Statement of Work Contract

Summary:

I’ll always do my best to fulfill 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. I’ve no desire to trick you into agreeing to something that you might later regret. What I do want is what’s best for both parties, now and in the future.

So in short;
You are hiring me (LSB Web Design) located at 9 Willow Drive, Hempnall, Norwich, Norfolk, NR15 2QF to develop a website for the total price as outlined in our previous correspondence. Of course it’s a little more complicated, but I’ll get to that.

 

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 me everything I need to complete the project as and when and in the format I need it. You’ll review my work, provide feedback and approval in a timely manner too.

Me (LSB Web Design Ltd): I have the experience and ability to do everything I’ve agreed with you and I’ll do it all in a professional and timely manner. I’ll endeavour to meet every deadline that’s set and on top of that I’ll maintain the confidentiality of everything you give me.

 

Getting down to the nitty gritty

Project Briefs & Scope of Work

I will do my best to fulfil the project brief or scope of work you provide, based on my interpretation of what is outlined in those documents or our earlier discussions. I can’t promise to include every point or build the website exactly as described, but part of my job is being good at interpreting what the client wants and delivering it to them. Once I have sent over the initial deposit invoice the project specifications will be locked in, if you need to alter the scope of the project beyond this point then I can provide a separate quote for that.

If you notice anything missing from the work I deliver to you, please let me know during the review and feedback phases of the build. If I am not made aware of any missing functionality or design elements before site launch then I may need to quote separately for that work.

Development Process

Unless agreed otherwise, the development of new website builds will typically follow a 10 stage process as outlined below.

Stage 1 – Planning & research
Stage 2 – Setup of website framework & infrastructure
Stage 3 – Primary website design & development phase
Stage 4 – Initial testing & feedback
Stage 5 – Second website design & development phase
Stage 6 – Cross browser & mobile testing
Stage 7 – Final testing & feedback
Stage 8 – Site speed and onsite SEO optimisation
Stage 9 – Prelaunch setup
Stage 10 – Site launch

Design

I create look-and-feel designs, and flexible layouts that adapt to the capabilities of many devices and screen sizes. I create designs iteratively and use predominantly HTML and CSS so I won’t waste time mocking up every template as a static visual.

You’ll have plenty of opportunities to review my work and provide feedback. If at any stage you’re not happy with the direction my work is taking and you would like to stop my involvement with a project, you’ll pay me in full for everything I’ve produced until that point and I will do my best to ensure a new developer of your choosing can take over the project seamlessly.

Website Content

If you plan to supply graphic files to be used they should be in an editable, vector digital format (SVG) where possible.

You should supply photographs in a high resolution digital format. If you choose to buy stock photographs, I can suggest stock libraries. If you’d like me to search for photographs for you, I will bill you for the images once purchased, and a fee to cover my time finding these images charged at my standard hourly rate.

I may make minor edits to website graphics where necessary, if I deem the edits required to be extensive then I will provide a graphic design quote for the work to be carried out.

I will pursue  website content from you up to five times. Thereafter, if no content has been forthcoming I will use placeholder text and images where necessary. My full fee will be due once the project reaches stage 9 of the development process as outlined earlier in this contract, regardless of whether or not content has been forthcoming.

If I am working on an e-commerce project for you I will manually upload a maximum of 20 products to your site free of charge. I then charge £1 per product if I am required to manually upload or edit additional products. Every 4 variations count as a new product, for example Small, Medium, Large & Extra large are all variations.

Typically a spreadsheet can be put together allowing us to import the products instead of having to manually add them.

If you require me to migrate products from an existing site then I will charge my standard hourly rate for this service, unless it has been agreed between us to include this in the original price quoted for the project.

It’s your responsibility to supply me with the necessary product information if you need me to upload products to the site for you. Product information should be supplied in CSV format and at the very least I require the following details to upload them:
– Product name
– Price
– Image (if applicable)

Cost of Materials

Occasionally additional software, code, subscriptions, plugins or themes may be required to complete projects. You are responsible for the cost of these additional materials, and unless stated otherwise the cost won’t be included in the original quote. No purchase will be made unless agreed with you first.

Some premium plugins may be used in website builds, I will add my license key to the site for these plugins where possible so they can continue to receive updates. Occasionally some premium plugins require manual updates and cannot be updated automatically using a license key, you may need to purchase a separate license for these if you want to download and update those plugins in the future. The cost of purchasing those plugins is not included in my quote and will be your responsibility.

Browser testing

Browser testing no longer means attempting to make a website look identical 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 the browser or device being used.

Desktop browser testing

I test my work in current versions of major desktop browsers including those made by Apple (Safari), Google (Chrome), Microsoft (Edge) and Mozilla (Firefox). I won’t test in other older browsers unless you specify otherwise, and if you require an enhanced design for an older or unsupported browser then I can provide a separate estimate for that.

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. I test my work in:

– Apple iPhone 6s
– Apple iPhone 8 Plus
– Apple iPhone X
– Samsung Galaxy S7
– Samsung Galaxy S8
– Samsung Galaxy S9+
– Apple iPad 6th

I won’t test on other devices unless you specify otherwise, and if you require an enhanced design for a specific device that was launched more than 4 years ago then I can provide a separate estimate for that.

Responsive Breakpoints

I will design websites for the following screen width breakpoints: 1920px, 1366px, 1280px, 1024px, 768px, 480px and 375px. I will ensure the site looks great at all widths but these breakpoints ensure all the popular screen sizes are covered.

Google Maps API

Google maps require an API key to work, these APIs have free usage limits set by Google, beyond these limits they charge for usage. I will use a Google Maps API key from my own account on all websites I build for you, if one of these websites starts to recieve heavy usage and nears the API usage limit then I will let you know and request that you change the API used to one from your own account.

The free usage quota that Google provides is generous and only very high traffic sites will go over this.

Changes and revisions

I don’t want to limit your ability to change your mind, that’s why there will be a chance for you to review the site and provide feedback. The price quoted in the proposal is based on the length of time I estimate I’ll need to accomplish everything you’ve told me you want to achieve whilst factoring in revisions. I’m happy to be flexible, if you want to change your mind or add anything new that is outside of the original project scope that won’t be a problem as I can provide a separate estimate for that.

All feedback and ideas for revisions must be submitted via a text document, within an email or added to an agreed upon project management tool so that we both have a record of it. If feedback is supplied over the phone or video call then I will attempt to make notes on what we have discussed, I will email this to you after the call and ask you to confirm they are correct.

Delays

If you need to delay or postpone a project that has already started then that won’t be a problem. You will be liable to pay a balance to cover the work completed up to that point should the delay be more than three months.

Any project delays and postponements are cumulative and count towards the three month limit.

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)

SEO is a completely separate service to web development and can be used as part of your online marketing strategy. As such I am not responsible for the ongoing search engine optimisation of any websites I build for you or their rankings in search engines.

All sites I build are SEO friendly from the ground up and I will optimise a number of key elements for you prior to launch. You will have full access to easily edit the important onsite elements that can influence your rankings.

Once a website is launched this is where my involvement with its SEO ends. However if you work with an agency or freelancer to develop an SEO campaign then I am more than happy to make any site changes for you that they suggest be implemented.

Meetings

If you would like to have a meeting to discuss anything then that won’t be a problem. Simply get in touch and we can arrange a meeting for when we are both free.

Support and aftercare

After a website has gone live I will provide 30 days of unlimited support. This covers work on any site functionality that isn’t working as intended, minor site tweaks or changes that might be required. Any large scale developments, design or functionality work will be billed for at my standard hourly rate of £40.

After the 30 day unlimited support period, any work required on the site will be billed for at my standard hourly rate.

Legal stuff

I can’t guarantee that my work will be error-free and so I 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 me 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.

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, copyright will be automatically assigned as follows:

You’ll own the visual elements that I create for this project. You own all elements of text, images and data you provided, unless someone else owns them.

I’ll own the unique combination of these elements that constitutes a complete design and I’ll license its use to you, exclusively and in perpetuity for this project only, unless we agree otherwise. The site I deliver is for the project we agreed only, so you can’t package it up and sell it on for others to use.

I love to show off my work and share what I’ve learned with other people, so I may display and link to your project as part of my portfolio.

Payments

I’m sure you understand how important it is as a business that you pay the invoices that I send you promptly. As I’m also sure you’ll want to stay friends, you agree to stick to the 30 day payment terms for invoices you may be issued.

If I am not paid in accordance to the agreed payment terms then I reserve the right to charge 8% interest plus the Bank of England base rate on any outstanding invoices, I will also be entitled to claim compensation for any debt recovery costs I may incur in chasing and collecting the debt owed.

I will issue you with an invoice for either 25% or 50% of the project total before any work begins. Once the project has reached stage 3 and the main design work has begun, this initial invoice is non-refundable and is to secure the development time and cost of materials. Payment of a deposit will be taken as your intention to proceed to completion of the work for which I am engaged, and obligates you to make full payment once such work has been completed.

When stage 9 of the project has been completed I will then issue you with the final invoice for the remaining balance of the project total, including any additional costs incurred. This invoice should be paid before the project goes live.

Copyright is only transferred upon payment of that final invoice.

But where’s all the horrible small print?

Just like a parking ticket, you can’t transfer this contract to anyone else without my 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.