Paying for web design-related services and projects

The Purple Spade outline on this page our Terms of Payment for web design services.

Web design services are classed as:

1. Initial Concepts – designs or mock-ups of a potential website;

2. Agreed services of website development, and/or continued updates to any part of the website;

3. Any graphics or logos specifically created by us for you the client;

4. Time spent by us on the website adding, editing, or deleting text on behalf of the client.

Deposits

Most clients will be required to make some form of deposit payment after we have agreed with you on a plan of action to build and develop a website for you. This payment is also referred to as an “initial payment”, and it forms our contract between ourselves and you the customer. It is your way of telling us that you are committed to having a website designed, and it is also part of our agreement that we will honor your request for a website.

Balancing Payments

During our consultation with you, we will have informed you of the approximate amount the website (at the time of the initial agreement) will cost you. During the continuing process of building and developing the website, you will be required to make payment(s) on account, otherwise also referred to as “balancing payments”.

Updates and further charges

With any website, there will always be the chance that clients would like further updates and/or changes made. These are usually agreed upon verbally or through email communications. When these updates and/or changes are made, then there may be additional costs, which will be billed separately to you. These payments due need to be made on time, otherwise arrears may accrue on your account.

Late payments

If payments are not made on time, or within an agreed time limit, then the following conditions will apply:

1. Invoice(s) are sent out usually in arrears of work being undertaken by ourselves for the client. As each invoice is raised, it will show an “Issue Date”. We would expect to have cleared payment within 15 days of the invoice being sent out to you. If payment is not made within 15 days then condition 2 applies.

2. We will remind you that a payment is due for the invoice raised. Normally clients would then pay the amount outstanding at this point, and keep their account with us in order. However, if payment is not then received by us then condition 3 applies.

3. Further reminders are sent requesting payment be brought up to date (reminders may be sent by email, client portal, or in telephone conversations with the client) and the client is extended a grace period of up to 30 days from the “Issue Date” of the invoice in which to make their payment. After the 30-day period has expired, then accounts or invoices that remain unpaid thirty (30) days after the date of the invoice will be assessed a service charge in the amount of the higher of three and one-half percent (3.5%) or $25.00 per month of the total amount due (whichever is greater). In the meanwhile, any further updates and/or changes to the website will be declined until payment is made in full, and the account is brought up to date.

Additionally, if an account does fall into arrears, and payment is then made late, it may mean that future updates and changes to your website would be charged for in “advance” by us.

4. Interest on late commercial payments – After a period of 60 days from the date the invoice was raised or issued, then we reserve the right to charge in addition to section 3 of Late Payments, “statutory interest” at eight percent (5.25%).

Non-payment of web design charges

We don’t like to consider that a client will NOT pay us for their web design costs, but if this happens, then we need to look at ways of being able to recover the costs involved to ourselves. If payment is not made for any part of the web design costs outstanding to us, then we may have to take one, or any of the following actions to recover the debt owed to us.

1. We will reserve the right to decline to carry out any further work on the web design project if there are invoice payments (or partial payments) outstanding;

2. We will reserve the right to remove the website associated with the non-payment from the internet, and replace it with a standard holding page, until such time the payment is made in full. If payment is not made in full, then the client will have no rights whatsoever to the website files and/or projects associated with the debt concerned. Whilst the domain name will always remain the property of the legal owner, the associated website for which the non-payment may refer to, will be deemed to have been “not paid up”, and therefore the client will have no entitlement to the website files;

3. We may have to issue a “Letter Before Action” outlining that we plan to issue proceedings against you in the county court without further notice. This may increase your liability for costs, above and beyond your outstanding payment(s) due to us;

4. We may be at liberty to make further administrative charges within reason to cover any costs incurred by ourselves.