Signing a Digital Services Agreement/Proposal with Northland Digital Agency or Slinky Digital Agency, confirms that you are in agreement with and bound by the terms and conditions set out below.
These terms apply for Northland Digital Agency, Slinky Digital Agency, Slinky Web Design (SWD), Slinky Digital, Slinky Internet Marketing, SEO Perth Experts (SPE) and Slinky Web Hosting (SWH). The above trading businesses are collectively owned by Northland Asset Pty Ltd.
The above entities, for the sake of brevity will be referred to as ‘slinky’ in the following document.
Payment Terms
Our payment schedule is as follows:
Web Design:
Deposit: 50% – Prior to commencement of Design work
Balance: 50% – Prior to ‘live’ site upload (or within 7 business days of project ‘presentation’ – whichever is sooner).
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO):
All SEO work is paid in advance.
Deposit: First month’s payment prior to commencement of SEO work
Monthly: Payment due upon invoices
Google AdWords Marketing:
Payments to SLINKY are for a campaign management fee only.
The cost of clicks is paid directly to Google via your own Google account.
Deposit: First month’s payment prior to commencement of Google AdWords Marketing work
Monthly: Payment due upon invoices
All quotation amounts are based on SLINKY being able to place a link on the bottom of the client website linking back to SWD and or SPE. If this link is not permitted by the site owner, an extra amount will be payable. An extra invoice will be issued and payable at a rate of 30% on top of the total contract value.
Payment of Accounts:
Payment terms are strictly 7 days.
A deposit by the client is required before SLINKY can commence any work. Any outstanding accounts for work completed by SLINKY requires payment in full no later than 15 days from the date of invoice. On completion of a project the client is obliged to pay the balance in full.
SLINKY will contact clients to remind them of payments due if they are not received. If payments for any of the contracted services are not received and any accounts not settled according to our terms, website access may be denied and/or all website work removed until accounts are paid in full.
We reserve the right to withhold access to the clients website services (including email) to any person, including the client and/or their agents should any amount of the contract remain unpaid. All overdue accounts will be charged a rate of 10% per month until paid – with a minimum charge of $19.50 per invoice.
Design Sign-off / Project Presentation:
For the purpose of billing, a project is considered to be ‘Presented’ when a link is emailed to the client giving them the address of the development server where the client can view their new website.
The ‘sign off’ status on a project will be considered final (or ‘live’) – – if no changes are requested within 7 business days of the website being ‘Presented’.
Request For Design Changes:
Any design changes required after a design is presented by Slinky Web Design has to be submitted in one document within 7 business days of the design being ‘presented’. This document will be deemed as the final changes allowed under the quoted proposal. Any further changes requested after this will be charged at our normal hourly rate.
Updates Outside Original Scope:
In the event of any variations or extensions to the project, or should a client wish to engage SLINKY on a time and materials basis, all work will be undertaken in accordance with our normal hourly rates.
Changes to the presented design that are deemed to be excessive or for additional features, modules or functionality not specifically stated in the proposal/agreement will attract an extra cost and will be charged at our normal hourly rates.
Approval:
To authorise commencement of a project SLINKY must receive a signed copy of the proposal.
Client Content:
The client agrees that they will deliver the necessary content to go into the website within 30 days of paying the web design deposit. This content will consist of any text (wording) that is required to go into the pages of the website along with all imagery and photographs, logos, font types and colour palettes required to go into the website.
If this content is not received within the 30 day period, continuation of the project will be at the discretion of SLINKY. If the project is cancelled by SLINKY, the client agrees that any deposit monies paid will be forfeited.
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
Website Content:
A client that provides written wording to SLINKY for use on the client’s website warrants that all content and that already on their website is their own original content. Client understands that using copied/stolen content can cause the website or pages of the website to be discarded by search engines and therefore severely impact positive search engine results.
Link Back To SPE/Slinky:
All SEO agreements are based on SPE/SLINKY being able to place a link on the bottom of the client website linking back to either SPE or SLINKY. If this link is not permitted by the site owner, an extra amount will be payable. An extra invoice will be issued and payable at a rate of 30% on top of the total monthly invoice value.
SEO Monthly Work:
Payment for SEO work is split into monthly installments for client convenience. Monthly work will be carried out at any stage during the contract period, with the bulk of the on-page optimisation work usually done at the commencement of the contract period.
The SEO work will be deemed as any work carried out by SLINKY that the company deems as adding value to the client’s website or online business.
Task lists and details of hours worked are not provided to the client by SLINKY.
Contract Term:
Minimum contract period is 12 months – unless stated otherwise in the signed agreement. We are always happy to entertain shorter contract periods, but it MUST be prearranged PRIOR to signing the contract/proposal to ensure we know how much to spend on your account each month. We often have to order and pay copywriters for SEO content months in advance.
The contract amount is the agreed monthly payment multiplied by 12 months (or whatever the agreed contract period is).
Once the initial 12 month minimum term is complete, client must give 60 days notice should they wish to discontinue with the SEO contract. SLINKY will confirm receipt of this notice immediately once email is received from client. This helps us plan the spending on your account.
Link Building:
Link building sources are deemed as the Intellectual Property (IP) of SLINKY.
Link building sources are not included in any reporting to the client.
We do not buy links for clients.
Link requests are sent to publishers on behalf of the client.
Publishers do not guarantee to SLINKY that the links will be permanent, so in turn there is no guarantee that links gained for clients during a SEO campaign will be permanent.
Lead Time:
You agree to understanding that it takes time for SEO results. You understand this and do not expect instant results.
It generally takes about two weeks to re-crawl an existing site, and a month or two for a new site to be crawled and fully shown in the search results after the work is fully completed. Your website appearing high in search results for competitive keywords can take from 12 to 24 months or more – and are NEVER guaranteed.
You also understand that rankings are not permanent. Search engines are notorious for changing the algorithms that they use to display search results.
You understand that competitors who are also doing SEO on their websites and using the same keyword(s) can cause your rankings to change. All of the above can cause your rankings to become lower or higher, and if that occurs, it is not a reflection of poor work by SLINKY.
Google AdWords Marketing:
Payments to SLINKY is for a campaign management fee only.
The cost of clicks is paid directly to Google via your own Google account.
There is no minimum contract term for Google AdWords Marketing campaign management.
All Google AdWords Marketing work is paid in advance.
Client must provide 14 days notice to discontinue with the Google AdWords Marketing contract.
Service Terms
Intellectual Property:
SLINKY reserve the right to re-use technical components developed during the project and will retain intellectual property rights on each development.
Maintenance:
SLINKY can provide a content maintenance & software update service if required. This is billed at our standard hourly rate and will keep all content management systems (CMS) & shopping carts up to date with the latest release versions of their software. It is the clients responsibility to engage SLINKY for this preventative work.
SLINKY guarantees that each project will be compatible with current versions of all major software platforms and browsers. Current release refers to software versions current at the time the website goes live, versions released after this date are not included.
Variations and Extensions:
In the event of any variations or extensions to this contract, all work will be undertaken in accordance with our hourly rates.
Goodwill:
This proposal assumes goodwill from both sides regarding:
Making best use of resources to achieve the most effective outcomes
What can reasonably be achieved in a given time frame
Full Terms and Conditions
By placing an order with SLINKY, you confirm that you are in agreement with and bound by the terms and conditions set out below.
Definitions:
SLINKY refers to Northland Asset Pty Ltd.
The client refers to the company or individual engaging the services of SLINKY.
General:
SLINKY will only commence a project where an agreement has been provided by email or mail. An ‘order’ is deemed to be a written or verbal contract between SLINKY and the client. This includes written and verbal agreements via telephone and email.
Project Stages:
Stage 1 – The client must carefully review the completed website including all content, providing feedback on any changes within three business days.
Stage 2 – The client will review any changes made in stage 1 and authorise SLINKY to launch the project to ‘live’ status.
Any changes requested after stage 2 will be considered additional and charged at our standard hourly rate.
System Specifications and Alterations:
Each project will have set parameters as described in the final proposal and/or technical specification. On commencement, the development team will proceed in accordance with the exact specifications as set out in this document. If there are any amendments to these parameters after the project has commenced, SLINKY will consider this to be an additional component or customisation of the project and will charge for this work at our standard hourly rates.
Bugs or System Errors:
When a project has been delivered and approved, the client will have a one month grace period where SLINKY will address any reported system errors or bugs free of charge. After this grace period any required maintenance will be billed at our standard hourly rates.
Website Design:
While every endeavour will be made to ensure the website and any scripts or programs are free of errors, SLINKY does not accept responsibility for any losses incurred due to website malfunction.
The project and any associated graphics and files remain the property of SLINKY until all accounts are paid in full.
Any scripts, cgi applications, php scripts, programming code or software written by SLINKY remain the property of SLINKY and may only be commercially reproduced or resold with the permission of SLINKY.
SLINKY cannot take responsibility for any copyright or privacy infringements caused by materials submitted by the client and may refuse use of any such material unless proof of permission is provided.
Any additions to the brief will be carried out at the discretion of SLINKY. Where no charge is made by SLINKY for these additions, SLINKY accepts no responsibility to ensure these additions are error free. SLINKY reserves the right to charge an appropriate sum for any correction to these or further additions.
The client agrees to provide SLINKY all materials required to complete the site (files, content and images) in a timely fashion. SLINKY will not be liable for costs incurred, compensation or loss of earnings due to the failure by the client or SLINKY to meet agreed deadlines.
SLINKY will not be liable or become involved in any disputes between the site owner and their clients and SLINKY cannot be held responsible for any wrongdoing on the part of a site owner. SLINKY will not be liable for any costs incurred, compensation or loss of earnings due to the work carried out on behalf of the client, or any of the clients appointed agents.
SLINKY will not be liable for any costs incurred, compensation for loss of earnings due to the unavailability of the site, servers, software or any material provided by its agents.
A deposit of 50% is required with each design project before any work will commence. Once a project has been completed the final balance of payment is due in accordance with our payment terms. If the client decides to terminate the contract after a project has commenced, the client will be liable to pay for all work done up to the point of termination.
Content and Data Entry:
The supply of content and assets is the responsibility of the client, unless the client is employing SLINKY’s copy writing service. All content for all sections of the website must be supplied at an agreed time and preferably in one delivery. Content must be thoroughly reviewed before it is supplied to SLINKY. SLINKY is not responsible for any spelling and grammatical errors.
Image Licenses:
All images for a website are to be supplied by the client.
Images should either be the property of the client already or stock images purchased by the client with relevant licences.
If SLINKY is required to source images on behalf of the client, we will endeavour to source royalty free images but it is understood that the client is responsible for these images and any licences that may be required for their use on the client’s website.
Project Delays:
Where a project has final approval SLINKY will indicate time frames for both parties. If a client delays the project for more than two months, (by missing deadlines for the supply of information, content or images) SLINKY reserves the right to charge a project-delay fee to recover costs associated with ongoing management of the project.
Database, Application and eCommerce Development:
SLINKY cannot take responsibility for any losses incurred by the use of any software created for the client. The client is expected to fully test any application or program relating to a site developed by SLINKY before being made available for general use. Whilst every care has been taken to ensure products are bug free and accurate, the ultimate responsibility lies with the client in ensuring that all software is functioning correctly before use.
Any scripts, cgi applications, php scripts or software written by SLINKY remain the property of SLINKY and may only be commercially reproduced or resold with the permission of SLINKY.
Where applications or sites are developed on servers not recommended by SLINKY, the client is expected to provide information, software and support relating to the server to assist with the correct development of the application. Any assistance or work required from SLINKY for external hosting will incur additional charges.
Where a large application is to be developed, the client is responsible for providing a testing environment as similar as possible to the final production environment.
When a project has been delivered and approved, the client will have a three month grace period where SLINKY will address any reported system errors or bugs free of charge. After this grace period any required maintenance will be billed at our standard hourly rates.
Compatibility:
SLINKY will ensure that any site or application will function correctly:
On the server to which it is initially installed
When viewed with current Microsoft Edge current full release
When viewed with Chrome current full release
When viewed with Mozilla current full release
SLINKY can offer no guarantee of correct function with all browser software including future releases.
Training:
We do not offer training services other than instructional videos that are provided with new website design contracts.
Website Hosting
SLINKY offers web hosting solutions through data centres located in Australia, United States, Indonesia and other locations around the World.
Website Security:
We take website security very seriously.
You must keep your website up-to-date with the latest security updates at all times.
If we are notified that your website has been compromised by way of hacking, malware attack or any other form of security breach, we will either contact you for instructions to attend to any work required to clean your site or If the issue is deemed urgent and in our opinion is likely to affect other websites on the same server, we will attend to the issue immediately without your consent. You will be invoiced for any work carried out on your behalf.
If you fail to respond or fail to act on our advice, we may remove your website from our servers, add it to a zip file and make it available for you to move to another web server. No monies will be refunded to you.
Hosting Service:
SLINKY cannot guarantee the availability or continuity of any hosting service and cannot accept liability for loss of revenue caused by the unavailability, malfunction or interruption of this service.
SLINKY reserves the right to refuse to host websites or material which may be deemed offensive, illegal or controversial. In this instance, hosting services may be terminated without any monies being refunded to you.
Hosting At Other Providers:
Any client requesting hosting on another server will be charged a fee for the time taken to transition the website to the preferred hosting provider plus any delays caused by the said hosting provider.
If the client requests an online content management system SLINKY will only install this on its own servers due to the added complexity involved.
Suspended or Terminated Servers:
In the event that an account is unpaid which causes the billing system to either suspend or terminate a web hosting server, the client is liable for server recovery costs where deemed appropriate by SLINKY.
Domain Name Management:
Client agrees that should their domain name/s be managed by SLINKY under SLINKY’s master domain registrar account, domain names will be set to auto renew prior to their expiry. Client agrees that they need to contact SLINKY prior to the domain name expiry date if they no longer want their domain name renewed. Once the domain name is renewed automatically client agrees to pay the renewal fee upon invoice.
Complaints Procedure:
Any client experiencing problems with a web service provided by SLINKY should contact their assigned Project Manager. Clients should supply the URL of the problem and clearly outline the issue in question. SLINKY will contact the individual responsible for the material in question with a view to resolving the matter satisfactorily.
Formal Complaints Procedure:
The formal complaints procedure is in place should a client feel that the nature of the complaint is too serious to be dealt with informally, or where a satisfactory conclusion has not been reached after following the informal procedure. A formal complaint should be made in writing to Northland Digital Agency who will acknowledge receipt and ensure that the matter is examined within two business days.
An initial response will be issued within seven days of receiving the formal complaint and a full and considered response will be issued within 30 days. Any required action will be implemented with minimal delay.
Agreeing To Terms:
If you do not agree to these Terms of Use or the privacy policy posted on the Website, please do not use this Website or any services offered by SLINKY or this Website. We reserve the right to make changes to these terms at any time. Please check back from time to time to ensure you are aware of any updates or changes. Your use of our Website indicates acceptance of all terms.
