By placing an order for a Firmly Care Plan with Caitlin Harrison Creative LLC dba Firmly Studio (“Company”), you (“Client”) confirm you are in agreement with and bound by the terms and conditions below.
The Purpose of This Plan
Our website maintenance plan is intended to keep your website optimized, protected, reported on, and safe while live on the interwebs.
Additionally, we are in your corner month to month as your “go-to webmaster” for any and all website content changes, tweaks, or additions within the scope of our monthly agreement.
Scope of Service
The scope of service month to month is determined by the plan you choose. The details of each plan tier and its scope of services are listed on the Care Plans page at firmlystudio.co and confirmed in your order confirmation. The plan tier selected on your order form controls the services included in your agreement.
All Care Plans Include
Weekly checks and updates to WordPress Core, Plugins, Themes, and security.
If updates to WordPress Core, Plugins, or Themes cause problems for the overall functioning of the website, the site will be rolled back to its state before the updates using the latest website backup. Company will then contact Client to discuss options to remedy the issue.
Daily backup of database and files.
Based on the plan chosen, the agreed-upon hours of website tech support and changes to existing website content, including blog posts, text, images, pages, forms, menus, etc. Time must be used in the month it was incurred; unused time does not roll over. If tech support requested exceeds allotted time, Client will be charged separately at Company's current hourly rate for additional time, billed in 30-minute increments.
Basic Care Plan DOES NOT Include
Addition of new pages, posts, forms, menus, or plugins.
Addition of new features to the website or modification of existing features.
Changes to the design of the website.
Installation of new WordPress plugins or themes.
Search engine optimization.
SSL certificate installation and maintenance (included when Company provides your hosting under a hosting plan).
Domain name changes.
Integrations or support of existing integrations.
Repair of website issues caused by Client. Any work required to remedy an issue where a change or update Client made to WordPress Core, Plugins, Themes, or Content caused problems to the overall functioning of the website will be discussed with Client beforehand and then charged separately at Company's current hourly rate.
Hosting Services
This section applies only to plans that include website hosting, as indicated on your order confirmation.
What's included. Company will host Client's website on managed WordPress hosting that Company selects and administers. Hosting includes server-level maintenance, SSL certificate installation and renewal, daily backups, and hosting-related technical support.
Uptime. We work hard to keep your website online and choose hosting partners with strong reliability track records. That said, every website depends on servers, networks, and third-party infrastructure, and occasional downtime is a reality of the internet — this agreement does not promise any particular uptime percentage. Any reliability commitments our hosting partners publish are between Company and those partners and are not part of this agreement.
If your site goes down. A website that will not load at all is an emergency (see Service Requests below). Email us and we will prioritize it, aiming to start work the same business day the request comes in. Non-emergency hosting questions are handled in the order received.
Update schedule. Routine software updates run weekly, and we schedule them for low-traffic hours when we can. Updates occasionally cause a brief blip on the site — that is normal, and we cannot promise it away.
Cancellation and migration. Client may cancel hosting with 30 days' written notice by email. Once the cancellation takes effect and the account is paid up, Company will hand Client a full copy of the website — every file plus the database — and cooperate reasonably with whoever is taking over so the move goes smoothly. The move itself is Client's (or their new webmaster's) responsibility; if Client wants Company to handle the migration hands-on, that work is available at Company's current hourly rate. Thirty (30) days after cancellation takes effect, the website comes off Company's hosting, and after that date Company no longer retains, or is responsible for, any copies.
Premium plugins and themes. Premium or paid plugins, themes, and templates used on Client's website may be covered under Company's licenses at no additional charge while Client remains on a hosting or care plan. If Client leaves the plan, Client becomes responsible for obtaining and paying for its own licenses for any premium tools the website uses.
Additional Work Outside the Monthly Time
If you choose a plan that offers allotted support time per month, this time covers updates, changes, tweaks, or basic add-ons to the current website. Additional work on the website for advanced functionality, design, new pages, additional sites, or work outside the website for your company can be agreed upon via a separate proposal or retainer of hours.
Cost / Payments
The cost of the monthly maintenance plan depends on the plan you choose for your website(s). Additional sites may be added at a multi-site discount; contact us to inquire about adding multiple sites.
Payments are collected either monthly or annually via an automatic, recurring credit card charge on the date you signed up for the plan. Special arrangements for larger installments, checks, or other payment methods can be arranged; contact us for options.
Failed or Late Payments
If a recurring charge fails, Company will notify Client by email, and Client will have seven (7) days to update their payment method or otherwise bring the account current. If the account remains unpaid fourteen (14) days after the original charge date, Company may suspend services — including hosting, updates, backups, and support — until the account is brought current. Client's website files will not be deleted during suspension; however, Company is not responsible for issues arising on the website while services are suspended. If an account remains unpaid for sixty (60) days, Company may treat the plan as cancelled by Client under the Termination section below.
Communication
By agreeing to our maintenance plan terms and conditions, you also agree to our communication boundaries for requesting website updates and any consultation calls. Please email [email protected] with any requests, unless otherwise specified.
Client Responsibilities
Client agrees to:
Provide Company with an Administrator account on the website.
Provide login information for the website domain and hosting (where hosting is not provided by Company).
Allow installation of Company's website maintenance plugin, and not deactivate, delete, or alter it.
Keep website passwords strong and unique to the site, and share logins only through secure means.
Give Company a heads-up before adding anyone new as an administrator on the website.
Leave plugin, theme, WordPress core, and code-level changes to Company — if Client wants something installed or changed at the software level, ask first and get written approval.
Website Breach or Hack
While we do our best to ensure that your website is protected, no site on the internet is 100% secure from breach, malware, or hacks due to the nature of servers and websites. In the unlikely event that your website is compromised, we will take care of restoring the website and remedying any blacklisting from Google at no extra charge to you.
Free restoration applies to incidents that happen despite Client holding up their end of this agreement. If the compromise traces back to something on Client's side — for example, a password reused from another service or passed along insecurely, software or code added to the site without Company's sign-off, work done by an outside person Client let into the site without telling Company, or a security step Company asked for that was skipped — the cleanup is billed at Company's current hourly rate instead. Company will always scope and estimate that work, and get Client's approval, before starting.
Service Requests
It is Client's responsibility to notify Company of any technical issues on the website and request service to remedy issues. Company will carry out work only where a written request is provided by email.
“Emergency” service requests are defined as follows:
Hack or disaster recovery requests.
Errors that render the site inaccessible (502, 504, White Screen of Death, etc.).
The following service requests are NOT considered an emergency:
PHP errors where the site is still accessible.
Changes to existing website content, including text, images, pages, forms, menus, etc.
Slow load times.
Website login issues.
Termination of Care Plan or Hosting Plan
Should you decide to leave the plan, you're welcome to do so, and we will make sure you have full control of your website. Upon termination, and provided all outstanding fees have been paid, Company will provide: (1) a full copy of your website — every file plus the database; (2) all website, domain, and hosting logins associated with your account; and (3) any domain information needed that's associated with your account.
You may cancel this contract at any time with 30 days' notice by providing written notice via email. No prorated refunds will be given, and service will continue through the end of the term in which the cancellation was made. Should you decide to cancel this agreement, you acknowledge that no refunds will be given on amounts you have already paid. You also authorize Company to charge your credit card or other payment method for any payments that remain outstanding.
Where Company provides hosting, website files will be removed from Company's hosting environment thirty (30) days after the effective cancellation date, as described in the Hosting Services section.
Company reserves the right to cancel this agreement at any time, for any reason. Should Company decide to cancel this agreement, you will be sent a cancellation notice via email and Company will provide the exit materials described above.
Liability Clause
Should you cancel or forgo our hosting and maintenance services, you assume full responsibility for the website and agree to our Liability Release, which removes us from responsibility for website security, performance, backups, and reporting.
Notice of Liability
We make every effort on our end to secure your payment information, details, and personal/company information. The programs we subscribe to for collecting payment, hosting the site, and running updates and optimization are third-party software providers and out of our control, though we only use and partner with trusted providers and trust our own information with these tools.
Privacy and Confidentiality
Client and Company agree all emails and other correspondence are to remain private. No terms of this contract are to be shared with anyone other than the parties involved. Pricing is strictly confidential.
Company understands that Client may provide confidential information about their business throughout the course of the engagement and agrees not to disclose that information to any third party or utilize it in any way without express consent from Client. Company is responsible for safeguarding confidential client information such as account numbers, passwords, and license keys.
Confidential and Proprietary Information
Each party acknowledges that information disclosed to it by the other in connection with this agreement is confidential and proprietary and shall remain the property of the disclosing party. Each party shall treat all information from the other as confidential and proprietary, and shall take all reasonable and necessary precautions to prevent such information from being made known or disclosed to any person or entity except in accordance with this engagement. If the receiving party is required by legal process or action of government agencies to disclose any information, it may do so, and shall promptly notify the other so the other may take whatever action it deems appropriate to protect such information against disclosure.
Confidential information does not include information, technical data, or know-how which: (a) is in the possession of the receiving party at the time of disclosure as shown by its files and records immediately prior to disclosure; or (b) prior to or after the time of disclosure becomes part of public knowledge or literature, not as a result of any action or inaction of the receiving party, or is approved for release by the disclosing party.
Company shall not be precluded from using data regarding Client received during the performance of this engagement in materials published by Company, provided that Client is not identified nor identifiable as the source of the data. Client shall treat as confidential all information, records, computer files, and documents of Company and handle and dispose of them in the same fashion as required of Company.
Independent Contractor
It is understood and agreed that Company is acting as an independent contractor in the performance of the services hereunder, and nothing herein contained shall be deemed to create an agency relationship between Company and Client.
Code of Fair Practice
Company warrants and represents that, to the best of its knowledge, the work assigned hereunder is original and has not been previously published, or that consent to use has been obtained on an unlimited basis; that all work or portions thereof obtained through the undersigned from third parties is original or, if previously published, that consent to use has been obtained on an unlimited basis; that Company has full authority to make this agreement; and that the work prepared by Company does not contain any scandalous, libelous, or unlawful matter. This warranty does not extend to any uses that Client or others may make of Company's product that may infringe on the rights of others. Client expressly agrees that it will hold Company harmless for all liability caused by Client's use of Company's product to the extent such use infringes on the rights of others.
Warranty and Limitation of Liability
Client warrants that Company's use of any and all materials furnished by Client hereunder will not violate or conflict with any U.S. intellectual property rights of any third persons including, but not limited to, copyrights, patents, and trademarks. Company warrants that the deliverables and all work products created for and provided to Client by Company will not violate or conflict with any U.S. intellectual property rights of any third persons including, but not limited to, copyrights, patents, and trademarks. Company further warrants that all services will be performed in a professional and workmanlike manner. Company makes no warranty with respect to third-party rights in any materials furnished to Company by Client. Except as set forth in this paragraph, neither party makes any express or implied representations or warranties, including but not limited to implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose.
Neither party shall be liable hereunder for special, indirect, consequential, or incidental losses or damages of any kind or nature whatsoever, including but not limited to lost profits, lost records or data, lost savings, loss of use of facility or equipment, loss by reason of facility shutdown or non-operation or increased expense of operations, or other costs, charges, penalties, or liquidated damages, regardless of whether arising from breach of contract, warranty, tort, strict liability, or otherwise, even if advised of the possibility of such loss or damage, or if such loss or damage could have been reasonably foreseen.
Except as otherwise expressly provided herein, damages shall be Client's exclusive remedy hereunder, and Company's liability hereunder, regardless of the form of action, shall not exceed the total amount paid for services under this agreement. Company's liability shall not be so limited with respect to injuries to persons or damage to tangible property arising out of the negligence or willful misconduct of Company or its subcontractors.
While performing tasks related to this contract, Company cannot accept liability for losses caused by the unavailability, malfunction, or interruption of Client's website. Company cannot guarantee that its work will be error-free, and so Company also cannot be liable to Client or any third party for damages, including lost profits, lost savings, or other incidental, consequential, or special damages arising out of the operation of or inability to operate this website and any other web pages, even if Client has advised Company of the possibility of such damages.
No action, regardless of form, arising under this agreement may be brought more than one year after the cause of action has arisen, except that an action for nonpayment may be brought within one year after the date of the most recent payment.
Dispute Resolution
Any disputes in excess of the maximum limit for small-claims court arising out of this agreement shall be submitted to binding arbitration before a mutually agreed-upon arbitrator pursuant to the rules of the American Arbitration Association. The arbitrator's award shall be final, and judgment may be entered in any court having jurisdiction thereof.
Client shall pay all arbitration and court costs, reasonable attorneys' fees, and legal interest on any award or judgment in favor of Company. All actions, whether brought by Client or by Company, will be filed in Company's state/county of business/residence. This contract is governed by the laws of the State of North Carolina and any applicable statutes held therein.
Entire Agreement
This agreement is the entire agreement between the parties with respect to its subject matter, and there are no other representations, understandings, or agreements between the parties relative to such subject matter. No amendment to, or change, waiver, or discharge of any provision of this agreement shall be valid unless in writing and signed by an authorized representative of the party against which such amendment, change, waiver, or discharge is sought to be enforced.
Acceptance of Terms
BY PLACING THIS ORDER, CLIENT AGREES THEY HAVE THOROUGHLY READ THROUGH THIS CONTRACT AND UNDERSTAND AND AGREE TO ALL ITS PARTS.