Terms and Conditions

1 : Payment

1.1 : Website Design and Development

Unless otherwise agreed, a deposit of one half of the total fee will be payable upon your acceptance of a quotation for the design, development or construction of a website.

The deposit will be non-refundable, except in the very unlikely event of Lab 99 Web Design being unable to create your website.

Payment of a deposit will signify your satisfaction with the proposed design and structure of the website. Once work has begun on that design and structure, any changes which entail substantial extra work will require a new quotation and either the payment of another deposit or the payment of an hourly fee.

The remainder of the fee will be payable upon your acceptance of the finished website. If full payment has not been received within the period specified on our invoice, we reserve the right to disable the website until full payment has been received.

1.2 : Updating a Website

Unless otherwise agreed, the full fee will be payable upon your acceptance of a quotation for updating a website.

1.3 : Web Hosting

The full annual fee will be payable in advance. Fees will not be refunded.

1.4 : Domain Names

Domain name fees will be charged by a single payment in advance for the duration of the registration period of the domain name, which is normally two years for domain names ending in .uk, and one year for others. Fees will not be refunded.

2 : Log-In Security

Log-In Details

Web hosting, email accounts, content management systems and other aspects of websites involve access to private areas of the web via secure log-in details, such as user names and passwords. It is your responsibility to keep your log-in details safe. Lab 99 Web Design will accept no responsibility for any consequences of misuse of your log-in details by you or anyone else. See our Internet Security page for advice about safe online behaviour.

Content Management Systems and Online Shop Software

The incorporation of a content management system, which is included in most forms of shopping cart software, into a website gives you the option of updating your website yourself. Access to the software will normally allow you to change almost every aspect of your website. Lab 99 Web Design will not be responsible for any problems caused by changes made by you (or anyone else who has access to your log-in details) to your website which are not due to our design of your website.

3 : Links

We reserve the right to include an unobtrusive link on each page of your website, normally in the footer (the area just below the main content), to this website. To see how unobtrusive these links are, visit the websites featured on our Portfolio page.

In return, we will be happy to include a link on this website to your website, if you wish.

4 : Copyright and Ownership

4.1 : Design

Copyright in the design of your website will remain with Lab 99 Web Design. Unless specifically agreed, the design we produce is licensed for one named website project only.

4.2 : Material Created by Us

All images, HTML code, CSS code, and other material created by Lab 99 Web Design for your website will remain the property of Lab 99 Web Design. The fee for the creation of your website will cover the use of this material in one named website project only.

If you wish to use any of this material for other purposes, such as in advertising or in another website, a fee will normally be payable. Please contact us for details.

4.3 : Material Supplied by You

Everything which you supply to us for inclusion in your website must be free from any claim by a third party. That is, each image, item of text, audio file, video clip, or any other material must be your property, or you must have obtained the consent of the owner of the material. It is your responsibility to obtain any such consent. Lab 99 Web Design will not be held liable for any unwitting breaches of copyright.

You should be aware that it is very easy to copy images and other material from websites. Although the risk of unauthorised use of your material is small, you should be wary of using sensitive or valuable material in your website. Lab 99 Web Design can accept no responsibility for any unauthorised use by visitors to your website of material supplied by you.

4.4 : Material Supplied by Third Parties

All images, software and other material that is incorporated into your website and obtained by Lab 99 Web Design from third-party sources will remain the property of their original owners. Any fees for the use of such material will be included in the quotation for your website.

5 : Domain Names

Domain names are registered for either one or two years at a time, in accordance with the policies of the two central organisations that administer them. When their registration period has expired, domain names become available for anyone else to register. It is therefore important that they are renewed promptly.

Holders of domain names registered by Lab 99 Web Design will be reminded to instruct us to renew the registration in advance of the expiry date. Lab 99 Web Design will not be held responsible for any consequences of the holder’s failure to instruct us to renew it promptly.

You may transfer domain names registered by us to another provider at the end of the current registration period, if you wish. This service is offered free of charge.

6 : Care of Material

While every care will be taken of physical material supplied by you, we cannot guarantee that accidental damage will not occur, either in our custody or in the post. For this reason, we would strongly advise that electronic copies of material such as text and images should be supplied wherever possible.

7 : Website Quality

7.1 : Web Standards and Web Browsers

Just as a viewer’s experience of a DVD will depend on the quality of the equipment that is used, a visitor’s experience of a website will depend on the quality of the browser software that is used.

We guarantee that our websites will abide by web standards, and that our websites will therefore appear correctly in all modern browsers which comply with those standards. Our use of correct HTML and CSS code means that the informational content of our websites will be available to all visitors even if a visitor’s software is unable to display every element of the layout correctly.

We will do our best to cope with the imperfections of obsolete browsers and those browsers that do not comply with web standards. It is not, however, possible to guarantee that any given website layout will be rendered correctly in obsolete or non-compliant browsers or those which require proprietary, non-standard, code. We define an obsolete browser as one that was released more than five years ago.

Getting a complex layout to work in an obsolete or non-compliant browser can take a disproportionate amount of time. If you require your website to appear or behave in a certain way in any obsolete or non-compliant browser, you must specify your requirements before work starts. An extra fee will usually be charged.

See our Varieties of Web Browsers page for more information about browsers.

7.2 : Accessibility and Usability

Because all Lab 99 websites are intended to be as accessible and usable as possible; because of legal requirements; and because of professional pride, there are certain features that we will not include in any website:

• Flashing, blinking or scrolling elements. These gimmicks can be dangerous to visitors with certain types of epliepsy and are annoying to almost everyone.
• Animations, except for tasteful slideshow effects.
• Links which open in a new window or tab. It is a basic principle of usability that a website’s visitors should have control over the behaviour of their own browser software. Opening a new window or tab should be their decision. The only exception to this rule is when the customer of an online shop needs the option of visiting a Terms and Conditions page before completing an online transaction, and opening that page in a new window or tab is the only way to preserve the transaction.
• Pop-up windows. Most visitors associate these with unwanted advertisements, and will immediately leave a website if a pop-up window appears.
• Images will not be used to convey information that could be conveyed in words, unless appropriate image replacement techniques are used.
• Tables will not be used for the purposes of laying out a page.
• JavaScript will not be used in a way that hides important information from visitors whose browsers or computers do not have JavaScript installed or enabled.
• AJAX techiniques will be used only in order to enhance the visitor’s experience, and will not be used merely to create special effects.

8 : Illegal Activity

8.1 : Email

Email accounts provided by Lab 99 Web Design must not be used for illegal purposes, including the sending of spam. Any breach of this rule will lead to the account being permanently withdrawn. Refunds will not be given.

8.2 : Content Management Systems

Access to a content management system will allow you to add written and pictorial material to your website. You are responsible for any material added to your website via your account. The posting of illegal material will lead to the website being permanently deleted. Refunds will not be given.