Web design agreement

This agreement sets out what AmeriDesigned will build for you, what it costs, when it is due, and what happens if either of us needs to stop. It becomes binding when both parties sign it below. Please read it before signing.

1. What is included

AmeriDesigned will design and build the website described in the package selected above, exactly as that package is listed on ameridesigned.com/prices on the date this agreement is signed. A copy of that package description is attached to, and forms part of, this agreement.

Anything not listed in the package is outside the scope of this agreement. That includes, without limitation, e-commerce or online ordering, payment processing, membership or login areas, multi-language versions, custom software, ongoing content updates, copywriting beyond light editing of material you supply, photography, videography, printed materials, and paid advertising. Additional work is quoted and agreed separately in writing before it begins.

2. Timeline

Work begins on the next business day after both of the following have happened: (a) the deposit has cleared, and (b) you have supplied all content listed in section 3. The target launch date above assumes both.

Delivery takes between seven (7) and fifteen (15) business days from that start date, depending on the workload booked at the time. The usual delivery time is seven (7) business days. The target launch date above is the estimate agreed for your project, and AmeriDesigned will tell you at the start of the project if your build sits at the longer end of that range.

The clock pauses on any day AmeriDesigned is waiting on you for content, feedback or approval, and resumes when you respond. Delays caused by late or incomplete material move the launch date by at least the length of the delay, and AmeriDesigned is not responsible for a missed launch date caused this way.

3. What you provide

Within seven (7) calendar days of signing, you will supply: your text and any required wording; photographs or images you want used; your logo files if you have them; your business details, hours and service or menu information; and any access credentials needed for your existing domain or hosting.

You confirm that you own, or have permission to use, everything you send, and that it does not infringe anyone else's rights. You are responsible for the accuracy of all prices, claims, hours, licences and legal notices published on the site. AmeriDesigned does not verify the material you supply and is not liable for it.

If the content required to start has not arrived within thirty (30) calendar days of signing, the project is treated as abandoned under section 7 and the deposit is retained.

4. Revisions

The package includes two (2) rounds of changes at the design stage. A round means one consolidated list of changes sent in a single message. Changes requested piecemeal over several days may be treated as separate rounds.

Further rounds, and any change of direction after a design has been approved, are billed at $[HOURLY RATE] per hour, quoted and approved in writing before the work is done.

5. Payment

The total price is payable in two parts: a deposit of fifty per cent (50%) to reserve your place in the schedule, and the balance of fifty per cent (50%) once you have approved the finished site and before it goes live. Both payments are made by card through Stripe.

The site is not published, and no files, source materials or accounts are transferred, until the balance has cleared. If the balance is unpaid fourteen (14) calendar days after you have been notified the site is ready, AmeriDesigned may cancel this agreement, retain all sums paid, and take down or withhold all work. All prices are in US dollars and exclude any applicable taxes and third-party costs.

6. Refund policy

6.1 The deposit is non-refundable. The deposit is not a pre-payment held on account. It is consideration for AmeriDesigned reserving a block of working days for you, turning away other work for that period, and beginning discovery and initial design. Those costs are incurred immediately and cannot be recovered. You acknowledge that the deposit is a genuine and reasonable estimate of that loss, and not a penalty.

6.2 Change of mind within 48 hours. As an exception to 6.1, if you notify AmeriDesigned in writing within forty-eight (48) hours of signing this agreement, and before any design work has been delivered to you, the deposit will be refunded less any non-recoverable payment processing fees.

6.3 After work begins, no refunds are given. Once design work has been delivered to you, no part of the deposit or of any further sum paid is refundable, whether you cancel, stop responding, change your mind about your business, or decide not to launch.

6.4 Subjective dissatisfaction is not grounds for a refund. Design involves taste. Your remedy if you do not like a design is the revision process in section 4, not a refund. A refund will not be given because you prefer a different style, colour, layout or font.

6.5 If AmeriDesigned cannot deliver. If AmeriDesigned is unable or unwilling to complete the work for reasons within its control, it will refund the deposit in full, and any further sums paid, within ten (10) business days. This is your sole remedy in that situation.

6.6 Results are not guaranteed. No refund is given on the basis of business results. AmeriDesigned does not guarantee any level of traffic, search ranking, enquiries, bookings or revenue, and none of those is a condition of this agreement.

6.7 Third-party costs are never refundable. Domain registration fees, hosting, plugin or theme licences, stock images and font licences are paid to third parties and cannot be returned once purchased, regardless of anything else in this section.

7. Cancellation and abandonment

You may cancel at any time by written notice. On cancellation, the deposit is retained under section 6, any work completed beyond the deposit is invoiced at $[HOURLY RATE] per hour, and no files, designs or drafts are transferred to you.

If you do not respond to AmeriDesigned for thirty (30) consecutive calendar days, the project is treated as abandoned and cancelled on the same terms. Restarting an abandoned project requires a new agreement and a new deposit.

8. Disputes and chargebacks

If you are unhappy with anything, you agree to raise it with AmeriDesigned in writing first and to allow five (5) business days for a response before taking any other step.

You agree not to initiate a chargeback, payment dispute or reversal for any payment made under this agreement without first following that process. Initiating a chargeback in breach of this clause is a material breach of this agreement. In that event: any licence granted to you over delivered work terminates immediately; you remain liable for the full contract price; and you are liable for all resulting fees, and for the reasonable costs of recovering the sums owed, including collection and legal costs.

A signed copy of this agreement, together with delivery and approval records, will be submitted as evidence in any dispute.

9. Ownership

All designs, files, code and drafts remain the property of AmeriDesigned until the total price has been paid in full and cleared. On full payment, ownership of the final delivered website design passes to you.

AmeriDesigned retains ownership of concepts and drafts you did not select, and of any reusable code, frameworks, templates and components used to build the site, which may be reused on other projects. Third-party plugins, themes, fonts and stock images remain under their own licences.

AmeriDesigned may display the finished work, and describe the work done, in its portfolio and marketing unless you ask in writing for it not to.

10. Third-party services and costs

Hosting, domain registration, email, plugin and theme licences, stock images and fonts are provided by third parties, on their terms, and are your responsibility and expense unless expressly included in your package. Where a domain is included in your package, it is registered in your name for one year; renewal after that year is yours to pay and yours to remember.

AmeriDesigned is not responsible for outages, price changes, policy changes, data loss or account suspension by any third-party provider.

11. After launch

For fourteen (14) calendar days after launch, AmeriDesigned will fix, at no charge, any fault in the work it built that stops the site working as described. This does not cover changes of mind, new content, new features, faults caused by you or by anyone else editing the site, or faults caused by third-party services.

After that period, and outside it, work is quoted separately. AmeriDesigned does not provide ongoing maintenance, backups, security monitoring or updates unless a separate written agreement is in place.

12. Who operates the site

AmeriDesigned designs and builds the website and connects any booking, scheduling or payment tools included in your package. Once the site is live, you operate it.

You are solely responsible for running your business through the site. That includes accepting or declining appointments and bookings, managing your calendar and availability, setting and applying your own deposit, cancellation and refund rules, and dealing with your own customers.

All booking and payment accounts are created in your name and remain under your control. Payments and deposits from your customers are paid directly into your own payment account. AmeriDesigned never receives, holds, transfers or refunds money belonging to you or to your customers, does not act as your agent, and is not a party to any agreement between you and your customers.

AmeriDesigned is not liable for any loss arising from how the site is operated after launch, including missed, duplicated or declined bookings, disputed or refunded customer payments, or your compliance with any law or licensing rule that applies to your business or industry.

13. Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, AmeriDesigned's total liability under or in connection with this agreement is limited to the total amount you have actually paid under it. AmeriDesigned is not liable for indirect or consequential loss, including lost profits, lost business, lost data, loss of goodwill, or downtime, however caused.

14. General

AmeriDesigned is an independent contractor, not an employee, partner or agent of the client. Neither party is liable for delays caused by events outside its reasonable control. Each party will keep the other's non-public business information confidential.

This agreement is the entire agreement between the parties and replaces any earlier discussion, quote or message. Any change must be agreed in writing by both parties. If any clause is found unenforceable, the rest remains in force. This agreement is governed by the laws of the State of [YOUR STATE], and both parties submit to the courts of [YOUR COUNTY], [YOUR STATE].

15. Electronic signature

Both parties agree to sign this agreement electronically and agree that an electronic signature has the same legal effect as a handwritten one under the U.S. Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (E-SIGN) and applicable state law. Each party will receive a completed copy.

AmeriDesigned · [LEGAL BUSINESS NAME] · [BUSINESS ADDRESS] · [YOUR EMAIL] · Version 1.2