+27 711 939 494 connect@flashstoneweb.com

CLIENT SERVICE AGREEMENT FOR FLASHSTONE MEDIA SERVICES

ADDENDUM A – TERMS & CONDITIONS

  1. OWNERSHIP
    • Ownership of the website and all assets and content contained therein transfer to the client once payment has been made for the website development in full.
    • FlashStone Media shall not be held liable for any non-original, unlicensed or inappropriate content posted by the client.
  2. PAYMENT
    • Once the quotation has been accepted by the client and the website specification has been drawn up and approved, the client will be invoiced for 40% of the total amount.
    • On handover of the first draft of the website, the client will be invoiced a further 40% of the total amount.
    • The final payment of 20% will be due on completion of the website as per the client’s requirements, and the website is live.
    • Should the final payment not be received within 10 working days of final invoicing, FlashStone reserves the right to restrict access to the website for public view.
  3. PRIVACY
    • FlashStone Media will never distribute a customer’s name, contact details or other personal information to any third parties.
    • FlashStone Media does not retain or record customer passwords for website access.
  4. TERMINATION
    • Should FlashStone Media terminate this agreement during the Build process, the first 40% deposit shall be refunded.
    • Should the project not continue as a result of circumstances on the side of the client, a portion of the deposit may be reimbursed, dependent on the work completed such as: pre-production, account setup, hosting and domain setup, installation of platform and builder, consultations and project research.
    • On termination the site reverts to the client and will be handed over as is.
    • The Divi theme licence, and other third party software if applicable, does not transfer, and client will need to either purchase their own licence or use a different design theme or platform.
  5. ACCEPTABLE USE AND CONTENT
    • The client is responsible for the style and nature of hosted content including obtaining legal permission for any works they include and ensuring that the contents of these pages do not violate any law or infringe upon any copyright, local or international.
    • FlashStone Media reserves the right to deny or remove content that FlashStone Media, in its sole discretion, determines to be unlawful, indecent or objectionable, including but not limited to hate speech, incitement to violence, illegal activities, harm to minors, threats, harassment, fraudulent activity, forgery or impersonation, unsolicited commercial email, copyright or trademark infringement, harmful code and distribution of viruses.
  6. THIRD PARTY SITE MANAGEMENT
    • Where FlashStone Media is engaged to work on a website that was not originally developed by us, the following terms apply:
    • Pre-existing design and technical factors
      We did not build the site and therefore cannot be fully aware of the design choices, code decisions, or technical considerations made during its creation or throughout its lifespan. While we will take reasonable care to understand its workings, there may be hidden issues or limitations that only become apparent during our management.
    • Unforeseen issues and remedial actions
      Should unforeseen problems arise, we will raise these with the client as they come to light. Where necessary, we may attempt fixes or, if required, roll back to previous data and file backups. FlashStone is not liable for any transactions, data, or updates lost due to such rollbacks.
    • Third-party hosting
      If the site is hosted with a third-party provider not under our control, the client must either:
      • grant FlashStone appropriate authority with the hosting provider so that we can liaise with them directly; or
      • be available to liaise with the provider on our behalf.
    • Site maintenance responsibility
      FlashStone is not responsible for issues arising from sites that have not been properly maintained. This includes (but is not limited to) outdated versions of WordPress, plugins, themes, or server configurations. Furthermore, we are not responsible for any issues, downtime, or breakages that may occur as a direct result of the process of bringing an outdated or unmaintained site up to a proper and current operating level.
    • Limitation of responsibility
      Our responsibility is limited to the work directly carried out by FlashStone. We cannot accept liability for defects, failures, or vulnerabilities that originate from third-party development, hosting environments, or historical site management practices.

ADDENDUM B:  HOSTING & DOMAIN MANAGEMENT

  1. HOSTING RELIABILITY
    • FlashStone Media has selected a reputable hosting company to place its dedicated servers. However, the client acknowledges that the hosting service is of such a nature that the service can be interrupted from time to time for many reasons beyond the control of FlashStone Media. Therefore, the client agrees that FlashStone Media cannot be held liable for any damages arising from interruption of their web service.
  2. HOSTING SERVER
    • The client site will be hosted on a FlashStone Media dedicated server, unless otherwise arranged.
    • Server resources are set so that the website runs at optimum capacity, and can be increased should traffic increase.
    • Disk space and bandwidth is allocated as per available server resources. FlashStone Media will use reasonable discretion to determine when a particular website has exceeded their quota of bandwidth and/or disk space. Should a FlashStone Media client require large amounts of disk space and/or bandwidth, FlashStone Media reserves the right to levy an additional charge. FlashStone Media will notify the client in advance should such a charge become necessary.
    • Should our server prove to be insufficient over time, FlashStone Media will recommend moving your website to its own dedicated managed server.
  3. HOSTING COSTS
    • Hosting costs are included in the Support and Management service (see Addendum C below)
    • Should you elect to use a different content management company, a monthly hosting fee will be charged by FlashStone Media.
  4. EMAIL
    • Up to 30 email mailboxes and unlimited aliases are available at your domain. Additional email accounts can be added on request. 
    • FlashStone Media does not retain or record email passwords, but we can reset passwords should they be lost.
    • Domain email is limited to 8 GB across all mailboxes at all addresses at your domain on the server at any given time. Should this limit be exceeded additional over-use fees will be levied. For users with more than 30 email accounts, this limit will can be adjusted.
    • POP3 email download will remove mail from our server. IMAP keeps all mail on the server.  Should you elect to use IMAP for your mail handling, please ensure that regular deletions are performed.
  5.  EMAIL COMMUNICATION AND PAYMENT VERIFICATION
    • The Client acknowledges that email is not a fully secure method of communication and may be vulnerable to interception or manipulation by third parties.
    • The Client is responsible for verifying the authenticity of any correspondence that contains banking information or payment instructions. This includes checking that the sender’s email address is correct and originates from the payee’s official domain, and confirming all banking details directly with the payee by telephone or other verified means before making any payment.
    • FlashStone Media accepts no liability for any loss, damage, or erroneous payments made as a result of the Client’s failure to verify the authenticity of communication or banking information prior to making payment to a supplier with whom they do business.
  6. DOMAIN MANAGEMENT
    • Your domain will be renewed annually.
    • A .com or other top-level domain will be billed according to the USD price at the time, converted to your currency, plus a handling fee.
  7. SUPPORT
    • FlashStone Media provides technical support, limited to FlashStone Media’s area of expertise. This includes web pages, hosting, email hosting, email account settings, web trends and best practice. FlashStone Media may also advise on social media, mass mailings and blogs.
    • FlashStone Media support does NOT include clients’ internet connectivity, desktop support, email software support, email account setup, lost data, and general computing queries.
  8. BACKUP
    • Data and files stored on the hosting servers are backed up daily. However, this is not a guaranteed service. It is recommended that client keeps independent copies of all information, images, etc.
    • FlashStone Media accepts no responsibility for any loss of data however incurred.
  9. CANCELLATION OF SERVICE
    • Notification of cancellation of the hosting and domain management service is to be sent to admin@flashstonemedia.com with a required notice period of thirty (30) days.
    • On the date of termination all data including web pages and email will be deleted from the server. Personal client data is also deleted.
    • It is the client’s responsibility to ensure that all data is transferred to the new host before the termination date.

 

ADDENDUM C:  WEBSITE SUPPORT AND MANAGEMENT SERVICE

 

  1. SUPPORT SERVICES
    • FlashStone Media Support includes content updates for website pages and products as per the package selected in the quote above. Please mark your selected support package with an X in the appropriate box. Note that website support is managed by our division, SuperSupport.
    • All content update requests should be emailed to help@supersupport.co.za.
    • Normal support requests will be actioned within 5 working days. For expedited requests, please add “IMPORTANT” or “URGENT” to the subject line. Important requests will be actioned within 2 days and “Urgent” requests will be actioned on the same day during normal business hours: 09:00 – 17:00.  Note that “Urgent” requests only apply to emergency situations and should not be abused.
    • Detailed timesheets can be provided and we keep the client updated with time spent. Additional content updates over and above the agreed hours are billed at R950 per hour or part thereof (or as specified on your individual quotation).
    • Should a content update be required for a specific date, the client should stipulate the deadline and supply content 5 days prior to the deadline.
  2. EXCLUSIONS
    • Content updates exclude wholesale design or structure changes to the client’s website.
    • FlashStone Media Support does not include clients’ internet connectivity, desktop support, email software support, email account setup, lost data, and general computing queries.
  3. INDEMNITY
    • FlashStone Media shall not be held liable for any non-original, unlicensed or inappropriate content posted by the client.
    • Clients specifically agree to indemnify and hold harmless FlashStone Media, its officers, employees, ISPs, subcontractors, partners, agents, and affiliates or other partners, from any claim or demand, including reasonable attorney’s fees, made by any third party due to or arising out of content supplied by the client, made available or transmitted through the FlashStone Media service.
  4. CANCELLATION OF SERVICE
    • Notification of cancellation of the support and management service is to be sent to admin@flashstonemedia.com with a required notice period of thirty (30) days.
    • On termination of the support and management service, the WordPress site will be handed over to the client. Note that theme and plugin software licenses will not be transferred. The new web developer or content manager should install their own license keys.
    • On the date of termination all data pertaining to website access and user information accrued by FlashStone Media Media will be deleted from our business database. Personal client data is also deleted unless the hosting service continues.