Please read the following very carefully and then READ IT AGAIN so as to be completely aware of how High Heel Designs conducts business:
Please realize that while I AM the Queen of Customer Service, I am NOT an instructor or teacher.
If a client chooses to take care of their own site, I will assume that they either have the knowledge to do so, or they will learn elsewhere. I would love to be able to give in-depth instruction on how to do every thing associated with taking care of your website, but with the sheer number of clients I work with on a daily basis, it would be impossible.
It is your responsibility to familiarize yourself with the way your site works. I provide step-by-step instructions for the areas of your site that you can update yourself (your calendar, photos, etc.) and recommend that you ASK for these instructions, then PRINT these instructions so as to follow them easier. I am also here to help whenever you need me, but be aware that "helping" is different than doing it for you.
I stand behind my work and I will repair anything that was MY mistake in the initial design and setup of a site; I do free updates on WP and the plugins, as well as free banner/link changes on the client’s index page and/or banner page.
It is your responsibility to be available to me via email. I do all site related correspondence via email for accuracy, so the sooner you respond to my emails, the sooner your project/update will be done. Email avoids confusion over the details that we've discussed and agreed upon. Telephone communication is available if absolutely necessary and/or in certain situations/circumstances. Once we start a project, I will make my telephone number available to you.
If you fail to answer emails in a timely manner, out of fairness to my other clients, your project will be replaced and I will fit you in when I can.
High Heel Designs will not start any project without all the necessary materials (i.e., photos, banners, text, etc.)
Your initial design package includes a total of 40 hours, which is MORE than enough to design and complete a standard website. If your project goes over the initial 40 hours, you WILL be billed an additional $20/hr (50% off my current hourly rate). This is to cut down on "project drift" and to keep your project from straying from the specifics.
Turn around time depends on how many other projects are ahead of yours and my current design schedule. It also depends on the complexity of your project. I will give you an approximate finish date when we begin and will do my best to meet that finish date. However, I CANNOT guarantee deadlines as each project and each client is unique.
If you choose to take care of the site yourself, I assume that you either have the knowledge to do so, or you will learn elsewhere. With the size of my current client-list, I do not have the time to teach each individual client more than the basics as how to maintain their own site, but I do include instructions on how to update the various areas of your site.
There may be areas of your site that you cannot update yourself unless you are familiar with HTML and CSS and have the proper programs to do so (an ftp program, a graphics program, etc). I will make you aware of these areas, if they exist, before we begin production. More extensive changes/updates are charged out at my $40/hr rate plus the actual fee of the service.
Once a design is agree upon and installed on your server, the contract between High Heel Designs and the client is complete. Any additional work will be completed at my regular $40/hr rate or via a new quote, ie: additional plugins, buttons, banners, fixing damaged coding, etc.
Due to my low prices, you will have only TWO major revisions to the design, so please makes notes about what you like and don’t like and what you want changed. Multiple, “move-it-up-a-bit” changes and numerous, minor text changes cannot be accommodated unless you are willing to pay for the extra time.
All projects require a NON-REFUNDABLE 100% payment in full before any work will begin.
I never see clients face to face, have no idea (in most cases) what their real name is and have absolutely NO WAY to force payment owed me in the event the client walks away from the project.
My pricing structure is NO DIFFERENT than any other escort industry web designer's and in many cases it is MUCH LOWER.
Major structural changes to your website, however minor, cannot be made free of charge once your original design is approved. I DO offer FREE text and banner updates AT ALL TIMES, but any other changes or updates take time and I must charge for them. Please afford me the professional courtesy you expect from your own clients - don't expect me to work for nothing and don't expect more than what you've paid for.
It is NOT my intention to insult any current or potential client, I am only asking for the same consideration you would show any other service professional that you deal with.
Intial projects include 40 hrs of labor, which is more than enough time to finish a standard sized website. Once your project goes over the alloted 40 hrs, I WILL give you sufficient indication, any additional work is charged out at my standard $40/hr rate.
All additional work is charged out at my standard $40/hr rate, plus actual service charge (i.e., if you want me to add a mailing list, the charges would be $50 for the mailing list plus $40 for the hour it would take to install and set it up).
Free site maintenance is performed on Thursdays and Fridays from 9am-5pm CST; PLEASE SUBMIT ANY FREE MAINTENANCE REQUESTS Monday through Wednesday, NO LATER THAN 5 pm CST.
Any changes that are requested or expected before Thur/Fri will be subject to normal charges. This includes downloading the page[s] needing to be updated, maintenance of these pages and re-uploading the edited pages to your host. I WILL NOT BEGIN ANY REQUESTED WORK UNTIL THE QUOTED PRICE IS PAID. I regret having to resort to that, but my time is as important as yours.
Because it is more difficult to comb through code to find someone else's error, repairing any code that has been changed by anybody but High Heel Designs is $60/hr and billable in hourly increments.
Your inability to understand HHD's policies and procedures IS NOT considered poor business practice on my part. I make a concentrated effort to explain every expectation and procedure to you before and during the creation of your project; my expectations of you as a client are VERY clear. I will not be held accountable if you fail to understand how the process works.
I accept rush work on a case by case basis. Rush work WILL BE billed at a rate of $60/hour ($90/hr on weekends). A 50% deposit of the estimated amount will be required before any work begins. At the time the job is approved I will supply an estimated completion time and work requested will begin immediately.
A word about emergencies. As many of you know first-hand, if you have to have your site taken down for any reason, I will do so free of charge. Your privacy and safety is of the utmost importance to me.
There is a minor charge of $75 if/when I put the site back up to cover the 2+ hours of my time that it takes to do so.
If there is anything extra involved in putting the site back up (i.e., major text changes, photo swaps, setting up new hosting or registering a new domain, there WILL be extra charges).
High Heel Designs promises that every project is fully operational in the five "big" browsers - Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari, Opera & Google Chrome.
Your inability to understand how your site works even after explanation from me IS NOT considered malfunction. However, in the event that your website is inoperational due to a mistake on my part, I WILL make repairs at no additional charge.
HHD makes every effort to design websites that display acceptably in Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari, Opera and Chrome's current browser versions; HHD cannot accept responsibility for pages which do not display properly on versions of browsers released after the project is completed.
HHD will not accept responsibility for websites that do not perform properly on any browser older than those currently featuring in the top 90% of browsers based on figures published at http://www.3schools.com.
HHD designs all sites with industry standard guidelines in mind for an overall acceptable website. HHD makes every effort to keep current with acceptable design standards. ACCEPTABLE DESIGN STANDARDS CANNOT MEET ALL REQUIREMENTS OF ALL BROWSERS, HTML EDITORS, SEARCH ENGINES OR OTHER INTERNET SYSTEMS AND STANDARDS.
What does this mean for you in plain English? It is NOT my responsibility if YOU or A HANDFUL of YOUR viewers aren't seeing the design of your project the way it is meant to display if YOU or a viewer is using an old computer or an old browser or settings on your computer and/or browser that are not standard.
Life is hard and things come up - I know that first hand. However, in fairness to my other clients, you are allowed only one reschedule of your project. You will be given thirty days to re-schedule; anything longer and your original quote will be null and void and your project will be charged out at High Heel Designs's current rates.
Anything created for your project belongs to you once final payment is made. For the record, it is common, legal practice for designers/creators of any kind to hold the final copyright to any creation, but I feel that if you pay for it, it is YOURS.
A link back to High Heel Designs will be placed on the bottom of your index page and MUST stay intact. High Heel Designs retains the right to display your website in any online portfolio, as well. Any designs created by High Heel Designs and refused by the client, remain the copyright of High Heel Designs.
My general business hours are Monday - Fri 9am-5pm CST. If you require work on evenings, weekends or holidays, you WILL BE charged $90/hour with a one hour minimum, PLUS individual charges. This does not include an emergency situation.
Payment options – please email me regarding the various payment options available to you