TERMS & CONDITIONS

Updated 12 June 2023

TERMINOLOGY
Client = Entity (being Company, Business, Sole Trader or its authorised representative) engaging any of the Velvet Web services.
Velvet Web = The individual partners, employees or contractors engaged by Velvet Web to provide or carry out the service required by the Client.
Server = The server hosting the website, web application or email. This may or may not be a server commissioned to Velvet Web.

WEB DESIGN

Quoted prices include minor changes post proofreading.  Minor changes include spelling; grammar; consistency; image tweaking; and Client contact information. Additional design, pages and/or changes may be done at an additional charge. This will be communicated to the Client as necessary.

Unless specified in the initial consultation:

  1. All images and content to be used within the content area are to be provided to Velvet Web by the Client.
  2. All proofreading is to be done by the Client.
  3. Graphic design work is not included.
  4. Photographs supplied to Velvet Web will be used as-is. Any additional etching or image optimisation required will be additional to the original quotation.

The Client acknowledges that custom coding may sometimes be required to create additional features, including but not limited to interactive features, plugins, and custom form design. If this is a consideration or requirement and it has not been discussed prior to commencement of work, it will be communicated to the Client and further costs may be incurred.

For custom developed websites, please see the CUSTOM DEVELOPMENT AND SOFTWARE ENGINEERING section below.

All designs are covered by Australian Intellectual Property, Design and Copyright Law.

See our prices page for our current pricing structure

WEB SUPPORT PLANS

Web support plans include 1 (one) hour of standard web support (as outlined below) per month. If not used within the month, the hour will rollover to the following month, accumulating up to a maximum of 12 (twelve) hours, which may be used at any time. Hours cannot be refunded or used as currency for any other service other than those which outlined below within this Web Support Plans section.

Changes to website content and/or design includes any changes within the content area or website design which can be made using the content management system (CMS). Anything outside of this would be considered custom development. See Development Blocks for further information. The Client acknowledges that change requests under the web support plan, once complete, are final. Further changes may be made using Standard Blocks. See Standard Blocks for further information.

Web systems support, including web applications includes supporting websites and web applications generally, and does not include support which requires custom development, reading or re-writing web code, or writing of patches in any form. If this service is required, it is available under Development Blocks.

Tech support, including email, domain and hosting management, and SSL certificates includes assisting the Client with their own domain console and it's operations. Hosting management is limited to assisting Clients with their cpanel console (or equivalent) and does not include WHM (or equivalent), or physical server management. The Client acknowledges that they are responsible for all costs associated with these services and/or service providers. SSL certificate management includes assisting Clients with management and renewals of SSL certificates. The client is responsible for all costs associated with purchasing and renewing their SSL certificate. Velvet Web may at times request the Client's credit/debit card to make the purchase/upgrade/update on behalf of the Client. These details are entered directly into the SSL certificate provider's website and are never stored with Velvet Web.

Content appraisals includes assessing and re-writing the Client's content to be more user-centric and/or SEO-friendly and/or web compliant. The Client acknowledges that they will provide personally written content and images. Velvet Web will not under any circumstance use copied content from a competitor's website, nor content that breaches intellectual property laws.

Content writing includes creating content for the Client. The Client acknowledges that they must provide Velvet Web with an outline of what is required. We cannot and will not write content for the Client's website without some guidance of what is required. Velvet Web will not under any circumstance use copied content from a competitor's website, nor content that breaches intellectual property laws.

Creating blog pages includes creating and writing a blog page using the Client's content. Velvet Web may re-write the Client's content to be more user-centric and/or SEO-friendly and/or web compliant. The Client acknowledges that they will provide personally written content and images. Velvet Web will not under any circumstance use copied content from a competitor's website, nor content that breaches intellectual property laws.

Web systems training includes help and/or training around the Client's web systems, website or web application with the intention of the Client carrying out the work for themselves.

Help with social media accounts and advertising includes assisting the Client with their own personal or business social media accounts and advertising campaigns. The Client acknowledges that they are responsible for the advertising spend and Velvet Web cannot and will not be responsible for the ultimate success of the campaign. 

Help with Google analytics accounts and advertising includes assisting Client with their own personal Google analytics account and advertising campaigns. The Client acknowledges that they are responsible for the advertising spend and Velvet Web cannot and will not be responsible for the ultimate success of the campaign.

Content Management System (CMS) upgrades/updates includes upgrading software and updating plugins as they become available within the CMS specific to that Client's website or web product. The Client acknowledges that Velvet Web is not responsible for the outcome or performance of any third party plugin or software.

HTML tweaks includes tweaking HTML code within the CMS content area, which can become necessary at times within all content management systems.

Graphic design includes resizing, cutting, etching, recolouring and optimising images for the web, as well as creating print-quality images for print including (but not limited to) flyers, banners, business cards, logos and signage. Velvet Web reserves the right to refuse the work if we believe we cannot carry out the work for any reason.

Website restorations in the event of a hack or security breach includes restoring a website from the latest backup should the Client's website become hacked or breacked in any manner, including accidental changes made by the Client.

The Velvet Web community refers to our newsletter sent out monthly or ad-hoc depending on information at hand that is relevant to the Client. Should the Client wish to not receive these emails, they may unsubscribe at any time.

Plan Pricing
For pre-approval terms and conditions see our pre-approval terms and conditions page.

WEB SUPPORT BLOCKS

Web support blocks are 1 hour blocks which can be purchased by the Client for ad-hoc change requests or to supplement their standard 1 (one) hour per month web support plan if needed. Support blocks include Standard Support Blocks (as per web support plans above) and Development Blocks. Development Blocks include any type of custom web development the Client may require using the following code types: HTML, PHP, CSS, Javascript, MySQL. The Client acknowledges that the support block time will be used to cover Velvet Web's time in scoping the requested work. Velvet Web reserves the right to refuse the job if we believe we cannot carry out the work requested for any reason, and a refund will not be issued.

See our plans page for our current prices

VELVET WEB CMS (CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM)

The Velvet Web CMS remains the property of Velvet Web.

The Client is responsible for the security of their CMS username and password, and any individual who is assigned the role of site Administrator or WebMaster.

The Velvet Web CMS is a tool provided to the Client which enables the Client to build, manage and administer information displayed on their website. The Administrator must NOT upload, post, publish or distribute:

  1. Content that is unlawful, defamatory, harmful or invasive of another’s privacy or otherwise object, including material that promotes or provides instructional information about illegal activities or promotes physical harm or injury against any group or individual.
  2. Content that you do not have the right to distribute under any law.
  3. Content that infringes any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright or other intellectual rights of any party.
  4. Content that contains nudity, pornographic material, sexual material or material that is obscene in nature without the prior and specific consent of Velvet Web, excluding medical-related content.
  5. Material that contains software viruses or any other code with the intention of interrupting or limiting the functionality of any computer or telecommunication equipment.

The Client acknowledges that the Velvet Web CMS will only be uploaded and made operational onto a Velvet Web web server, or other web server approved by Velvet Web, and may not be copied and used elsewhere.

The Client is responsible for any changes that they make to their own website content, be it intentional or otherwise. Websites hosted on Velvet Web servers are backed up regularly. Should the Client wish to have their website restored to a previous version, this can be done and will be charged out at our current hourly rate.

Should the Client require help or assistance with content and/or other areas of their website, such as, but not limited to, design and implementation of their website, this will be charged out at our current hourly rate. 

Should the Client use any third-party software, code or plugins within the Velvet Web CMS, it is their responsibility to ensure they obtain the correct license required for their particular use of that software, code or plugin. Velvet Web will obtain the correct licenses for any part of the design that we carry out, should we use a third-party service for any design-build we implement. 

See our prices page for our current pricing structure

CUSTOM DEVELOPMENT, WEB APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT AND SOFTWARE ENGINEERING

The Client acknowledges that Velvet Web owns the intellectual rights to the code written within the custom-developed/programmed website or web application, unless otherwise formally agreed to by both parties.

The Client acknowledges that work that is outlined within the quotation only will be carried out for that particular job. Any additional development required will be quoted upon and/or billed as a separate job.

The price quoted includes minor changes post proofreading. Minor changes include spelling; grammar; consistency; and correction of any errors in the business, its services and/or product information.

Velvet Web will not rewrite code once the job has commenced should the Client change their mind on functionality and framework design.

The Client acknowledges that, due to the nature and complexity of Velvet Web's custom-developed online software, it is a requirement that their new website or web application is hosted on Velvet Web web servers, and hosting on any other server is not negotiable. We guarantee that our prices remain competitive with other Australian web hosting service providers offering server software and hardware of similar quality. For added security and data integrity, Velvet Web chooses to run email on a separate dedicated email server, away from the website.

The Client acknowledges that there may be delays in programming time due to unforeseen circumstances. Velvet Web will not be held liable for an estimated completion time being exceeded. Velvet Web will endeavor to keep the Client abreast of any difficulty in programming or circumstances that may cause delay. 

See our prices page for our current pricing structure

E-COMMERCE AND SHOPPING CART

Product entry including data and graphics will form part of the website quotation. Any additional product entry or changes to products or the shopping cart is the responsibility of the Client, unless a prior agreement is made between the Client and Velvet Web.

A purchased SSL Certificate is recommended by Velvet Web when trading online. Velvet Web can organise the purchase and install of the SSL certificate at the Client's expense. The Client is responsible for payment of the renewal of the SSL certificate when due. Any administration required after initital installation is the responsibility of the Client. Velvet Web may administer the SSL certificate on the Clients behalf, at the Clients request, at our current administration rate.

See our prices page for our current pricing structure

SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMISATION (SEO)

Velvet Web will optimise the Client's website to comply with the on-page search engine algorithms current at the time of the job being carried out.  Velvet Web does not and can not guarantee the position of the Client's website within the search engine results.

The Client acknowledges that Velvet Web has no control over how the Search Engines display or return information and therefore can not be held responsible for any current or future changes to the position, whether caused by the search engine algorithms or otherwise.

GOOGLE AD CAMPAIGN MANAGEMENT

  1. The monthly advertising budget the Client has agreed to will be charged each month directly from Google.
  2. Underspend from one month will be rolled into the following month.
  3. Should the daily maximum budget be reached, advertising will cease for the remainder of that day and recommence the following day.
  4. Should the Client choose to close their Google account, any credit being held by Google will be refunded.
  5. Velvet Web will use best practice which may be restricted by your budget to bring traffic to your website.  We do not guarantee that search engine advertising services will increase business sales or enquiries.
  6. The campaign set up fee will form part of your quote.  This fee is non-refundable once the service has commenced.
  7. The Client authorises their credit card to be used by Velvet Web in the set up of their campaign account and to be debited each month as per the Client’s agreed monthly spend, until such time as the Client chooses to stop the campaign.
  8. The Client acknowledges that if they choose to stop a campaign within an active month, any credit they may have will be held by the campaign account and released once the campaign has been terminated.
  9. Velvet Web manages the Client's account exclusively via our own management console. Requests by a third party to our console will be denied.

FACEBOOK ADVERTISING

  1. The monthly advertising budget the Client has agreed to will be charged each month directly from Facebook.
  2. Should the daily maximum budget be reached, advertising will cease for the remainder of that day and recommence the following day.
  3. Velvet Web does not guarantee that advertising on Facebook will increase business sales or inquiries.
  4. The campaign set up fee will form part of your quote.  This fee is non-refundable once the service has commenced.
  5. The Client authorises their credit card to be used by Velvet Web in the set up of their campaign account and to be debited each month as per the Client’s agreed monthly spend, until such time as the Client chooses to stop the campaign.
  6. Velvet Web manages the Client's account via our own management console. Requests by a third party to our console will be denied.

The Client acknowledges that the management fee is billed per month and once service has commenced that month’s fee is non-refundable. The contract may be cancelled prior to the following month.

DOMAIN NAME REGISTRATION

Velvet Web does not warrant or guarantee that the domain name applied for will be registered in the Client's name or is capable of being registered by the Client. Accordingly, the Client should take no action in respect of the requested domain name(s) until they have been notified that the requested domain name has been registered.

If the Client's application is deemed fraudulent through a fraud detection and prevention mechanism in the domain registration process, Velvet Web may require the registering party to supply Photo Identification to verify their identity. Accepted Photo Identification methods are Passport or current Driver License.

Both the registration of the domain name and its ongoing use are subject to the relevant naming authority's terms and conditions of use and the Client is responsible for ensuring that they are aware of those terms and conditions, and do comply with them. The Client irrevocably waives any claims they may have against Velvet Web in respect of the decision of a naming authority to refuse to register a domain name and, without limitation, agree that the administration charge paid by the Client to Velvet Web shall be non-refundable in any event.

Velvet Web accepts no responsibility in respect of the use of a domain name by the Client and any dispute between the Client and any other individual or organisation regarding a domain name must be resolved between the parties concerned. Velvet Web will take no part in any such dispute. Velvet Web reserves the right, on our becoming aware of such a dispute, at our sole discretion and without giving any reason, to either suspend or cancel the domain name and/or to make appropriate representations to the relevant naming authority.

HOSTING/EMAIL/SECURE WEBPAGES/VIRUS PROTECTION

Velvet Web specifically exclude any warranty as to the accuracy or quality of the information received by any person via the Server and in no event will we be liable for any loss or damage to any data stored on the Server. The Client is responsible for maintaining insurance cover in respect of any loss or damage to data stored on the Server. The Client warrants to us that they will only use their assigned website for lawful purposes. In particular, the Client further warrants and undertake to Velvet Web that:

  1. they will not, nor will they authorise or permit any other person to, use the Server in violation of any law or regulation;
  2. they will not knowingly or recklessly post, link to or transmit any material;
    1. that is unlawful, threatening, abusive, harmful, malicious, defamatory, violent or teaching violence, obscene, pornographic, profane or otherwise objectionable in any way; or containing a virus or other hostile computer program;
    2. that shall constitute or encourage a criminal offense, give rise to civil liability or that violates or infringes any trademark, copyright, other intellectual property rights or similar rights of any person under the laws of any jurisdiction; and
  3. they will conform to the standards made available by Velvet Web from time to time and will not themselves, and will ensure that none of their end-users, make excessive or wasteful use of the Server to Velvet Web's detriment or that of our other customers. Velvet Web reserves the right to suspend your service at the time of service abuse prior notification and to terminate post 3 events of suspension of the service as a result of ongoing lack of resolution of the issue associated.
  4. the Client is responsible for sending mail in accordance with any relevant legislation, including but not limited to the Commonwealth Spam Act (2003) and for sending the same in a secure manner. Velve Web will take all reasonable steps to ensure accurate and prompt routing of messages but will not accept any liability for non-receipt or misrouting or any other failure of email. In the event of deliberate transmission of an unsolicited commercial email (UCE), Velvet Web reserves its right to terminate services without prior notification.
  5. the Client warrants, undertakes and agrees that:
    1. any transactions within their website which are contracts for the sale of goods or services will be between the Client as the merchant and their end-user customer, and the Client agrees that Velvet Web may include an exclusion of our liability in respect of such purchases and transactions in such form as we deem appropriate;
    2. the information contained within the Client's website will comply with all applicable law, and codes of practice governing the use of websites and related services, including, without limitation, those laws and/or codes of practice governing distance selling and data protection from time to time in force;
    3. the Client will keep secure any identification, password and other confidential information relating to their account and they will notify us immediately of any known or suspected unauthorised use of their account, or any known or suspected breach of security, including loss, theft or unauthorised disclosure of their password information. Notwithstanding such notification, the Client will be liable for any and all uses of their account (and website) notwithstanding any fraudulent or improper use of your password or any other access to any of the facilities Velvet Web offers which are not unauthorised use or access by us.
  6. Whilst Velvet Web shall use reasonable endeavors to ensure the integrity and security of the Server, including the Content Management System (CMS), we do not and cannot guarantee that the Server or CMS will be free from unauthorised users or hackers.
  7. Velvet Web does not warrant whatsoever that our virus protection services will stop every virus from reaching your computer network. We make no warranty that the service will be error-free or free from interruption of failure, and the company expressly disclaims any express or implied warranty regarding system and/or service availability, accessibility, or performance.
  8. Whilst we shall use best practices to ensure the integrity of your data is maintained upon website file transfer to our web servers, we cannot guarantee any data will not be lost.  We recommend the Client organise back up their own site and files prior to commencement of transfer.
  9. All hosting plans are subject to general resource and usage monitoring. The following usage items are expressly prohibited:
    1. Any action or process that unreasonably consumes resources degrading the shared environment for other users is subject to review. This includes but is not limited to the execution of scripts (PHP,ASP.NET,CGI/PERL, FTP, HTTP, database connections and the like).
    2. Running standalone, automated server-side processes including, but not limited to any daemon.
    3. Running any bit torrent application, tracker or client.
    4. Participating in file-sharing or other peer to peer sharing activity.
    5. Executing any script for longer than 180 seconds.
    6. Executing any database query that takes longer than 30 seconds to complete.
    7. Specifying cron tasks that execute more frequently than every 300 seconds.

Velvet Web reserves the right to host the Clients' website on Velvet Web web servers. We maintain a competitive structure similar to other Australian web hosting services offering server software and hardware of similar quality. For added security and data integrity, Velvet Web chooses to run email accounts on a separate dedicated email server, away from the website hostings.

CONTENT/COPY WRITING

The Client acknowledges that content/copy writing is an additional service and will be quoted accordingly, depending on size of website.

The Client acknowledges that work that is outlined within the quotation only will be carried out for that particular job. Any additional changes or content/copy writing required will be quoted upon and/or billed as a separate job.

Price includes one (1) final minor change post proofreading unless quoted otherwise.  Minor changes include spelling; grammar; consistency; and correction of any errors in the business, its services and/or product information. Content writing services are final and no refunds or credits are available once the service has been carried out. Any additional changes or content/copy writing required will be quoted upon and/or billed as a separate job.

PHOTOGRAPHY

The Client acknowledges that they will provide all images required within the website to Velvet Web, unless otherwise advised. Velvet Web will advise the Client if the images provided are not of an acceptable standard for the website build. Should the Client require Velvet Web to organise product photography or professional photography, they will advise us during consultation.

“Product photography” means images of products and/or goods.  Product photography requires etching and manipulation and will be quoted separately.

“Professional photography” means a professional artistic shoot and will be contracted to a professional photography contractor.

GRAPHIC DESIGN

Graphic Design refers to such things as: optimising or etching photos/images, creating/designing graphics, logo design, promotional and stationary material destined for print. Any additional graphic design work required will be discussed with the Client and quoted upon separately to the website.

OTHER CONDITIONS

Velvet Web reserves the right to use a third party contractor for services or any part thereof on behalf of Velvet Web.

The Client acknowledges that the services are to be provided by Velvet Web and that in the event that Velvet Web is unable for any reason to carry out or engage a contractor to carry out the service, Velvet Web is entitled to rescind this agreement within 21 days without penalty in which event any money paid by the Client shall be refunded in full.

The Client acknowledges that Velvet Web is not responsible for the operation and maintenance of the Client’s hardware and software, including operating system, browser, software updates, and any 3rd party software installed or used in the development of the product.

Velvet Web is not responsible for the Client’s data integrity, corrupt databases, service interruptions or internet downtime.

Website file and database backup and restore is an additional service that will be charged accordingly. 

The Client acknowledges that any images and fonts provided to Velvet Web and used in the design of the Client’s website are in fact owned by the Client and do not infringe any copyright law.

The Client acknowledges that Velvet Web is not responsible for any losses incurred by the Client in the event of a cyber attack, data breach, or misuse of their website or web application. In the event of any such occurrence where the website and/or data would need to restored from backup, the Client acknowledges that the restoration works will incur a fee.

CONDITIONS OF PAYMENT

The $649 website special: a 50% deposit is due due prior to the commencement of work and balance due prior to final design going live. The Client acknowledges that any additional work requested by the Client that does not form part of the special will be billed accordingly.

Web Support Plans and Web Support Blocks: Velvet Web reserves the right to change the pricing at their discretion.

All other web design and web development projects:

The Client acknowledges that prices quoted by Velvet Web are estimations only and that any additional work required, as requested by the Client or otherwise, will be billed accordingly.

A 40% deposit on estimated price prior to commencement of work is required. Deposit is non-refundable once service has commenced. Balance is due upon the final design going live. A progress payment may be requested at the discretion of Velvet Web.

Velvet Web prefers payment via Direct Deposit. Should the Client choose to pay via credit card, a surcharge will apply. The Client acknowledges that any fees associated with insufficent funds is payable by the Client.

Should the content required from the Client in order for Velvet Web to complete the service fail to be forthcoming within 10 working days after commencement of the design build, a progress payment will be requested by Velvet Web. The amount is discretionary depending upon the size and scope of the work.

Should content required from the Client in order for Velvet Web to complete the job fail to be forthcoming within 20 working days, the final payment will be requested by Velvet Web.

If any sum payable is not paid on or before the due date, Velvet Web reserves the right to suspend the service we are providing to the Client.

CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION

Velvet Web is committed to the information privacy principles contained in the Freedom of Information Act 1982 and the Information Privacy Act 2000.  Velvet Web will comply with the privacy principals contained in the Commonwealth Privacy Act 1988 (irrespective of whether or not they are legally binding on Velvet Web).  Velvet Web also agrees to comply with any directions regarding privacy given to Velvet Web by the Client or by a Privacy Commissioner that is relevant to the Contract between Velvet Web and the Client.