Terms
The terms, in plain English.
This is what you agree to when you hire Hall Dev Work LLC to build and look after a website. Your written quote spells out your project; these terms sit underneath it. If anything here isn't clear, ask before you pay a cent.
0. The free mockup
If you ask for a free mockup, I design one homepage for your business and send you a private link within 3 business days. No payment information, no contract, no pressure: if you don't like it, you don't owe me anything. The mockup stays Hall Dev Work's design until you buy a site, so please don't hand it to another builder to copy; once you've paid for a site, the design is yours like everything else in section 7. I take on 5 mockups a week so each one gets real attention; if a week is full, yours is first in line for the next one and I tell you the date up front.
1. The quote comes first
Every project starts with a written quote by email. It lists what I'll build, the price, the monthly, and the timeline. Nothing starts until you say yes to it, and the written quote is the number you pay. If you ask for something that isn't in it, I'll tell you what it costs before I do it.
2. Paying for the build
Half of the build price is due up front, and that's when I start. The other half is due when the site goes live. You see the finished site before it goes live and before the second half is due.
3. The monthly
The monthly starts the day your site goes live. It covers hosting, your domain and security certificate, software and security updates, backups, watching that the site is up, your changes (new hours, photos, prices, services), and me answering your email and phone. It has a 6-month minimum from launch; after that it's month to month.
Changes are normal-sized edits to an existing page. A whole new page, a new feature such as online booking, or a redesign is quoted separately, in writing, before I build it. Extra pages are $100 each unless your quote says otherwise.
4. Timeline
Starter and Standard sites are built to go live in about two weeks from the day I have your deposit and your material (photos, services, hours, the words you want). Custom timelines are set in the quote. If I'm waiting on something from you, the clock pauses; I'll tell you what I need.
5. Your material
You give me the photos, logo, reviews and text for your site, or approve what I write from what you tell me. You confirm you have the right to use what you give me, and that the reviews are real reviews from real customers. I never write reviews for a site, and I'll ask you not to either.
6. What happens if…
…you don't like the site before launch?
Tell me what's wrong and I keep working on it until it's right; that's part of the build. If we truly can't get there before launch, you don't pay the second half, and we part ways with no hard feelings. The deposit covers the work done.
…you want to leave?
After the 6-month minimum, give me notice by email and the monthly stops at the end of that month. Your domain name is yours and stays registered in your name. Your content (photos, text, reviews) is yours. I hand over a complete copy of your site's files so any developer can host it, and I help point your domain wherever you're going.
…something breaks?
I fix it. That's what the monthly is for. Text or email me and I'll get on it; if the site is down, that jumps the queue. You never have to call a hosting company.
7. Who owns what
Once the build is paid in full, the website is yours: the design, the pages, and the words written for you. Your domain is registered in your name from the start; if I register it for you, I do it in your name and hand you the login. I keep the right to reuse the general building blocks I use on every site (the underlying code patterns, not your content), and to show your site in my portfolio unless you ask me not to.
8. Hosting and uptime
Your site is hosted on Cloudflare, with backups kept. I watch that it's up and fix it when it isn't. No host can promise perfect uptime, and I won't either; what I promise is that when something breaks, I'm the one fixing it.
9. Google and rankings
Every site is built to Google's published standards for your services and area, and I connect it to Google on launch day. I never promise a ranking, a position, or a number of calls, in writing or on the phone. Nobody controls Google.
10. The legal part
Hall Dev Work LLC is an Alabama-based limited liability company. My responsibility for any problem with a site is limited to the amount you've paid me for that site in the twelve months before the problem. I'm not responsible for losses that come from your own content, from services I don't control (Google, your domain registrar, your email provider), or from things outside anyone's control. These terms are governed by the laws of the State of Alabama.
11. Changes to these terms
If these terms change, the date at the top changes and current clients get an email. Changes never shorten a minimum term you've already agreed to.
Common questions
Is there a contract?
Yes: the written quote plus these terms. You'll have both by email before you pay anything.
Can I pay the whole build up front?
You can, but you don't have to. Half now, half at launch is the standard.
What if I already own a domain?
It stays yours. I'll ask for access to point it at the new site, or walk you through doing it yourself.
Can I take the site to another developer later?
Yes. After the minimum term you get a full copy of the files and a hand-off. Nothing about the site is locked to me.
Questions about any of this? Call or text 205-413-3135 or email david@halldevwork.com. I'd rather explain it now than surprise you later.
Ready when you are
One call. Two weeks. Live.
Start with a free mockup of your homepage, or just call. Either way you get a straight answer and a written quote before anything costs you a dollar.
205-413-3135Hall Dev Work LLC is a registered business. Written quote first, half up front, and you see the finished site before the second half. What happens if you're not happy, or want to leave →