Website Maintenance Agreement

This agreement is between you (the Client) and Town Press Media for monthly website maintenance services.

Starting and Ending the Agreement

  • When it Starts: This agreement begins when you sign up for our Maintenance Services.
  • Ending the Agreement:
    • Either party can end this agreement with 30 days’ written notice if the other party seriously breaks a rule and doesn’t fix it within 30 days of being notified.
    • Town Press Media can immediately end the agreement if:
      • You don’t pay your fees.
      • You don’t cooperate with us or prevent us from doing our work (e.g., by changing passwords without telling us).

Hosting Your Website

  • If you don’t host your website with us, you must give us full access to your hosting control panel (like cPanel) so we can do our job. This means sharing your login details.
  • There’s no discount if you host your website elsewhere.
  • The free SSL certificate we offer is only for websites hosted on our servers. If you host elsewhere, you’ll need to get your own SSL certificate from your hosting provider.

What Our Maintenance Services Include

The services we provide depend on the package you choose. Here’s what’s generally covered:

  • Regular Software Updates: We’ll update your WordPress, plugins, and themes. How often we do this depends on your package. We only update when we know the new version is stable and safe.
  • Website Backups: We’ll back up your website daily, weekly, or monthly, depending on your package.
  • Website Recovery: If needed, we can restore your website files from a backup.
  • Uptime Monitoring: We’ll monitor if your website is online (if your package includes this).
  • Security Scans: We’ll regularly scan your website for security issues (if your package includes this).
  • Minor Website Changes: For packages that include allotted time, we’ll make small updates to text, images, and other minor adjustments on your website pages. The time for these tasks is set by your package. Not all plans include this time, so check your package carefully.
    • Important: This time is for minor changes like text edits or image swaps. It does not include building new pages, creating lead pages, removing malware, general website consulting, or major design changes.
  • Website Support: Any support requests or WordPress questions that go beyond what’s outlined in your package will count towards your monthly allotted time. If your package has no allotted time, you’ll be charged our standard hourly rate for support.
  • Regular Reports: We’ll send you reports on our work, with the frequency depending on your package.

Malware, Spam, or Malicious Code

  • Removal of infections is NOT included in your standard Maintenance Plan.
  • If your website gets infected while on a Maintenance Plan, we can remove it for an additional fee. We’ll give you a price estimate first.
  • If your website is already infected when you sign up, removal will also be an additional charge. Contact us for an estimate.
  • For existing infections, if you agree to the price, we will:
    • Clean the infection.
    • Investigate how the infection happened.
    • Remove malicious code from your posts, pages, comments, and source code.
    • Provide a detailed report of the removal and investigation.
    • Help remove your site from search engine blacklists (like Google).
    • Give you a checklist to help protect your site in the future.

Fees and Payments

  • You agree to pay all fees as billed. Payments are due before we start any Maintenance Services.
  • No refunds will be given if you cancel this agreement, no matter the reason.
  • You agree to pay any additional amounts owed for work done beyond your monthly allotted time.
  • We are authorized to charge your credit card or other payment method for any amounts you owe us.

What You Need to Do (Client Responsibilities)

To help us provide services, you agree to:

  • Clearly tell us what information needs to be changed or added.
  • Promptly answer any questions we have about tasks on your website.
  • Give us access to your website so we can make changes for maintenance.
  • Provide us with login details (username/password) for your web hosting account via FTP, ensuring we have “write permissions.”

Things You Should Know (Client Acknowledgements)

  • Time Allotment for Changes: The time included for minor updates is based on your package and billed in 30-minute increments. It’s best to group your changes and submit them all at once to make the most of your time.
  • Task Scheduling: We schedule all monthly maintenance tasks based on our workflow and for fairness to all clients. We work on tasks in the order we receive them, except for emergencies (like your website being completely down).
  • Delayed Responses: If you don’t answer a crucial question for a task within 5 business days, that task might be delayed and moved to the back of our work queue. This could cause the task to roll over into the next month.
  • Unfinished Tasks: If tasks are unfinished at the end of the month because your allotted time has been used, they will roll over to the next month. If you need them completed immediately, additional fees will apply.
  • No Allotted Time: If your package doesn’t include any monthly update time, you’ll be billed at our standard hourly rate for any changes requested.
  • Emergency Definition: An “emergency” is typically when your website is completely offline or a problem is directly affecting your business’s ability to make money (e.g., an e-commerce site checkout issue).
  • Additional Work: If you want more tasks done in the same month beyond your allotted time, you’ll be billed at our standard hourly rate.
  • Changes to Completed Tasks: If we complete a task based on your request, and you then want changes to that completed task, the additional time spent will count towards your monthly allotment.
  • What’s NOT Included in Updates: Website updates do not include things like image editing, graphic design, database changes, programming, malware removal, website blacklist cleanup, search engine optimization (SEO), website redesigns, new page builds, major re-development (more than 50% change to a page), or creating completely new graphics.
  • Complex Integrations: CMS design, complex plugin setups, or extensive programming (like setting up blogs, shopping carts, membership areas, API integrations, or forums) are not considered minor changes and are not part of this agreement. These require a separate design or development agreement.
  • No Training: This agreement does not include training on how to use your website, WordPress, email, SEO, or other digital marketing.
  • Communication Hours: All communications will happen during our business hours: Monday to Friday, 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM CST.
  • Hosting Issues: We are not responsible for issues with your hosting company (e.g., server downtime, software incompatibilities, PHP issues).
  • Your IT: We are not responsible for your email problems or troubleshooting issues on your computer. We maintain your website, we are not your IT support.
  • Search Engine Listings: We have no control over search engines and directories. Your website might be excluded from any search engine or directory at their discretion.
  • Typing/Content: Additional fees may apply if we have to type out information you provide, and it exceeds your allotted time. We are not responsible for rewriting sentences, restructuring paragraphs, or checking for typos or misspellings. Please provide information exactly as you want it.
  • Changes by Others: We are not responsible for changes made to your website by anyone else, including you.
  • Sole Provider: During this agreement, you agree that Town Press Media will be the only provider of maintenance services for your website. If anyone else (including you) makes changes, and errors occur, we will charge our hourly rate to fix them.
  • Third-Party Plugins: We are not responsible if third-party plugins become unusable due to our maintenance services.
  • Pre-existing Infections: We will not repair websites that were already compromised, hacked, or infected before you ordered our services.
  • No Guarantees: We don’t guarantee website recovery or repair, nor do we guarantee the availability of backups.
  • Unused Time: Any unused time does not roll over to the next month. It’s month-to-month.

Additional Services

  • Services not listed in your package will be charged at our standard hourly rate.
  • We are not responsible for SEO, developing new content, or writing copy. We can write content for an additional fee at our hourly rate (discounts don’t apply). For SEO work, you need to sign up for an SEO package.

Important Legal Stuff

  • You Protect Us (Indemnification): You agree to protect Town Press Media from any claims, damages, or costs (including legal fees) that come from:
    • Any content (text, photos, graphics, etc.) you provide to us.
    • A claim that our use of your content infringes someone else’s intellectual property rights.
    • We must give you prompt written notice of any claim and let you manage the defense.
  • No Other Guarantees (Disclaimer of All Other Warranties): We don’t guarantee that our services will meet all your expectations. We provide services “as is” without any other warranties, express or implied, including warranties of merchantability (fitness for sale) or fitness for a particular purpose.
  • Limited Responsibility (Limited Liability): Town Press Media is not responsible for any indirect, special, or consequential damages (like lost profits, data loss) even if we’ve been told they might happen. No refunds will be given. We don’t provide warranties for third-party products, content, software, or hardware. “Lifetime Specials” are guaranteed for up to 5 years, and we can change the plan. Sales and specials can’t be transferred to other sites or members.
  • Your Promises (Client Representations): You guarantee that:
    • You own or have permission to use all content (text, graphics, photos, etc.) you provide to us, and you’ll protect us from any claims related to using your content.
    • Your website was not compromised, hacked, or infected before you ordered our services.
    • You are responsible for following all laws, taxes, and tariffs related to internet e-commerce and will protect us from any claims related to your e-commerce activities.
  • Keeping Information Private (Confidentiality): Both parties agree to keep each other’s private information secret for three years from the agreement’s start date. This includes contracts, trade secrets, business methods, and financial information. This doesn’t apply to information already public, known to the other party, independently developed, or required by law to be disclosed.
  • Beyond Our Control (Force Majeure): Neither party will be held responsible for delays or failures to perform due to events beyond their reasonable control (e.g., natural disasters). The affected party will notify the other and try to minimize the impact.
  • Our Relationship: Town Press Media is an independent contractor, not your employee, partner, or agent.
  • Notices and Payments: Any official notices must be in writing and delivered personally, by certified mail, or Federal Express.
  • Governing Law/Disputes: This agreement is governed by the laws of Florida. Disputes will be resolved in Florida courts. However, both parties agree to try to resolve disagreements through negotiation first. If that fails, disputes will go to arbitration in Hernando County, Florida under the American Arbitration Association’s Commercial Arbitration Rules. The arbitrator cannot award punitive or non-compensatory damages.
  • Binding Agreement: This agreement applies to both parties and their successors.
  • No Transfer (Assignability): You cannot transfer this agreement to anyone else without our written permission. We can use subcontractors.
  • No Waiver: If either party doesn’t enforce a rule, it doesn’t mean they waive their right to enforce it later or other rules.
  • Partially Invalid: If any part of this agreement is found invalid, the rest of the agreement remains valid.
  • Fair Interpretation: This agreement won’t be interpreted against either party just because they drafted a specific part.
  • Read and Understood: By buying a Maintenance Package, you confirm you’ve read, understood, and agree to these terms.

Potential Gaps in the Terms of Service

Here are some areas that could be clarified or expanded:

  1. Definition of “Minor Changes” and “Major Changes”: While it lists examples of what’s not included, the terms could benefit from a clearer definition or examples of what is typically considered a “minor change” beyond “text, image, and other minor changes.” This helps manage client expectations.
  2. Service Level Agreement (SLA) for Emergency Response: The agreement mentions emergencies get priority, but it doesn’t specify a guaranteed response time or resolution time for “emergency” situations (e.g., website completely down). This is a common expectation in maintenance agreements.
  3. Communication Method for Support Requests: It mentions “all communications will be done during regular business hours,” but doesn’t explicitly state the preferred method for submitting support requests (e.g., a ticketing system, email, phone).
  4. Client Content Responsibility for Legality/Compliance: While it mentions intellectual property, it doesn’t explicitly state the client’s responsibility for ensuring their content complies with all relevant laws (e.g., privacy laws, accessibility standards, industry-specific regulations).
  5. Data Privacy and Security (Beyond Confidentiality): While there’s a confidentiality clause, a more robust data privacy and security section, especially regarding how client data (like login credentials) is stored and handled, would be beneficial in today’s environment.
  6. Dispute Resolution for Small Claims: The agreement forces arbitration for all disputes. For very small disagreements, a simpler, less formal process might be preferred or explicitly excluded from arbitration.
  7. “Lifetime Specials” Clarification: While it states “guaranteed up to 5 years,” calling them “Lifetime Specials” can be misleading. It might be better to rename them or clearly state “5-Year Guarantee” instead of “Lifetime.”
  8. Definition of “Standard Hourly Rate”: The agreement refers to a “standard hourly rate” for additional services without specifying what that rate is or where it can be found. This should ideally be included or referenced.
  9. Specifics of “Regular Reporting”: It mentions “regular reporting” but doesn’t detail what information will be included in these reports (e.g., updates performed, uptime stats, security scan results).
  10. PHP Compatibility Issues: While it states Town Press Media isn’t responsible for PHP compatibility issues from the host, it doesn’t clearly outline Town Press Media’s role in helping the client navigate or resolve such issues if they arise (even if it’s billable work).
  11. Updates vs. Upgrades: The term “updates” is used broadly. Sometimes, major version changes (e.g., WordPress 5.x to 6.x) are considered “upgrades” and might involve more work or potential compatibility issues. Clarifying if these are covered or handled differently would be useful.