Definitions:
The Client : The company or individual requesting the services of Design M.
Design M: Primary designer/site owner & employees or affiliates.

Design M will carry out work only where an agreement is provided either by email, telephone or mail. Design M will carry out work only for clients who are 18 years of age or above. An 'order' is deemed to be a written or verbal contract between Design M and the client; this includes telephone and email agreements.

Design
The client agrees to make available as soon as is reasonably possible to Design M all materials required to complete the site to the agreed standard and within the set deadline.

Conceptualising is the process of producing website and design concepts for clients, which can include site mock ups, graphics and design proposals. The client agrees that (unless specifically agreed otherwise) only one concept will be provided by Design M. In order to provide an appropriate design, the client should therefore ensure that they have provided any colour scheme, artwork and design requirements beforehand. Design concepts and associated graphics remain the property of Design M unless otherwise agreed.

Any additions to briefs provided will be carried out at the discretion of Design M and Design M reserve the right to charge an according amount for any correction to these or further additions.

An HTML page built from a graphic design may not exactly match the original design because of the difference between the display in design software and the rendering of HTML code by internet browser software. The Client agrees that Design M can apply a nearest available alternative solution to try and match the design as closely as is possible when building the code.

Design M will not be liable for any costs incurred, compensation or loss of earnings due to errors in copy used on design work, whether it is copy provided by the Client or by us. It is the Client’s full responsibility to check all completed design work thoroughly for errors (including, but not limited to: spellings, grammar, content meaning, ambiguity, contact details, telephone numbers, fax numbers, email addresses, website addresses, prices of products and services), before using the design in a promotional way, or by sending the design to a printer, etc. If we are required to send a design directly to a printer on behalf of the Client, we will require approval in writing first (usually via email) from the Client, to confirm the design is approved and ready for printing.

Design M cannot take responsibility for any copyright infringements caused by materials submitted by the client. We reserve the right to refuse any material of a copyrighted nature unless adequate proof is given of permission to use such material.

Design M will not be liable or become involved in any disputes between the site owner and their clients and cannot be held responsible for any wrongdoing on the part of a site owner. E.g. Any disputes regarding content/images that have been provided to us for inclusion on the site.

Design M endeavours to create web pages that are search engine friendly, however, due to external factors, such as changes to the way search engines rank websites, we cannot offer any guarantees regarding whether the site will become listed with search engines or of certain position achieved in the search results. We cannot accept liability for any change in rankings, or drop off in the position of your website due to changes in the algorithms of the search engines or the factors that they use to rank websites.

Design M has no control of, or responsibility for, the content of our Client's websites. In no way does the textual or image based content of our Client's websites constitute Design M’s endorsement, or approval of the website or the material contained within the website. Design M has not verified any of the materials, images or information contained within our Client's websites and is not responsible for the content or performance of these sites or for the client's transactions with them. Design M may provides links or references to our Client's websites solely for the convenience of prospective customers and intends that the links it provides be current and accurate, but we do not guarantee or warrant that such links will point to the intended Client site at all times.

Design M will not be liable for any costs incurred, compensation or loss of earnings due to the unavailability of the site, its servers, software or any material provided by its agents.

Design M reserves the right to assign subcontractors in whole or as part of a project if needed.

Images
Certain images provided by Design M for use on a website may have been purchased under licence from stock image suppliers. These images are generally only licensed for use on a website. The licence may not permit them to be used in other publicity material. The client is legally responsible for ensuring that this does not happen. If the Client wishes to use any such images from the website for other purposes they are required to contact Design M for clarification. The client agrees to meet all third party costs arising from the purchase of stock photography as well as any administration fees relating to the procurement of images imposed by Design M.

Website development
The Client agrees that it is their responsibility to have regular backups of their website and software made by themselves or third party services in case of a software or hardware failure.

Any scripts, cgi applications, php scripts, or software (unless specifically agreed) written by Design M remain the copyright of Design M and may only be commercially reproduced or resold with the permission of Design M.

Whilst every endeavor will be made to ensure that the website and any scripts or programs are free of errors, Design M cannot accept responsibility for any losses incurred due to malfunction, the website or any part of it. The ultimate responsibility lies with the client in ensuring that all software is functioning correctly before use.

Where applications or sites are developed on servers not recommended by Design M, the client is expected to provide or seek any information, additional software, support or co-operation pertaining to the server required in order for the application to be correctly developed. Where large applications are to be developed, it is the client’s responsibility to provide a suitable testing environment which is identical to the final production environment.

The client is expected to test fully any application or programming relating to a site developed by Design M before being made generally available for use. Where "bugs", errors or other issues are found after the site is live, Design M will endeavor (but is not obliged to) to correct these issues to meet the standards of function outlined in the brief.

Design M will endeavor to ensure that any developed/designed site or application will function correctly on the server it is initially installed in and that it will function correctly when viewed with the web browsing software Microsoft Internet Explorer Version 6 and to an acceptable level with Mozilla browsers. Design M can offer no guarantees of correct function with all browser software.

Project completion
Design M will provide the Client with an expected project completion date, if requested. We will endeavour to meet any given deadline but we do not guarantee and are not bound in any way to complete the project by this date. Design M will not be liable for costs incurred, compensation or loss of earnings due to the failure to meet agreed deadlines.

After site completion, the Client or a third party of their choosing may wish to edit their website code themselves to make updates. However, the Client agrees that in so doing they assume full responsibility for any issues which occur as a result of changing the code themselves. If Client or a third party of their choosing edits the web site code and this results in functionality errors or the page displaying incorrectly, then Design M reserves the right to quote for work to repair the website. Design M will not be liable for any costs incurred, compensation or loss of earnings due to the work carried out on behalf of the client or any of the clients appointed agents.

Payment
A non-refundable deposit of 50% is required with all of our projects before any design work will be carried out. It is the Design M policy that any outstanding accounts for work carried out by Design M or its affiliates are required to be paid in full, no later than 14 days from the date of the invoice, unless by prior written arrangement with Design M.

Once a deposit is paid and work completed you are obliged to pay the balance of payment in full. We will contact clients via email and telephone to remind them of such payments if they are not received when due.

If accounts are not settled or Design M have not been contacted regarding the delay, access to the related website may be denied and web pages removed. Following consistent non payment of an invoice our Solicitors will contact the client in question, with a view to taking the matter further and if need be to seek payment through legal procedures, and if necessary court summons.

Once full payment is received, it is assumed that the project has been completed to the client’s satisfaction and no refunds can be offered.

Websites will be handed over as a fully functioning, completed work. Unless it has been agreed beforehand, Design M is not responsible for support. Support can be provided upon request for an agreed fee.

The website, graphics and any programming code remain the property of Design M until all outstanding accounts are paid in full.

Travelling time to and from customer premises or other meeting places is not included in any quotations or estimates.

Your privacy
We do not share or sell any of your details with third party companies.

Complaints procedure
Anyone who experiences a problem with the service provided by Design M should raise the matter directly with us, giving sufficient information to locate the material (such as an URL) and clearly outlining the grounds for complaint. Design M will then aim to resolve the matter to the satisfaction of the complainant.