Terms and Conditions

1. Key Definitions

• The Company: OakTree Designs
• Client: The individual or business engaging OakTree Designs for services
• Continuing Care Plan: Ongoing maintenance, hosting, and support plan
• Port Over: Migration of the Client’s website to a new hosting environment
• Support: Technical help with login issues, site performance, or basic troubleshooting
• Content Update: Modification to existing text/images on the site (does not include creation of new pages, functions, etc.)

2. Scope of Services

We provide website design, development, hosting, domain management, graphic design, CRM installations, applicable maintenance and technical support. A detailed list of inclusions is outlined in each project or plan.

3. Signup & Authorized Contacts

The individual listed as the primary contact at sign-up will be considered the decision-maker unless otherwise stated in writing. Clients may authorize additional individuals by providing their full name and email address. Authorization may be revoked at any time with written notice.

4. Payment Terms

Accepted Payment Methods

Payments may be made via e-Transfer, Cheque, Credit Card (via Stripe), or PayPal.

Payment Schedules

• Web Design:
  • One-time design fees and/or recurring monthly/annual plans
  • Payment due within 30 days of invoice date
• Add-On Services:
  • Charged in full upon approval unless otherwise agreed
• CRM/Dedicated Servers:
  • CRM installation fees due immediately
  • Recurring hosting/maintenance fees invoiced monthly or annually
• Graphic Design:
  • 50% deposit upon project start
  • Remaining 50% due within 15 days of final presentation

5. Late Payments & Suspension of Service

Invoices are due within 30 days of the invoice date. Payments remaining unpaid past the due date will escalate as follows:

• 31 to 45 Days Late: Access to services may be suspended, a placeholder “Under Construction” page may be applied, and a $50 administration fee will be added to the balance. A 2% monthly compounded late fee begins accruing.
• 46 to 60 Days Late: A $150 administration fee will be applied to the account.
• After 60 Days Late: The account will be permanently closed. This results in the immediate, permanent termination of service and the deletion of all website files and database data from our servers. The Company is not liable for data loss resulting from non-payment deletions.
• After 90 Days Late: Any remaining outstanding balances will be automatically referred to a third-party collections agency.

Please contact us if you anticipate delays—we’re always happy to work with you if communication is established before the due date.

6. Contracts & Termination

Standard & E-Commerce Websites

• 12-month minimum contract
• Early termination requires paying out remaining balance (unless otherwise agreed)

2-Year Contracts

• Clients opting into a 2-year term receive additional design or branding services
• Early termination requires payout of the first 12 months only

Termination by Either Party

• Written notice required 30 days in advance
• Clients must be up to date on payments to initiate a Port Over
• A domain transfer/admin fee may apply
• If we cancel the contract, we’ll assist with transition and only charge a $50 domain transfer fee (if applicable)
• The Company is not liable for lost or corrupted data during website port-overs or moves. Moving or porting a website away from The Company is at the Clients risk.

Complete Port Over Option

Includes:

• Domain name transfer
• Hosting setup (client is responsible for finding and creating hosting account)
• Website files transfer & configuration
• 10 days post-transfer support
• Basic documentation

Port Over fees vary based on complexity. Contact us for a quote.

Multisite Network Dependencies, Licenses, and Proprietary Code

If the Client’s website is hosted within The Company’s WordPress Multisite Network, the website relies on shared network architecture and centralized licensing.

Upon termination of services or initiation of a Port Over:

Developer & Agency Licenses: The website will immediately lose access to all premium plugin, theme, and software agency licenses paid for and maintained by The Company. The Client or their new provider is solely responsible for purchasing independent, valid licenses for all premium software to maintain website functionality. The Company is not responsible for any issues, errors or breakages that are sustained to the site once it has been ported over to a new hosting environment and the Company does not make any guarantees that the site will function normally once ported.

Proprietary Custom Code: All custom-programmed code, custom scripts (including but not limited to functions.php modifications, custom CSS, and API integration scripts), and network-level database configurations developed by The Company remain the exclusive intellectual property of The Company. The Company grants the Client a limited, non-transferable license to use this code only while the website is hosted on The Company’s servers. Due to the nature of some custom codes, it is at the Company’s discretion if custom code will be transferred with a website port-over or a one-time intellectual property buyout may be required.

Exclusion of Transfer: The Company does not transfer ownership, source code, or migration files for its proprietary network configurations or custom-built system integrations. A standard “Port Over” or data hand-off is strictly limited to a one-time export of the Client’s raw content (database SQL/CSV files) and their media uploads folder.

7. Continuing Care Plans

All web clients must choose a care plan.

All monthly care plans cover:

• Hosting
• SSL
• Plugin licenses
• Domain renewals
• Maintenance & security.

Included Support (with upgraded plan): Care plans that include support will receive up to 2 hours of Support and Content Updates per calendar month. Unused hours do not roll over to the next month.

Overage Billing: Any requests exceeding a plan’s designated monthly support allotment will be billed at the Company’s standard hourly rate. The Company will notify the Client before executing work that exceeds the included monthly allotment. Please contact us for our up-to-date hourly rate.

 

8. Content & Support

Type	Examples	Included?
Content Update	Changes to existing text/images	Yes (with plan)
New Page/Section	New landing pages or galleries	No – billed hourly
Support	Login issues, email setup, plugin bugs	Yes (with plan)

Client must provide all content unless otherwise agreed. Placeholder content may be inserted if final assets are not supplied.

9. Intellectual Property & Ownership

• Website design layouts and graphic design IP are transferred to the Client upon final payment (subject to the restrictions on proprietary custom code outlined in Section 6).
• Unused design drafts remain Company property.
• Domains purchased on behalf of the Client are owned by the Client but held in trust until transfer.

10. Hosting, Domains & Email

• We use Cloudways for hosting. Their terms apply.
• Clients are responsible for managing their own backups unless part of a care plan
• Email services (if provided) will be deactivated upon termination
• The Company is not liable for lost data during domain/email transfers

11. Copyright & Legal Use

• Clients must have the right to all provided content, and content found to be in violation of a copyright will be removed immediately and replaced with filler text or graphics. Hourly billing will be applied for making these changes.
• OakTree is not responsible for any copyright or privacy violations
• Illegal or harmful content will result in immediate termination without refund

12. Limitation of Liability

We are not liable for:

• Indirect, incidental, or consequential damages
• Loss of profits, data, or revenue
• Delays due to third-party vendors or force majeure events

13. Force Majeure

We are not liable for service disruption caused by events beyond our control (natural disasters, war, government restrictions, etc.). Contracts may be cancelled after 60 days of disruption.

14. Promotional Use

We may showcase completed work in our portfolio and on social media. Clients may request removal of their content from our promotional materials.

15. Website Credit

A footer credit linking to www.oaktreedesigns.ca will appear on all client websites unless requested otherwise.

16. Changes to These Terms

OakTree Designs reserves the right to update or modify these Terms & Conditions at any time without prior notice. It is the Client’s responsibility to review the most current version of the Terms & Conditions, which will always be available on our website. Continued use of our services after any changes are made constitutes acceptance of those changes.

17. Final Notes

We strive to provide fair, honest, and transparent service to all our clients. If anything is unclear or you have questions about these terms, please contact us.

Thank you for choosing OakTree Designs!