us, we only provide this service to customers who order a starter website from us. We unfortunately do not provide Search Engine Optimisation for customers who already have a website from or with another website designer.

28. Once your web pages have been optimised by us under our Google Search Engine Optimisation services, it can take Google several weeks before the changes are displayed on Google.

29. Although our Google Search Engine Optimisation service attempts to get your website further up the ranks on Google we offer no guarantee that this service will be successful in generating extra traffic for your website or that your website will perform well or better in Google. We do not accept any responsibility whatsoever for the subsequent performance or the success or failure of your website once it is launched onto the Internet.

Website Release Fee for Third Party Optimisation Services or Other Reasons:

30. Should you wish your website to be optimised by a third party provider elsewhere, or you wish to move your website to another web provider, or you wish to leave our service during your contract, then we can release your website to you subject to a release fee of £49 payable upfront before release of the website code to you.

31. This £49 charge is in addition to any monies which may be outstanding and owed to us under your particular website plan which will also be required to be paid in full if you have not already done so.

32. Furthermore, where you choose to have your website optimised by another web design company other than ourselves, we will not provide any further updates to your website once a website has been optimised by someone else even if your are under one of our maintenance plans.

33. Where website code is released to you, the website will still be governed by items 18, 20, and 21 of the above mentioned terms and conditions which relate to copyright issues.

Renewal of your Website Hosting and/or Maintenance Package With us:

34. Three months before your website hosting and/or maintenance package is due for renewal we will always contact you to ask If you want to continue with us. All you will need to do is pay the amount shown on the renewal invoice we send to you before the 'payment due date' shown on the renewal invoice and your service will be continued with us.

35. If we do not receive full payment within the time we will assume that you do not want to continue with your website renewal and your website will be left to expire naturally and will cease to operate.

Refund Incentives for Our Customers who make their Websites Carbon Neutral:

36. Proof of membership to www.coco2.org is required from the customer to qualify for our 10% refund offers mentioned on our Homepage. Refunds will be made to the customer within 10 days of production of your proof of membership and only after the customer has settled their final invoice in full.

Fair Working Policy / Customer Service Statement:

37. Ecofriendly Websites strives to deliver outstanding customer service, promoting an atmosphere of dignity and respect to its customers. We always work with our customers to give them the website they want to satisfy their requirements. We encourage two-way dialogue. In return, Ecofriendly Websites also expects the same levels of courtesy back from its customers. Any form of verbal or physical abuse or intimidation from a customer towards us will not be tolerated. Such actions will result in immediate and complete withdrawal of our website services, and any deposit paid will be non-refundable. If the level of abuse is severe enough, legal action will also be considered.

Website Hosting:

38. All our prices are based on our 'Home' hosting plan for all starter websites provided within the remit of our web design service. If additional hosting features are required above and beyond our 'Home' hosting plan then the customer agrees to pay the extra monies in order to purchase the more advanced hosting packages. Please ask us for details of what is included in our 'Home' hosting plan and for details of what is included in our more advanced hosting plans.