Welcome to https://thedesignandtechstudio.com

This website is owned and operated by Nicola Liggins, Trading As The Design and Tech Studio.  By visiting our website and accessing the information, resources, services, products, and tools we provide, you understand and agree to accept and adhere to the following terms and conditions as stated in this policy (hereafter referred to as ‘User Agreement’), along with the terms and conditions as stated in our Privacy Policy (please refer to the Privacy Policy section below for more information).

This agreement is in effect as of July 1st, 2022.

We reserve the right to change this User Agreement from time to time without notice. You acknowledge and agree that it is your responsibility to review this User Agreement periodically to familiarize yourself with any modifications. Your continued use of this site after such modifications will constitute acknowledgment and agreement of the modified terms and conditions.

Responsible Use and Conduct

By visiting our website and accessing the information, resources, services, products, and tools we provide for you, either directly or indirectly (hereafter referred to as ‘Resources’), you agree to use these Resources only for the purposes intended as permitted by (a) the terms of this User Agreement, and (b) applicable laws, regulations and generally accepted online practices or guidelines.

VIP EXCLUSIVE DESIGN AND SUPPORT DAYS:

Please Note: The Design and Tech Studio is a DESIGN ONLY agency and requires you to complete and submit all of the text, videos and photos etc. for your website before design can commence making sure that your website is designed for conversions. Any delays due to the late supply of content and imagery will affect your project due date.

Timeline: Your VIP Exclusive Day is on VIP Day selected from the calendar and work will be completed between the hours of 9 am -5 pm GMT unless otherwise agreed upon.

Scope: VIP Exclusive Day Package: Outline all of the tangible items included:

1- hour strategy call

6 hours of implementation of design projects on VIP Exclusive Day

1 hour of revisions post VIP Exclusive Day

30 days of e-mail support (for questions that may receive written responses or short video tutorials) E-mail support does not include additional design.

Our Commitment to you

We respect our CLIENT’s confidentiality (Item 7).

We use open source solutions wherever possible. This means no vendor lock-in and software fees are charged at ‘fair and reasonable rates’ or in most cases, fees are not applicable (Item 12.1).

If the CLIENT determines that the website does not comply with the project components agreed to in this document, The Design and Tech Studio agrees to carry out any necessary and reasonable modifications without extra charge (Item 19).

If the CLIENT is not happy with our service, the CLIENT is free to move their domain name, website and data in its entirety to another service provider (Item 20.1).

Introduction

This document defines the terms and conditions of our working relationship. Unless otherwise agreed to in writing by both the parties, the terms of this Agreement will commence on the date specified.

All services that The Design and Tech Studio may be contracted to produce or provide for  (referred to as CLIENT) will be subject to the following:

Definitions

As used herein and throughout this Agreement:

“Agreement” means the entire content of this Basic Terms and Conditions document, the Proposal document(s), Schedule(s), together with any other Supplements designated below, together with any exhibits, schedules or attachments hereto.

“Content” means all materials, information, photography, writings and other creative content.

“Copyrights” means the property rights in original works of authorship, expressed in a tangible medium of expression, as defined and enforceable under the United Kingdom and International Copyright Law.

“Deliverables” means the services and work product specified in the Proposal to be delivered by The Design and Tech Studio to the CLIENT, in the form and media specified in the Proposal.

“Services” means all services and the work product to be provided to CLIENT by The Design and Tech Studio described and otherwise further defined in the Proposal.

“Trademarks” means trade names, words, symbols, designs, logos or other devices or designs used in the Final Deliverables.

“Open Source Software” means computer software that is available in source code form for which the source code and certain other rights normally reserved for copyright holders are provided under a software license that permits users to study, change, and improve the software.

“Ongoing Management” means the ongoing work to keep the website functioning and secure. This includes, but is not limited to: data management, backups, maintenance, upgrades and software patches.

General Terms

1. Authorisation

The CLIENT authorises The Design and Tech Studio to perform the services outlined in this agreement on the CLIENTS’ behalf, which may include but are not limited to, accessing their hosting account and disk space, creating databases and applications, and submitting the project to search engines.

2. Agreement Scope and Period

Services supplied, costs and rates are limited to what is specifically set forth in this agreement. Any additional services will require an additional agreement. We reserve the right to adjust our service and rates after this period.

3. Costs and Fees

Changes and additions outside of the scope of this document will be quoted and invoiced to the CLIENT. The CLIENT will be advised of all costs, changes and additions before the commencement of the additional work. Fees for professional services do not include outside purchases such as but are not limited to, software licensing, copyright licensing, printing, photography, colour printouts, laminating, illustrations, shipping and handling or courier service. Expenses are itemised on each invoice.

4. Production Schedules

Production schedules will be established and adhered to by both the CLIENT and The Design and Tech Studio. Where production schedules are not adhered to by the CLIENT, the final delivery date or dates will be adjusted accordingly. Additional costs may be charged for CLIENT delays if the delays result in an increase in time to manage or deliver the services.

Please note: The Design and Tech Studio is a content-first design agency, meaning we won’t begin your design until your content is complete. Why? Because your content drives your message and articulates what your brand stands for. When we have your content, we can work to prioritise important elements and create a conversion-driven design. Without it, we’re just guessing.

5. Overtime

Estimates are based on a reasonable time schedule and may be revised to take into consideration the CLIENT’s requested “Priority Scheduling”. Requested priority schedules that require overtime and weekend work will be subject to a 60% markup at an hourly rate. Overtime is defined as between 6.00 pm – 9.00 am Monday to Friday, all day Saturday, Sunday and public holidays unless otherwise agreed.

6. Payment

6.1 The CLIENT agrees to pay The Design and Tech Studio in accordance with the terms specified for each product/service as displayed on the website or any written proposal/estimate or quote. The CLIENT will be required to pay in accordance with the terms specified where a deposit is specified this will be a non-refundable deposit which must be paid before the commencement of work. Unless otherwise specified, all subsequent balances due are payable upon completion of key stages of the project, or in accordance with the terms previously specified.

6.2 If the CLIENT fails to pay any invoice, The Design and Tech Studio reserves the right to withdraw the website and associated materials or refuse completion and/or delivery of work until past due balances are paid. All materials or property belonging to the CLIENT, as well as work performed, may be retained as security until all just claims against the CLIENT are satisfied. The Design and Tech Studio will charge a late payment fee of 5% per month on the outstanding amount. The CLIENT is responsible for any debt collection fees which may come due.

6.3 In the event of cancellation of the project prior to completion, the CLIENT must pay The Design and Tech Studio a fee for work completed, based on the contract price and the expenses already incurred.

7. Confidentiality

The Design and Tech Studio will not disclose to any third party or use, other than for the purposes of this agreement, any knowledge or information imparted to or obtained by it during or in connection with the fulfilment of this agreement, which is of a secret or confidential nature relating to the business, equipment, processes, products, services or business strategies offered or employed by the CLIENT.

This obligation of confidence will cease to apply in relation to information that The Design and Tech Studio is required to disclose by any law, or which becomes part of the public domain other than as the result of a breach by The Design and Tech Studio of its obligations of confidence under this Agreement.

8. Subcontractors

The Design and Tech Studio reserves the right to assign subcontractors or external suppliers. Any subcontractors or external suppliers will be bound by the terms of this agreement.

9. Promotion

The Design and Tech Studio is confident that the CLIENT’s expectations will be exceeded and as such is notifying the CLIENT that The Design and Tech Studio reserves the right to use the CLIENT’s website, associated graphics and any unused ideas and development in the promotion of The Design and Tech Studio’s services. The CLIENT agrees to allow The Design and Tech Studio to retain a credit and link from the footer of the website.

10. Copyright

The CLIENT is responsible for all trademark, service mark, copyright and patent infringement clearances. The CLIENT is also responsible for arranging, prior to publication, any necessary legal clearance of materials The Design and Tech Studio uses for this project. The CLIENT indemnifies The Design and Tech Studio against any loss or damage arising directly or indirectly from any unauthorised use of photographs, text, or other Intellectual Property not under copyright ownership of the CLIENT.

11. Project Copyright

11.1 After acceptance of the website and payment of all sums due by the CLIENT, The Design and Tech Studio agrees to assign perpetual and unrestricted copyright to use any materials produced by The Design and Tech Studio as outlined in this agreement to the CLIENT including exclusive usage rights to unique graphics.

11.2 The Design and Tech Studio reserves all rights over working and source files. The CLIENT does not have the right to resell, reuse or re-purpose any design or content supplied as part of this agreement unless specified.

11.3 The Design and Tech Studio reserves all rights to licence (open source) and release all software code including website templates developed under this agreement.

12. Open Source Software

12.1 The Design and Tech Studio make extensive use of open source software and components to supply websites and services to the CLIENT. The Design and Tech Studio will not charge additional licensing fees on open-source software.

12.2 The CLIENT indemnifies The Design and Tech Studio against any loss or damage arising directly or indirectly from any failure of software supplied to the CLIENT.

12.3 All software and components not developed by The Design and Tech Studio retain the original licence and terms associated with them. The Design and Tech Studio cannot assign any rights to the CLIENT and the CLIENT agrees to be bound by the original Author’s terms.

13. Force Majeure

The Design and Tech Studio shall not be deemed in breach of this Agreement if The Design and Tech Studio are unable to complete the Services or any portion thereof by reason of fire, earthquake, labour dispute, an act of God, death, illness or incapacity of The Design and Tech Studio or any local, state, federal, national or international law, governmental order or regulation or any other event beyond The Design and Tech Studio’s control (collectively, “Force Majeure Event”). Upon the occurrence of any Force Majeure Event, The Design and Tech Studio shall give notice to the CLIENT of its inability to perform or of delay in completing the Services and shall propose revisions to the schedule for completion of the Services.

14. Limitation of Liability

The services and the work product of The Design and Tech Studio are sold “as is.” In all circumstances, the maximum liability of its Designers, Directors, Officers, Employees, Design Agents and Affiliates (“The Design and Tech Studio parties”), to the CLIENT for damages for any and all causes whatsoever, and the CLIENT’s maximum remedy, regardless of the form of action, whether in contract, tort or otherwise, shall be limited to the net cost of this project as specified in this Agreement. In no event shall The Design and Tech Studio be liable for any lost data or content, lost profits, business interruption or for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary or punitive damages arising out of or relating to the materials or the services provided by The Design and Tech Studio even if The Design and Tech Studio has been advised of the possibility of such damages, and notwithstanding the failure of essential purpose of any limited remedy.

15. Termination

Either party may terminate an agreement by giving 30 days’ written notice to the other of such termination.

Where a 12 month (or any other term) agreement is purchased, the client is liable to pay any outstanding amount in full or continue paying remaining installments for the remainder of the contract agreed.

In the event that work is postponed or terminated at the request of the CLIENT, The Design and Tech Studio shall have the right to bill pro rata for work completed through to the date of that request, while reserving all rights under this Agreement.

If additional payment is due, this shall be payable within fourteen days of the CLIENT’s written notification to stop work. In the event of termination, the CLIENT shall also pay any expenses incurred by The Design and Tech Studio and The Design and Tech Studio shall own all rights to the work. The CLIENT shall assume responsibility for the collection of all legal fees necessitated by default in payment.

16. Domain Names

16.1 All domain names are legally owned by the CLIENT. All domain name registrations are subject to availability and registration rules. The CLIENT manages their domain(s) and payment of fees unless the CLIENT requests in writing that The Design and Tech Studio manage the domain name(s) on behalf of the CLIENT. The Design and Tech Studio will invoice the CLIENT when fees are due.

16.2 The Design and Tech Studio use Siteground and/or 123-Reg (referred to as REGISTRAR) to manage our CLIENTS’ domain names. CLIENTS are bound by the REGISTRARS “Domain name registration terms” which are found on their websites: https://www.siteground.com, https://www.123-reg.co.uk.

16.3 The CLIENT indemnifies The Design and Tech Studio against any loss or damage arising directly or indirectly from any failure of services provided by the REGISTRAR.

17. Hosting

17.1 The CLIENT is responsible for contacting the chosen host for support relating to hosting matters. The Design and Tech Studio will charge for costs incurred liaising with the hosting company and supporting the CLIENT with hosting-related issues.

17.2 The Design and Tech Studio will charge for costs incurred due to differences in hosting environment if installation and management exceeds standard time frames.

18. Browser Variance

Our websites are optimised for XHTML compliant browsers and adjusted to support Internet Explorer (IE). We test using the browsers that are statistically the most commonly used. Layout and aesthetic elements may change or degrade in some browsers. Websites are tested on

Internet Explorer versions 7 and 8 (PC)

Latest version of Firefox (Mac)

Latest version of Safari (Mac)

Latest version of Chrome (Mac)

The Design and Tech Studio will test and optimise for additional browsers and versions if requested by the CLIENT before commencement of the project.

19. Colours

Website visitors use different monitors with different settings. Colours and image quality of the website including graphics and photography will shift between computers and monitors.

20. Testing and Acceptance of the Website

Once the project has, in the opinion of The Design and Tech Studio been completed, The Design and Tech Studio will notify the CLIENT either verbally or in writing, and provide the CLIENT with an opportunity to test and review the website. If the CLIENT determines that the website does not comply with the Project Components agreed to in this document, The Design and Tech Studio agrees to carry out any necessary and reasonable modifications without extra charge.

21. Website, Data and Security

21.1 Upon the end of this agreement, The CLIENT is free to transfer their website management to another service provider. The Design and Tech Studio will supply the last backup of the site and associated data. The Design and Tech Studio will take all reasonable actions to transfer the CLIENT’S domain name to a new registrar.

21.2 Ongoing Management (see definition) is not included in this agreement and will require an additional agreement.

21.3 If The CLIENT does not proceed with an additional or Ongoing Management agreement, The CLIENT is responsible for Ongoing Management of the website and indemnifies The Design and Tech Studio against any loss or damage arising directly or indirectly from website downtime or security breaches.

22. CLIENT Responsibilities

If the CLIENT or an agent of The CLIENT other than The Design and Tech Studio attempts to update, edit or alter the site’s pages, infrastructure, source files or hosting management in a way that causes damage to individual pages or the site’s architecture, time to repair web pages will be assessed at our STANDARD or OVERTIME hourly rate and is an additional cost above the costs outlined in this agreement.

23. Errors and Omissions

It is The Design and Tech Studio’s responsibility to check carefully for accuracy in all respects, ranging from spelling to technical illustrations. However, The Design and Tech Studio is not liable for errors or omissions. The CLIENT indemnifies The Design and Tech Studio against any loss or damage arising directly or indirectly from any errors and omissions.

24. Revisions

The Design and Tech Studio will provide two rounds of revisions of content after the submission of the content, before the website is completed. Extended revisions outside of this scope will be charged under “Content Management” rates.

25. Copy

All text must be supplied in digital format (TXT, RTF, HTML, MS Word, Open Office, InDesign).

26. Images

Graphics and photographs are to be supplied in digital format to The Design and Tech Studio. Photographs must not exceed a file size of 5mb each (unless by prior arrangement). Larger files will incur an extra cost due to increased time in processing.

27. Branding

All logos and branding must be provided in a industry standard vector format (preferences are: EPS, PDF, AI Illustrator).

28. Support

All bugs and errors must be reported within final testing and 45 days of site launch. Bugs and errors reported within this period will be addressed and fixed. All errors and bugs found after this period may incur an extra cost due to rescheduling.

Additional Costs:

Copyediting: £150/hour

Additional revisions to graphics, text and HTML: £150/hour

Programming: £200/hour

Significant updates to site and/or database: £200/hour (minimum £200 fee)

Payment Schedule:

Please refer to your quote and project inclusions to find details of your payment schedule. Standard payment plans are spread over three monthly payments. In the event of a cancellation, your deposit/first payment is non-refundable.

Upon, but not before, delivery of the completed website and upon payment in full, all HTML and programming and finished graphics will become the property of the CLIENT. The Design and Tech Studio’s liability will be limited to replacement of any defective works. The Design and Tech Studio will not be held responsible for any consequential damages resulting from errors in the work. It is understood that the CLIENT is legally responsible for all project content (including, but not limited to, text and images).

The CLIENT is responsible for the provision of all site content in a timely manner. A two-week lapse between a request for content and the corresponding delivery will constitute a termination of the contract, in which case the CLIENT will be invoiced for the services performed to date. The fee for services is based on three rounds of design as detailed in Section 3 above.

Additional charges will be incurred by the CLIENT at the rates outlined above for further revisions. Revisions/feedback will only be accepted in written form.

Affiliates

Any violation of these terms may result in affiliate account termination and forfeiture of any outstanding affiliate referral fee payments earned during the violation:

1. Misleading, false claim, inaccurately describing Digital Business Boutique’s products and services.
2. Promoting expired coupon codes, fictitious coupon codes, inaccurate discounts. Coupon-code site will not be approved & existing coupon-code site account will be terminated without further notice.

Affiliates will earn 35% commission on all valid product referrals.

No minimum payout. Payments are sent out automatically by the 15th of each month for the previous month’s sales. So if you earned a commission in November, then you will be paid out by December 15th.

Payments are processed by PayPal and you must have a verified PayPal account to receive this payment.

Adjustments will be done from your future payments, in case we are forced to refund anyone money whose commission has been already transferred to you.

We reserve the right to refuse or terminate any Affiliate account without further notice.

Wherein, you understand that:

a. In order to access our Resources, you may be required to provide certain information about yourself (such as identification, contact details, etc.) as part of the registration process, or as part of your ability to use the Resources. You agree that any information you provide will always be accurate, correct, and up to date.

b. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of any login information associated with any account you use to access our Resources. Accordingly, you are responsible for all activities that occur under your account/s.

c. Accessing (or attempting to access) any of our Resources by any means other than through the means we provide, is strictly prohibited. You specifically agree not to access (or attempt to access) any of our Resources through any automated, unethical or unconventional means.

d. Engaging in any activity that disrupts or interferes with our Resources, including the servers and/or networks to which our Resources are located or connected, is strictly prohibited.

e. Attempting to copy, duplicate, reproduce, sell, trade, or resell our Resources is strictly prohibited.

f. You are solely responsible any consequences, losses, or damages that we may directly or indirectly incur or suffer due to any unauthorized activities conducted by you, as explained above, and may incur criminal or civil liability.

g. We may provide various open communication tools on our website, such as blog comments, blog posts, public chat, forums, message boards, newsgroups, product ratings and reviews, various social media services, etc. You understand that generally we do not pre-screen or monitor the content posted by users of these various communication tools, which means that if you choose to use these tools to submit any type of content to our website, then it is your personal responsibility to use these tools in a responsible and ethical manner. By posting information or otherwise using any open communication tools as mentioned, you agree that you will not upload, post, share, or otherwise distribute any content that:

i. Is illegal, threatening, defamatory, abusive, harassing, degrading, intimidating, fraudulent, deceptive, invasive, racist, or contains any type of suggestive, inappropriate, or explicit language;
ii. Infringes on any trademark, patent, trade secret, copyright, or other proprietary right of any party;
iii. Contains any type of unauthorized or unsolicited advertising;
iiii. Impersonates any person or entity, including any https://thedesignandtechstudio.com employees or representatives.

We have the right at our sole discretion to remove any content that we feel in our judgment does not comply with this User Agreement, along with any content that we feel is otherwise offensive, harmful, objectionable, inaccurate, or violates any 3rd party copyrights or trademarks. We are not responsible for any delay or failure in removing such content. If you post content that we choose to remove, you hereby consent to such removal, and consent to waive any claim against us.

h. We do not assume any liability for any content posted by you or any other 3rd party users of our website. However, any content posted by you using any open communication tools on our website, provided that it doesn’t violate or infringe on any 3rd party copyrights or trademarks, becomes the property of https://thedesignandtechstudio.com and as such, gives us a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free, exclusive license to reproduce, modify, adapt, translate, publish, publicly display and/or distribute as we see fit. This only refers and applies to content posted via open communication tools as described, and does not refer to information that is provided as part of the registration process, necessary in order to use our Resources. All information provided as part of our registration process is covered by our privacy policy.

i. You agree to indemnify and hold harmless https://thedesignandtechstudio.com and its parent company and affiliates, and their directors, officers, managers, employees, donors, agents, and licensors, from and against all losses, expenses, damages and costs, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, resulting from any violation of this User Agreement or the failure to fulfill any obligations relating to your account incurred by you or any other person using your account. We reserve the right to take over the exclusive defense of any claim for which we are entitled to indemnification under this User Agreement. In such event, you shall provide us with such cooperation as is reasonably requested by us.