Thanks for your interest in Sweet Solutions. Please take time to read through these terms so you can familiarize yourself with our policies and procedures and make sure you are comfortable with them. ♥
Communication
All communication is done by email. Email is fast and easy and leaves a nice paper trail to fall back on, if needed. During design and development, we maintain steady and frequent contact with clients, provide regular project updates, and are readily available to answer any questions or concerns a client might have. Likewise, we ask clients to check their email regularly, respond quickly to routine requests for site content, and offer input and feedback on their projects in a timely manner.
New Project Questionnaire
We ask clients to complete a New Project Questionnaire. This questionnaire is an important first step in the design process. It not only describes the project and provides us with the information we need to prepare a formal quote, but it also shows us that the client is serious and, if they choose to proceed with the project, will be willing to work with us for a smooth, successful collaboration.
Formal Quotes
Our formal quotes are based on the information provided to us in the New Project Questionnaire. When a client chooses the take one of our design packages without adding anything extra, the project is complete at the listed price. There are no hidden fees. If a client chooses to add items to a package, the additional fees are reflected in the formal quote. We do not sweat the small stuff and will swap out smaller design elements for others that better suit the client’s needs. Quotes are good for fifteen (15) days. After fifteen (15) days the project is removed from our files, and a New Project Questionnaire would have to be completed again to re-initiate the process.
Contract
Before a project can begin, clients are required to sign a contract. Our contract is standard in the industry and essentially a copy of these Terms of Service and a project outline with the cost and estimated time frame. Contracts are sent via email as PDFs and considered ‘signed’ when the client replies to the email.
Payment
Most projects require full 100% payment prior to start. For larger custom projects, a 50% non-refundable down payment is required to begin the design process with the 50% balance due when the project files are ready to be uploaded to the client’s server. Additional fees incurred during design and development are billed separately and due upon receipt. We accept PayPal. In some cases, we will accept personal/business/bank checks or money orders from clients, but arrangements must be made beforehand. Payments sent by mail take longer to process and must clear our bank before we can start work. All funds are USD.
Waiting List
Projects are scheduled in the order in which contracts/payments are received. We only take on a limited number of projects at any given time. Because it is our policy to give clients our personal, undivided attention while working on their website’s layout, especially during the crucial design phase, there is sometimes a short delay in scheduling a new project due to previous commitments. Should this be the case, we will let you know.
Design Packages
We offer four (4) basic design packages. Each package comes complete with special features and popular design elements. We ask clients to select the package that best suits their needs and budget. More items can be added to a package, if desired. We don’t generally sweat the small stuff and will gladly swap out plugins and other design elements for others that best meet a client’s needs at little or no charge. However, adding major items not included in the original package—more pages, a shopping cart, recipe styling, photo gallery, or forms—requires more time and will increase the total cost of the project. Get a Quick Quote to see what a fully-loaded website might cost. Choosing not to use a design element that comes with a package will not reduce the cost of the package. If a package comes close, but does not quite fit, we will work with the client to help tailor the package to their specific needs.
Genesis Installation and Setup
We work with WordPress and Genesis themes only. WordPress is a free, open source content management system that provides a user-friendly/easy-to-manage admin panel for website owners. The Genesis Framework is a secure, search-engine-optimized foundation that enhances WordPress. For our projects, we use WordPress, the Genesis Framework, and a Premium WordPress Theme made specifically for Genesis. Cost of the Genesis Framework and Genesis theme (a $100+ value) are included in all of our design packages.
Brochure Website/Basic Blog
Setup for a brochure website or basic blog is limited to installing and setting up a Genesis theme “as-is” with enough customization to personalize the project. No significant layout modifications are made to the theme. Layout is based on both the theme demo and design package specifications. Enough content is added to sufficiently complete the HOME and inner pages per the project specifications. Making major changes to a layout falls under Customized Genesis Theme or Deluxe Custom Design.
Customized Genesis Theme
Customizing a Genesis theme gives it a fresh, new look while taking advantage of the special features and design elements that come with the theme. Layout changes are made based on the project specifications and client needs. Content is added to complete HOME and inner pages.
Deluxe Custom Design
We take a Genesis theme and create a completely custom look for the client. In some cases, we combine features and design elements from two or more different themes. With deluxe custom design, there is considerably more customization, design elements, special features, and pages. Content is added to complete the entire website.
Online Stores
Boutique stores are small online businesses with products or services that link directly to PayPal. To link to PayPal, the client must have an existing merchant account. We use WooCommerce to set up a boutique store. WooCommerce is a free, third-party plugin for WordPress. Genesis themes are coded to accept WooCommerce. We install the plugin and set up the store to integrate beautifully with the website. Set up is limited to installing the plugin, uploading five (5) products or services, configuring the product pages and shopping cart, and linking everything to PayPal. The client is responsible for management of the store, adding more products/services, and any troubleshooting issues that might arise after the project is finished. There is documentation and a support forum at the WooCommerce website. There are also additional plugins available for sale that extend WooCommerce capabilities. Clients must purchase these additional plugins themselves if they want to use them. There is no charge for us to install the additional plugins as long as they are purchased at the same time we are setting up the store.
Account Access and Login Information
Clients must agree to provide us with access to hosting and WordPress accounts, for as long as needed, for the sole purpose of WordPress/Genesis/theme installation and setup, setting up the database, uploading files/images/scripts, and design and development of the website or blog.
Time Frame
A time frame is the estimated amount of time needed to complete a project. The time frame for the project is carefully planned beforehand to allow for unforeseen delays and other situations that might affect the completion deadline. We work diligently and make every effort to complete a project within its time frame. It is important for us to finish on schedule because of the other projects we have waiting in queue. Thus, to prevent delays, a client must be available consistently to respond, within 1-2 days, to our requests for input and the content needed for their project. Special arrangements can be made for projects that need to be delayed due to illness or emergency.
Revisions/Change Orders
During design and development, a client is allowed three (3) rounds of revisions per page. After three rounds, each revision is timed and may be billed at our current hourly rate with a one (1) hour minimum. Work requested outside the original scope of the project, and not included in the contract, may result in additional fees.
Browser Compatibility
There are a lot of browsers out there and each browser has several different versions. We recommend that clients upgrade to the most-current browser versions being offered. Our custom websites and blogs, as well as the themes we use, are designed to meet industry standards that comply with the latest versions of Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Opera, and Safari. We cannot be responsible for inconsistencies that might appear if other or older browsers are being used.
Mobile Responsiveness
Our websites and blogs are designed to be mobile responsive. The mobile responsive design will reflect the look, colors, and fonts of your website or blog. There is no client input on the mobile responsive design.
WordPress and Other Platforms
We only work with WordPress websites that are self-hosted. In other words, clients must be signed up with a hosting service. We do not design websites or blogs for WordPress.com, Blogger/Blogspot, or Typepad platforms.
Portfolio
We reserve the right to add completed work, custom or otherwise, including screenshots, project information, and client testimonials to our website, portfolio, social media, and blog.
Copyright
Sweet Solutions and the developers, artists, and photographers, whose themes, images, photos, illustrations, and/or graphics are used on this website retain their full respective intellectual or exclusive ownership and copyrights. Clients are required to comply with U.S. Copyright Law, whether they live in the United States or not, and must provide source information for any and all images and/or photos they want to use on their websites. If purchased images are used, the seller’s terms must be followed. Required copyrights, credits, and a link back to Sweet Solutions must remain intact and be clearly displayed on all finished projects. No derivative work of copyrighted materials is permitted. Clients may not claim authorship of designs by Sweet Solutions. Finished projects designed by Sweet Solutions are not allowed to be made available in any collection, redistributed, or re-sold.
Support
We only offer support and service for websites we design. Unlimited customer support is included with each completed project. We will answer questions and guide clients through routine tasks, such as text edits and graphic swaps. We respond quickly to emails and try to help, but on weekends and holidays, there may be a delay in responding. If a client wants work done or something on the website fixed, there might be a fee. Our current hourly rate—with a half-hour minimum—applies. There are no fees for clients who have signed up for Site SweepTM Maintenance.
Hours of Operation
Monday through Friday. 4-5 hours a day (or more). Some weekends (as needed). No holidays.
Current Hourly Rate
Our current hourly rate is $100.
Warranty
All projects are offered “as-is” and without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, including, but not limited to, damages or other losses arising out of the client’s use of or inability to use WordPress, plugins or widgets, Genesis, the WordPress theme, or custom design.
Refunds
Due to the digital nature and amount of time and effort involved in creating a website or blog, we offer no refunds for any reason whatsoever.
Affiliate Links
There are no affiliate links on the Sweet Solutions website, and we do not earn any commission by using and/or recommending that our clients use WordPress, the Genesis Framework, Genesis or StudioPress themes, Huge It, Mailchimp, CFF, Adobe Acrobat Reader DC, InMotion hosting, et al.
Refusal of Service
Sweet Solutions reserves the right to refuse its design services, at its sole discretion, to anyone at any time for any reason, if we feel the project is not a good fit for us.
Acceptance of Terms
By contacting or hiring Sweet Solutions, you agree to the Terms of Service outlined above and the information in our Frequently Asked Questions, whether you’ve read them or not, as well as any policies and procedures not appearing on these pages, but included elsewhere on this website.
Our Terms of Service are subject to change without notice at any time.
Last updated 07 Mar 2021