Terms of Service

Acceptance of Terms

By using this website or requesting services from Hamel Web Design, you agree to these Terms of Service.

If you do not agree, do not use the website or services.

Project-Specific Quotes and Written Agreements

These Terms apply generally to all services unless otherwise stated in writing.

Project-specific details such as scope, deliverables, pricing, included revisions, and timeline are governed by the accepted quote, proposal, invoice, or written agreement for that project.

To the extent of any conflict, the project-specific written agreement controls for that project.

Pricing and Payment Terms

Service pricing and schedule are defined by the active offer or written agreement for your project.

Fees are due according to agreed milestones or monthly billing dates. Past-due balances may delay service delivery, launch, updates, or support.

Payments already made are non-refundable.

For e-commerce projects, pricing is based on the specific scope approved in writing. Unless expressly included in an approved proposal, online store setup, product entry, product variant creation, print-on-demand integration, shipping and tax configuration, payment gateway setup, policy-page setup, and ongoing store administration are separate services and are billed or quoted separately.

For professional email projects, pricing is based on the setup type (forwarding, single inbox, or multi-inbox/team setup), number of addresses or users, third-party provider requirements, migration needs, repair work, and overall setup complexity. Provider subscription fees are not included unless expressly stated in writing.

Any pricing shown in the inquiry form or site preview is an estimate only and is not a binding quote. Final pricing is determined after review of the full submitted scope. Manual-review items, unusual requests, unclear scope, rebuild or transfer work, and similar requests may affect the final amount. Submitting the inquiry form does not guarantee that all requested work will be accepted at any estimated amount shown.

Monthly Hosting and Cancellation

Hosting and basic upkeep are billed month-to-month.

The client may cancel monthly service with at least 14 days written notice before the next billing date.

If monthly service is canceled and no transfer or buyout is purchased, the website may be removed from hosting at the end of the paid service period.

Project Timelines, Delays, and Inactive Projects

Project timelines depend on timely client responses, content, approvals, and required access.

If client materials, approvals, feedback, or required access are delayed, delivery or launch dates may also be delayed.

If a project becomes inactive for an extended period, it may be paused, rescheduled, or require an updated quote or restart fee before work resumes.

Third-Party Services and Licenses

Third-party tools, software, plugins, fonts, stock assets, hosts, registrars, and platforms are governed by their own terms and licenses.

E-commerce projects may rely on third-party systems including WordPress, WooCommerce, payment gateways and processors, shipping carriers, tax tools, and print-on-demand or fulfillment services such as Printful. Hamel Web Design is not responsible for outages, API or policy changes, account holds or reviews, payment holds, fulfillment delays, shipping carrier issues, or service interruptions caused by third-party providers.

Some third-party components may not be transferable, and third-party costs, including gateway fees, transaction fees, paid plugin or app fees, fulfillment charges, taxes, and shipping charges, are the client’s responsibility unless otherwise agreed in writing.

Client Responsibilities

The client is responsible for providing timely materials, approvals, and account access needed to complete and maintain services.

The client represents they have the right to use all provided text, photos, logos, testimonials, and other materials submitted for the project.

The client is responsible for the accuracy and legality of all business information they provide for publication.

For e-commerce projects, the client represents they have the right to use, sell, publish, distribute, and reproduce all product designs, print files, product text, images, trademarks, logos, testimonials, and other materials submitted for store setup or product creation.

For e-commerce projects, the client is responsible for the legality, accuracy, and appropriateness of all products, product descriptions, claims, pricing, and marketing content used in the store.

Standard Sections

A standard section is a normal content block that fits the site’s usual 1-page layout patterns. Examples include intro, about, services, pricing, photos, testimonials, FAQ, and contact.

The base plan includes up to 7 standard sections. Each additional standard section beyond 7 is +$50.

Standard sections use existing layout and style patterns. Unusual section requests, custom layouts, advanced interactive elements, or more involved content structures may require separate review and may affect pricing.

Website Integrations

Integrations and features are organized into the following categories:

Included basics — Common features such as a contact form, phone click-to-call, social links, and external links are included and do not count toward the integration cap.

Basic integrations — Up to 4 basic integrations are included. Examples include Google Maps, a reviews embed, payment links, and video or calendar embeds. Each additional basic integration beyond 4 is +$25.

Advanced integrations — Each selected advanced integration is +$50. Examples include booking system embeds, newsletter signup tools, chat widgets, and CRM form embeds.

Manual review — Unusual integrations or special requests are not automatically priced. They require separate review and may affect final pricing.

A simple button or text link to an outside booking, ordering, or client portal page is treated as a standard included element. An embedded booking or scheduling system that loads directly on the page is treated as an advanced integration (+$50).

Policy Page Drafting

Plain-English policy page drafting or adapting is +$50 per page. This applies when Hamel Web Design writes or adapts policy wording for the site.

No drafting charge applies when the client provides complete, final, ready-to-publish wording. Notes, rough ideas, bullet points, copied fragments, or incomplete text do not qualify as final ready-to-publish wording.

This service is plain-English website wording only. It is not legal advice, legal review, or a guarantee of legal compliance. The client remains responsible for obtaining legal review if needed for their specific situation.

On-Page SEO

The base website package includes basic on-page SEO. This generally covers items such as page title, headings, basic meta description, image alt text, and simple local keyword placement based on information the client provides.

More in-depth SEO is not included in the base package. This includes keyword research, competitor research, content strategy, technical SEO, ongoing optimization, backlink work, reporting, and similar broader SEO services. More in-depth SEO is a separate service.

Client Review and Approval Before Launch

The client is responsible for reviewing and approving final content before launch or publication.

This includes, as applicable, spelling, pricing, product details, links, images, policies, and other client-provided or client-approved materials.

Once approval is given, or launch occurs based on client-provided or client-approved materials, responsibility for those content-level details remains with the client.

Domain Ownership and Access

The client is responsible for purchasing and renewing their own domain name.

The client must provide and maintain delegated administrative access required for setup, connection, DNS changes, and ongoing service operation.

If required delegated access is removed, restricted, or unavailable, service quality and delivery may be impacted, paused, or terminated.

Store Operations, Merchant Responsibilities, and Compliance

The client remains the merchant of record for their store unless otherwise expressly stated in writing. The client owns and controls their payment processor and merchant accounts and enters and maintains their own financial, tax, payout, and billing details.

The client is responsible for store operations and compliance, including product pricing, taxes, shipping settings, refund and return policies, legal disclosures, customer service, chargebacks, fraud monitoring, and payment disputes.

Hamel Web Design may receive delegated setup or administrative access when needed, but does not handle customer funds and does not provide legal, tax, accounting, or regulatory advice.

Fulfillment, Third-Party Platforms, and E-Commerce Integrations

Hamel Web Design does not guarantee fulfillment speed, inventory availability, shipping times, delivery dates, carrier performance, product availability, or third-party platform uptime. If fulfillment, shipping, or print-on-demand integrations are configured, the client remains responsible for customer-facing shipping and fulfillment representations.

Unless separately agreed in writing, Hamel Web Design is not responsible for handling customer returns, refunds, exchanges, lost or damaged shipment claims, payment disputes, chargebacks, fraud claims, customer support communications, or ongoing store administration after launch.

Rebuilds or migrations to other platforms are separate paid work under the existing Transfer / Buyout Terms and Transfer Assistance and Migration Work sections.

Professional Email Setup Services

Hamel Web Design may provide professional email setup as a standalone service or as part of a website project.

Email setup may include creation of branded role addresses or aliases on the client’s domain, forwarding those addresses to the client’s existing inbox, and related DNS or mail record setup as needed.

The exact scope depends on the option selected, the client’s domain and DNS condition, the provider being used, and any preexisting setup issues.

Email Ownership, Subscriptions, and Admin Access

The client owns their domain, email addresses, and any third-party email subscription or account unless otherwise stated in writing.

For a simple forwarding-to-an-existing-inbox setup, a separate paid mailbox subscription may not be required. If the client wants a true standalone mailbox, synced sent mail, mailbox storage, provider-hosted business email, or a provider-specific plan, that third-party subscription is separate and is not included unless otherwise stated in writing.

If a paid provider such as Google Workspace or a similar service is used, the client is responsible for purchasing, maintaining, and renewing that subscription directly unless otherwise agreed in writing.

The client must provide and maintain the delegated access, administrative permissions, verification approvals, or account access reasonably needed to complete setup. If required access is delayed, removed, restricted, or unavailable, service quality and delivery may be impacted, paused, or terminated.

Hamel Web Design may receive temporary delegated access for setup purposes, but the client retains inbox ownership and billing responsibility, and Hamel Web Design does not provide ongoing inbox monitoring, customer correspondence handling, or day-to-day email management unless separately agreed in writing.

Email Forwarding and Third-Party Limitations

A forwarding setup routes incoming mail sent to branded addresses such as [email protected] into a client-selected existing inbox. Forwarding alone does not create a full separate mailbox.

A separate business inbox setup creates one or more email accounts with their own login through a third-party provider.

Some forwarding configurations may allow multiple branded addresses to route into one inbox, but a single branded address may not support delivery to multiple separate inboxes without additional tools or custom configuration.

A simple forwarding setup does not provide branded reply-from capability by itself. Unless a separate true mailbox or provider-hosted business email service is purchased as part of a different scope, replies will send from the client’s existing inbox address. Email routing, aliases, forwarding behavior, spam filtering, inbox placement, and reply behavior also depend on the provider, the client’s existing inbox settings, and third-party platform policies.

Hamel Web Design is not responsible for third-party provider restrictions, policy changes, blocked features, account holds, or provider-side compatibility issues, and does not guarantee uninterrupted service, inbox placement, spam filtering outcomes, or the availability of any third-party provider feature.

A basic forwarding service does not include logging into and fully managing the client’s personal inbox unless separately agreed in writing.

Email Migration, Cleanup, and Repair Add-Ons

Inbox cleanup, importing old mail, mailbox migration, folder reorganization, troubleshooting broken legacy setups, complex provider-to-provider moves, DNS cleanup or repair, and other advanced repair work are separate add-on services unless specifically included in the approved scope.

Simple cleanup or repair work may start at $25, but final pricing depends on complexity, account count, mailbox size, provider limits, and the condition of the existing setup.

A simple forwarding-to-an-existing-inbox setup is separate from larger migration, cleanup, troubleshooting, or ongoing email administration work.

Migration or repair work may require additional approvals, access, export steps, coordination with third-party providers, or written confirmation before work begins.

Intellectual Property and Website Ownership

The client owns preexisting materials they provide, including business name, logos, client-supplied text, and client-supplied images.

Unless otherwise agreed in a signed writing, Hamel Web Design retains ownership of website design, layout, code, structure, and other project files created for the build.

Transfer of ownership or expanded usage rights requires written transfer or license language.

Transfer / Buyout Terms

The initial 20-month term is used for pricing and transfer valuation only. It does not convert month-to-month hosting into a fixed-term hosting contract.

If the client requests transfer or ownership before the end of the initial 20-month valuation term, the client must pay all unpaid invoices plus a transfer/buyout fee of $100 + 50% of remaining monthly fees in the initial 20-month term.

After month 20, the transfer/buyout fee is $100 plus any unpaid invoices.

After all required transfer amounts are paid in full, Hamel Web Design will provide a reasonable transfer package and written transfer or license documentation as applicable.

Transfer Assistance and Migration Work

Transfer assistance is separate from the transfer/buyout fee and is billed at $50/hour with a 2-hour minimum.

This assistance may include export preparation, basic handoff instructions, DNS coordination, and communication with a new host.

Transfer assistance does not include rebuilding the website on a different platform unless separately agreed in writing.

Disclaimer of Warranties

Services are provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis to the fullest extent permitted by law.

Hamel Web Design does not guarantee uninterrupted service, error-free operation, specific business outcomes, ranking performance, or third-party platform availability.

Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, Hamel Web Design’s total liability arising from or related to services or these terms will not exceed the total amounts actually paid by the client under the agreement.

Hamel Web Design will not be liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages, including lost profits, lost revenue, lost data, or business interruption.

Indemnification

The client agrees to indemnify and hold harmless Hamel Web Design from claims, damages, losses, and expenses arising from client-provided materials, client misuse of services, or client breach of these terms.

Dispute Resolution and Venue

If a dispute arises, both parties agree to first attempt good-faith informal resolution through written notice and direct discussion.

If the dispute is not resolved within 30 days after written notice, either party may pursue remedies in a court of proper jurisdiction in Washington State.

Nothing in this section prevents either party from filing a qualifying claim in small claims court where permitted by law.

Suspension and Termination

Hamel Web Design may suspend or terminate services for nonpayment, abusive or unlawful use, loss of required delegated domain/admin access, or failure to provide required materials or approvals.

Suspension or termination does not waive the client’s responsibility for unpaid fees, applicable transfer charges, or other amounts due.

Changes to These Terms

These terms may be updated as services, business practices, or legal requirements change.

Updated terms become effective when posted, and the Last Updated date will be revised on this page.

Notices and Contact

A dedicated legal notice channel is not yet active and is marked as coming soon.

Until that channel is published, written communication should be clear, documented, and submitted through currently available site contact channels.

A dedicated legal notice contact method will be added in a future update to these terms.