Terms of Service
Terms of Service Agreement
For customers utilizing website hosting, website development, or other services provided by Clouse Designs.
Following are terms of services for website hosting, domain registration, and website development services provided by Clouse Designs LLC. The customer shall provide a billing address and any other information necessary for Clouse Designs to maintain website hosting and registration services. Any information not provided at sign-up will be requested by Clouse Designs and provided by the customer. Signature on our order form, or submission of an online order for service, indicates agreement to these terms of service.
Website Hosting Payment Terms:
Billing for a website hosting service will commence when the website hosting service is created, prior to the development of a new website project. Website hosting services are invoiced monthly. Payment is due by the 15th of the current month’s hosting service. Termination of Website Hosting Services with Clouse Designs requires a 30-day advance notification via phone, e-mail, or postal mail. If a customer chooses to activate their domain name through Clouse Designs, their domain name registration will expire with their hosting service. Clouse Designs reserves the right to change the rates by notifying customers 60 days in advance of the effective date of the change. Clouse Designs reserves the right to cancel the hosting service at any time.
Website Hosting Pre-Payment Terms:
Clouse Designs may offer a discount for paying an entire year of hosting service upfront. Refunds will not be issued in the case that a customer cancels their hosting service before the period they have pre-paid for.
Service Interruptions:
Clouse Designs is not responsible for interruptions of service beyond its control. This includes interruptions by its suppliers and natural disasters.
Account Credentials:
The customer agrees to keep all user IDs and access codes/passwords confidential. Sharing of account information and passwords is strictly forbidden. If a customer believes that his user ID or password has been compromised, the customer agrees to contact Clouse Designs immediately via e-mail or telephone.
Governing Laws:
Clouse Designs’ corporate office is located in Atalanta Georgia. This agreement will be performed in and governed by the laws of the State of Georgia. Any claims or legal action arising out of this Service Agreement must be instituted within one year after the claim or cause has arisen. Clouse Designs reserves the right to discontinue service for violation of any of the conditions of this service agreement.
All claims, disputes, and controversies arising out of or in relation to the performance, interpretation, application, or enforcement of this agreement, including but not limited to breach thereof, shall be referred to mediation before, and as a condition precedent to, the initiation of any adjudicative action or proceeding, including arbitration.
Third-Party Networks:
Any access to other networks connected to Clouse Designs’ network must comply with the rules appropriate for that other network.
Disk Storage and Bandwidth:
Clouse Designs will monitor the customer’s current disk storage and bandwidth. If usage exceeds the amount registered for, Clouse Designs will contact the customer in an attempt to make an arrangement for additional resources. If the customer does not respond or is unable to be reached, Clouse Designs shall have the right to take corrective actions for exceeding resources. Such actions may include assessing additional charges, increasing service plan, temporarily discontinuing services, or terminating the current agreement. If the customer feels that more disk storage is required, it is the customer’s responsibility to contact Clouse Designs (info@Clouse Designs or 770-765-1918) to discuss options for increased disk storage.
Content and Terms of Use:
All services provided by Clouse Designs may be used only in accordance of the law. Storage, documentation, transmission, or presentation of information or data that violates US Federal, State, or City law is strictly prohibited. This includes, but is not limited to, copyrighted or plagiarized material, racist or threatening material, material that is obscene, pornography, “adult only” content, or material protected by other statutes.
Clouse Designs prohibits website hosting customers from participating in pirating unlicensed software, pirating mp3 files, listing hacker programs or archives, hosting warez websites, pornography. The customer agrees to indemnify and hold Clouse Designs harmless from any claims resulting from his/her use of Clouse Designs’ services that damage the customer or another party. Use of Clouse Designs’ web hosting and e-mail Services to send Unsolicited Commercial E-mail (UCE or “SPAM”) is strictly prohibited and may be cause for immediate account termination. The customer agrees to pay Clouse Designs any reasonable expenses, including attorney and system administration fees, incurred in responding to complaints and damages caused by the action of sending Unsolicited Commercial E-mail.
Adherence to Proposal:
It is the responsibility of the customer to review in full all proposals for website development, website design, and other services provided by Clouse Designs. Should services or resources fall above the scope of the original proposal, Clouse Designs reserves the right to either refuse project add-ons or invoice appropriately to account for additional time and materials needed. Payment for add-ons that fall above the scope of the original project is due prior to development or net 15 days, at Clouse Designs discretion.
Project Timeline:
It is the responsibility of the customer to review the project timeline and adhere to the dates for deliverables on their part. Failure to meet deadlines imposed by Clouse Designs will result in the delay of the project, or risk putting the project on hold. Clouse Designs may invoice customers for additional resources should the delay of a project interrupt Clouse Designs workflow. Indefinite delay of a project may result in project termination, and a new development agreement must be reached prior to restarting the project. Down payments for services are non-refundable, and will not be returned to the customer should a project be delayed or terminated as a result of the customer failing to adhere to the project timeline.
Administrative Access:
To prevent malware installation on our servers, full administrative access to a WordPress installation on Clouse Designs hosting services will not be granted to customers. Customers will have access to specific features of a website, per our agreement and access will be granted at Clouse Designs discretion.
Website Copyright
Custom Websites:
The copyright on a custom website is transferred to the website purchaser after full payment has been received for the website. If copyright transfer has been processed, customers may receive a full backup of their website upon cancellation. This backup will include the entire file structure in a .zip file and, if applicable, an SQL file containing the MySQL database dump.
Website Go-Live and Access:
A project is considered complete when full development scope has been reached, and the project is approved by the customer. Should customers request changes beyond what was agreed to in the original proposal, Clouse Designs may complete these changes at additional cost. Once a project is considered complete, the customer has one business week to launch the website or provide Clouse Designs with the credentials necessary to bring the website live. Failure to launch a website within one week of completion of the project may delay the go-live date and may incur additional expenses at Clouse Designs’ discretion. Once a project is complete, all changes requested will fall under Clouse Designs’ standard website maintenance schedule. Account access to the website and written or verbal training, as agreed to in the initial proposal, will be granted only after final payment for the project is received by Clouse Designs.
Termination/Cancellation Policy:
Clouse Designs requires a 30-day notice prior to canceling a website hosting account. For Business Website Solutions, where the cost of development is broken down into monthly payments rather than an upfront development charge, a one-year minimum contract is required. If service is canceled early, the final balance on the remaining months of service is due 15 days after the termination of service. Two years of consecutive service must be paid for copyright release, or to receive a copy of your website files or an administrative login. Upon cancellation, you will be sent a bill with your final balance (up to 30 days after notification) after your cancellation request. At the time of cancellation, all website files, email accounts, and e-mails will be deleted from our server; you will have access to all backup files via google drive should you need them for future use.