Terms and Conditions
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. In this contract you won’t find any complicated legal terms or long passages of unreadable text. We’ve no desire to trick you into agreeing to something that you might later regret. What we do want is what’s best for both parties, now and in the future.
So, in short; you are hiring us (madcreative) to perform creative design services or digital marketing for the agreed price as outlined in our proposal and/or quote.
What do both parties agree to do?
You: You have the authority to enter into this contract on behalf of yourself, your company, or your organisation. You’ll give us everything we need to complete the project as and when in the format we need. You’ll review our work and provide feedback and approval in a timely manner too.
You also agree to stick to the payment schedule set out in our proposal.
Us: We have the experience and ability to do 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.
Both parties will respect the confidentiality of any shared details and sensitive information that is needed or required during the duration of the project and thereafter. Details of the project, design ideas, costs, logins, or personal data will not be shared with any third parties.
This also includes the sharing of any design in part or full, by either party, on social media during the duration of the project. This is to protect both parties from copyright, and in our experience avoids any unnecessary or unsolicited comments which can offend.
You’ll have opportunities to review our work and provide feedback. If at any stage, you’re not happy with the direction our work is taking, and you wish to end the project prematurely, you’ll pay us in full for everything we’ve produced until that point and cancel this contract.
If you want us to enter into an ‘Elite and Exclusive’ contract for your business and its services ask us.
It can be agreed we do not work for another business similar to yours, in an area radius, for a duration of up to two years maximum. Full details and costs will be discussed. All our work is confidential.
We are proud to have worked with our clients and often share images or links of the completed work on our social media platforms and include these projects in our website portfolio. We do not disclose personal information, exact project briefs, or business proposal details and costs. These are confidential between our clients and us.
All our projects begin with a meeting in person or over the phone to understand the brief. We will create a proposal based on our understanding of your requirements and the time needed for the project. Your first payment acts as acceptance of the proposal and our terms and conditions.
We will keep in contact during the duration of the project, but you are welcome to contact us at any time if you have a question. We don’t normally schedule additional meetings during the duration of the project unless we feel they are necessary.
During the project, if your requirements change and deviate from the initial quote or agreed artwork/design/functionality we will highlight this, please don’t be offended. Managing expectations, meeting deadlines, and keeping within the project scope ensures everyone is happy.
Graphic Design Projects
Design
We create our designs to your brief, and interpreting and understanding your business and its requirements are key to our success. We always advise and recommend ideas and styles for discussion. We develop our projects by working with very talented creatives. Good communication and working in collaboration with you from concept through draft through to output is essential.
We will supply print-ready digital files which you can take to any commercial printer. If you would like us to source printing quotes for you, we’re happy to do that.
We do not share our design files.
Text content
We are not responsible for writing or proofreading any supplied text copy unless we have included this service in our proposal. If you’d like us to write new content or proofread text for you, we can provide a separate estimate or include this in your proposal.
All content copy for our projects must be supplied by the client in an easy-to-use electronic format. We do not accept handwritten notes.
Assets
You should supply graphic files in an editable, vector digital format. You should supply photographs in a high-resolution digital format. If you choose to buy stock photographs, we can suggest stock libraries. If you’d like us to search for photographs for you, we can provide a separate estimate for that. For the best results, we recommend commissioning bespoke photography from one of our recommended photographers.
Digital Marketing Services
We will discuss your requirements and solutions that we can implement, support and deliver. Each business requires a creative marketing strategy therefore we like to discuss your needs and present a proposal for your consideration.
Projects can involve a one-off fee, or we can provide ongoing marketing support to ensure you have continuity and support when you need it.
Web Design projects
We create web layouts that adapt to the capabilities of many devices and screen sizes. We create designs iteratively and use predominantly HTML and CSS so we won’t waste time mocking up every template/page as a static visual. We may use static visuals to indicate a look-and-feel direction (colour, texture, and typography). We call that ‘design atmosphere.’
Following your feedback and approval, we will start to build your website.
Our websites are built in WordPress. We build our website templates around the agreed design and functionality you require. We do not use pre-designed off-the-shelf website themes.
Website content
All website content must be supplied to us in a digital format. It must be clearly labelled and owned by you. It will be assumed you have the right to use the material supplied and it is not an infringement of any copyrights.
We take no responsibility for checking the source of supplied content. If we learn it is copied or shared without permission it will be removed immediately.
Exclusive subscription website plans
Websites built using an exclusive madcreative template cannot be transferred to another hosting provider. The unique technical design and its functionality belong to madcreative.
A madcreative website with agreed payment plans provides our complete website service offers 1:1 discussion about your requirements, and a presentation of a design file to present the suggested style and look. The website will be built on a staging site and after completion and sign-off it will be made live on our basic secure hosting package unless otherwise stated.
The cost and duration of the monthly payments will be agreed upon before any work takes place.
The first payment acts as an agreement to our payment plan.
A delay with payments can result in the website being removed from our server.
Our Wonderful Website offer is a subscription website service for websites requiring between five and eight pages. Providing the monthly payment plan option is subject to the discretion of madcreative.
All websites built are valued at the total cost of all the agreed payments. The offer of credit is a goodwill gesture to help businesses have a high-quality website paid for in affordable installments.
HTML, CSS, Javascript, PHP, MySQL and CMS
We deliver templates developed from HTML5 markup, CSS2.1 + 3 stylesheets for styling, and unobtrusive Javascript for feature detection, poly-fills, and behaviours. Our development work utilises PHP and MySQL. We build websites within a Content Management System (CMS) which will allow you to change content and revise copy as you need once the project is complete and handed over.
Browser testing
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. It does mean ensuring that a person’s experience of a design should be appropriate to the capabilities of a browser or device.
Desktop browser testing
We test our work in current versions of major desktop browsers including Safari, Chrome, Internet Explorer, Firefox.
We do not support Microsoft browsers below IE9 as standard.
Mobile browser testing
Testing popular small-screen devices is essential in ensuring that a person’s experience of a design is appropriate to the capabilities of the device they’re using.
We test our work in:
- iOS: Safari and Google Chrome
- Android Google Chrome and Firefox
On-going support
For the first month after your new madcreative website goes live we strongly recommend you navigate and familiarise yourself with the website dashboard. We do offer basic telephone support and will help you with any quick editing and administration inquiries that you may have, providing these requests are deemed reasonable demands and requests upon our time.
Any requested 1:1 tuition or step-by-step guides to support your editing are chargeable.
We do highly recommend that you do get in contact with us in the early stages and learn how to update your website.
If you need our help with editing, updating your website, or making any changes, we charge for our time.
We do not support email set-ups.
We provide four levels of website hosting to ensure your website works effectively. If your website is not hosted with us you will be responsible for updating all the plugins and ensuring it is maintained to function as required.
Basic – all websites designed and hosted by us will receive an annual plugin update on receipt of your hosting renewal payment.
Standard+ – this hosting package offers additional reassurance. A full plugin update on renewal plus two additional updates during the year.
eCommerce hosting- we will provide regular plugin updates throughout the year. We will check your site regularly but if you spot something in the meantime just shout and we’ll sort it.
We advise this package for all eCommerce websites because it offers total reassurance that your website plugins are always up-to-date and live feeds receive regular checks.
Website Care Package – this package includes access and the allocation of our time to prioritise your website during the year. It includes our time to upload and label news articles and blogs, update written content and add/replace images on your website, and add new pages following the current website design. It allows for up to eight hours of our time during the year and includes regular plugin updates and website back-ups. It does not include time for any technical, design, or functionality changes.
Any technical or design requirements are subject to a charge and will be agreed upon before any work takes place.
If you get in a muddle with editing your site further down the line and require our help, we will need to charge for our time.
All madcreative websites are created specifically for our clients and it is important they are kept up-to-date.
Websites built using our unique madcreative template are non-transferable.
If for any reason you ask another developer to update, change or edit a website designed by madcreative, we cannot be responsible for any issues or errors that may occur.
Social media marketing
After discussion and fully understanding your business we will consider suitable posts and images that will actively engage your potential audience and we will talk about your business and services on your behalf. We actively encourage your engagement, dialogue, and input to ensure the messages work for your business.
*Social media is an organic creative process that requires careful thought, business knowledge, and consideration.
Our ideas will be carefully considered and created to suit your business needs, services, and potential clients.
We are unable to provide any guarantee or a precise projected number for post engagements or an estimated increase in followers, likes, or website traffic.
The more information, recent pictures, videos, service updates, and business news you provide us with, the better your feed will be.
Our social media services are a combination of scheduled and organic, and carefully managed and overseen from Monday to Friday. On occasion, during the weekend we may schedule a post if it felt appropriate, but any unplanned requested organic weekend social media activity is subject to additional costs.
Due to planning and scheduling, four weeks’ notice is required for any cancellation of an ongoing monthly commitment for any services delivered by madcreative.
*Social media must always be part of a long-term marketing strategy that is made up of multiple elements and requires active participation of the client to engage, share and communicate with their customers too.
Website technical support
Our work is fully guaranteed, if we’ve missed something, we will fix it. If there are elements of the delivered project that requires more direction, such as CMS use, we can provide that. It may be part of your website build proposal or an additional cost.
If you require written guidelines for editing purposes this will incur additional costs for our time and creation.
Changes and revisions
The price quoted is based upon the agreed size and scope of your project but we’re happy to be flexible. If you want to change your mind or add anything new, that won’t be a problem and we’ll provide a separate estimate for our time.
Legal stuff
We can’t guarantee that our work will be error-free and so we can’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. Finally, if any provision of this contract shall be unlawful, void, or for any reason is unenforceable, then that provision shall be deemed severable from this contract and shall not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining provisions.
We will not host or support any business that we find to be political, antagonistic, racist, sexist, or in any way offensive to us or others.
Copyrights
First, you guarantee that all elements of text, images or other artwork you provide are either owned by your good selves or that you’ve permission to use them.
Then, when your final payment has cleared, the copyright will be automatically assigned as follows:
You’ll own the content that is used for the project. You own all elements of text, images, and data you provided unless someone else owns them.
We’ll own the unique combination of these elements that constitutes the overall visual design and we’ll license that to you, exclusively and in perpetuity for this project only, unless we agree otherwise. We can provide a separate estimate for that.
The individual creator(s) of media elements (photography, video, etc) will own the copyright of the items they have created and will license the use thereof to you, exclusively and in perpetuity for this project only unless we agree otherwise. We can provide a separate estimate for that.
madcreative-themed websites cannot be transferred to an alternative hosting provider. The technical design belongs to madcreative. If you wish to host your website with an alternative hosting company this must be declared at the outset and we will design and price the website accordingly.
We love to show off our work and share what we’ve learned with other people, so we reserve the right, with your permission, to display and link to your project as part of our portfolio and to write about it on websites, in magazine articles, on social media, in our blogs, and in books.
Payments
- Work will commence once the first installment has been received
- The balance will be due at delivery unless an installment credit payment plan has been agreed
- We request all invoices are paid within seven days unless agreed otherwise
- Four weeks’ notice is required for any cancellation of any ongoing chargeable monthly services provided by madcreative, or a month’s payment in lieu of this notice period will be charged.
- All payments are subject to VAT
Personal data
We do not share your personal data with any third parties.
We may contact you on occasion via email or telephone with business information we feel maybe relevant to your business and/or website.
But where’s all the horrible small print?
Just like a parking ticket, you can’t transfer this contract to anyone else without our permission. This contract stays in place and need not be renewed. If for some reason one part of this contract becomes invalid or unenforceable, the remaining parts of it remain in place. Although the language is simple, the intentions are serious, and this contract is a legal document under exclusive jurisdiction of English and Welsh courts.
Paying your first payment/installment acts as an agreement to all the above terms.
Workshop and Events Terms and Conditions
Our events are designed to inform, entertain and help you navigate the (sometimes) daunting world of marketing, social media, websites, and online acronyms. There will be plenty of opportunities to talk to the presenter(s) at the end of the session if you have any questions you feel are not suited to the wider audience.
Our events are relaxed and engaging with the aim to inform, support, and help you unravel what can sometimes feel like a confusing digital world.
The sessions will start promptly at the advertised time.
No refunds for the events are given. If for any reason you are unable to attend, you can of course send another person from your business or a friend. If you transfer your ticket to another person, please notify Lucy by email: lucy@wearemadcreative.com
Bespoke Training Sessions and Skillset Sessions
We can organise individual training for digital marketing services designed around your business needs. We will discuss your exact requirements and present a proposal.
50% payment will be required before commencement with final payment due on completion of training.
GENERAL INFORMATION
madcreative cannot be responsible for any loss, damage, or injury to any persons or their property during any event.
Your personal details will not be shared with any third party and are used solely for the purpose of communicating with you about madcreative events.
If any of the events, workshops, or training sessions have to be cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances you will receive notification via email and will receive a full refund.
Thank you
