Terms of Service

Introduction

These Website Management Services Terms (the “Terms”) govern website management services provided by Design TLC, LLC, a Virginia limited liability company (“Design TLC,” “we,” “us,” or “our”), to the person or entity identified in an applicable order form, proposal, checkout page, or statement of work (“Order Form”) (“Client,” “you,” or “your”). The Terms and each Order Form are collectively the “Agreement.”

1. Agreement Structure and Order of Precedence

1.1 Order Form. Each Order Form identifies the selected plan, fees, billing cycle, and other client-specific terms available at checkout. The website covered by the Agreement is the website identified in the Order Form or, if not stated there, the website the parties otherwise confirm in writing, including through onboarding communications. Services apply only to the website and plan identified or confirmed under this Section 1.1.

1.2 Order of precedence. If documents conflict, the following order controls unless an Order Form expressly states otherwise: (a) a signed amendment; (b) the applicable Order Form; (c) these Terms; and (d) general website or marketing descriptions.

1.3 Electronic transactions. You agree that the Agreement, notices, approvals, and signatures may be created and maintained electronically. We will make a retainable copy of the accepted Agreement available to you.

2. Term; Renewal; Cancellation

2.1 Initial and renewal terms. The service begins on the date shown in the Order Form. Monthly plans renew for successive one-month terms; annual plans renew for successive one-year terms, unless either party cancels as permitted below.

2.2 Automatic billing. You authorize us and our payment processor to charge the payment method on file at the start of each billing period for the recurring charge disclosed in the Order Form, together with applicable taxes and approved additional charges.

2.3 Cancellation by Client. You may cancel using [email protected] at least ten days before the next billing date. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the then-current paid billing period unless we agree otherwise in writing. Except where required by law, prepaid fees are nonrefundable and no prorated refunds or credits are provided.

2.4 Renewal and change notices. We will provide notices concerning annual renewal, cancellation, and material changes when and as required by applicable law. A material fee or service change will not take effect before the date stated in the notice.

2.5 Cancellation by Design TLC. We may suspend or terminate service for nonpayment, unlawful or abusive use, material breach, security risk, failure to cooperate, or any other reasonable business ground. When reasonably practical, we will provide notice and an opportunity to cure. We may act immediately when necessary to address an active risk.

3. Availability and Communications

3.1 Business hours. Our standard support hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time, excluding holidays. Our normal response target is one business day, but response and resolution times are not guaranteed unless an Order Form states otherwise.

3.2 Support channel. Requests must be sent to [email protected] or another support channel designated by us. We do not accept service requests through text messages, social media messages, or personal messaging accounts because those channels cannot be reliably tracked by our team.

3.3 Monitoring. Automated tools may monitor a website outside business hours. An alert does not guarantee immediate human review or after-hours response. Any after-hours or emergency service must be separately agreed and may be billed at our then-current after-hours or emergency rate, which we will disclose before performing that work.

4. Website Management Services

4.1 Included services. Subject to the selected plan, services may include WordPress core, theme, and plugin updates; automated backups; security monitoring and scanning; uptime monitoring; database optimization; and periodic reports. Only features expressly listed in the Order Form are included.

4.2 Tools and vendors. We may select, replace, configure, or discontinue particular management, security, monitoring, backup, reporting, or firewall tools, including Wordfence or comparable services, provided that the core service is not materially reduced without notice.

4.3 No uninterrupted service. Monitoring tools, vendors, networks, hosting providers, and WordPress software may fail or be unavailable. We do not guarantee continuous monitoring, uninterrupted availability, or detection of every incident.

5. Software Updates

5.1 Routine updates. We generally review and apply available WordPress core, theme, and plugin updates at least weekly. We may install critical security updates more frequently when we reasonably determine that expedited action is appropriate.

5.2 Professional judgment. We may delay, stage, decline, or reverse an update if we reasonably believe it is unsafe, incompatible, incomplete, unavailable, or likely to disrupt the website. An update’s appearance in the WordPress dashboard does not guarantee immediate installation.

5.3 Update availability. We are responsible only for updates made available through authorized sources accessible to us. We do not create patches for third-party software and cannot guarantee that a developer will issue or maintain an update.

6. Backups and Restoration

6.1 Backups. For plans that include backups, we will use automated tools intended to back up the website files and database daily and store backup copies separately from the primary hosting environment. Our target retention is approximately 30 daily restore points.

6.2 Limitations. Backups may fail, be incomplete, contain an undetected infection, or be affected by third-party outages. We do not guarantee that any specific restore point will exist or that restoration will recover every transaction, submission, order, file, message, configuration, or change.

6.3 Scope. Unless expressly included, backups do not cover email, local devices, domain-registrar records, DNS-provider records, third-party platforms, separately hosted databases, or data maintained outside the covered WordPress installation.

6.4 Restoration standard. Restoration means reasonable efforts to return the website substantially to the condition reflected in the most recent reasonably usable backup, subject to data loss between that backup and the incident.

7. Website Security and Malware Response

7.1 Risk reduction, not a guarantee. We use commercially reasonable monitoring, scanning, firewall, update, and backup practices intended to reduce security risk, and we adjust these practices as new threats become known to us. The threat landscape changes continuously, and automated and AI-assisted attack tools can probe for vulnerabilities, generate new malicious code variants, and adapt to defensive measures faster than any single provider can update its defenses. No system or service, regardless of how current, can guarantee that a website will never be hacked, infected, unavailable, or accessed without authorization, and an increase in the sophistication, automation, frequency, or variety of attacks, including attacks that use artificial intelligence or machine-learning tools, does not by itself mean that we failed to perform the services required by the Agreement.

7.2 Eligibility. Included malware response applies only to a website that (a) was originally built by Design TLC or has undergone a Design TLC security onboarding review that we have confirmed in writing, (b) is actively enrolled in an eligible Website Management Plan, and (c) is a website for which Client has materially complied with the Agreement, including Section 11 (Client Responsibilities). A website not originally built by Design TLC is not eligible for the included allowance described in Section 7.3 unless we separately agree in writing to extend eligibility following a security onboarding review. Investigation and remediation for a website that is not eligible is billable at our current hourly rate from the outset.

7.3 Included routine response. For each distinct security incident affecting an eligible website, we will provide up to one hour of initial investigation and routine remediation at no additional charge. At our discretion, this may include isolating the website, updating affected software, removing identified malicious files, resetting credentials we control, or restoring an available backup.

7.4 Additional remediation. Work beyond the included allowance is billable at the current hourly rate when reasonably necessary. Examples include repeated or persistent infection; extensive manual cleanup; reconstruction of content, data, custom code, or functionality; remediation involving hosting, DNS, email, domains, servers, third-party platforms, or unsupported software; and work caused or complicated by compromised credentials, infected client devices, client delay, or actions of the Client or another provider.

7.5 Approval and emergency action. When reasonably practical, we will obtain approval before performing billable remediation. You authorize us to take reasonable immediate steps to contain an active incident, including temporarily disabling access, plugins, forms, integrations, or the website. After the included allowance, we may perform up to two additional billable hours without advance approval when delay would reasonably risk further damage; further work requires approval unless applicable law or an emergency makes approval impracticable.

7.6 Excluded specialist services. Unless separately agreed, services do not include digital forensics, preservation of evidence, legal analysis, regulatory compliance investigation, breach-notification services, identity monitoring, penetration testing, reverse-engineering or detailed analysis of novel or AI-generated malicious code, recovery of unrecoverable data, or guarantees that every malicious file, vulnerability, or unauthorized action will be found, including one generated, obfuscated, or deployed using artificial intelligence tools. Appropriate specialists may be required at Client expense.

7.7 Security notifications and cooperation. Each party will reasonably cooperate concerning a suspected incident. We will notify Client as required by applicable law when we discover a qualifying compromise of personal information we maintain for Client. Client remains responsible for determining and satisfying its own legal, regulatory, contractual, insurance, and notification obligations, with advice from its counsel and other specialists.

8. Premium Themes, Plugins, and Third-Party Services

8.1 Recurring licenses. Many websites use themes, plugins, fonts, or services that require recurring license fees to remain eligible for updates, support, or continued functionality.

8.2 Design TLC-provided licenses. When we hold an appropriate license for a product used by the website, the recurring license fee may be included in the active Website Management Plan. That license remains available only while the website is actively enrolled and is subject to the vendor’s terms. We may substitute a comparable tool or discontinue a particular license on reasonable notice.

8.3 Client-provided licenses. The Client must purchase and maintain every license identified as the Client’s responsibility and provide the access reasonably required for updates. We will advise the Client when we identify a product requiring a Client-maintained license and may assist with obtaining it.

8.4 Unlicensed, abandoned, or unavailable products. We are not responsible for security, functionality, compatibility, or update problems caused by an expired, unavailable, unauthorized, abandoned, unsupported, or unlicensed product. Investigation, replacement, repair, or migration involving such a product is outside the included services and billable at our current hourly rate.

8.5 Third-party changes. We do not control third-party pricing, availability, security, compatibility, functionality, data practices, licensing terms, or discontinuation. Third-party fees are the Client’s responsibility unless expressly included in the Order Form.

9. Compatibility and Additional Work

9.1 Update conflicts. If an update creates or reveals a compatibility problem, the first one hour of reasonable troubleshooting is included per month. Additional work is billable with Client approval, except as permitted for emergency action.

9.2 Replacement work. Removal or replacement of an incompatible product, purchase of replacement licenses, custom programming, data migration, redesign, content entry, and reconstruction are not included unless the Order Form expressly says otherwise.

9.3 Authorization. Client may authorize additional work by signed writing, electronic acceptance, or email from an authorized Client contact. We may require a separate proposal, deposit, or statement of work.

10. Hosting, Domains, Email, and External Systems

10.1 Website hosting is separate. Website hosting is not included in our Website Management Services unless expressly stated in the Order Form. We may recommend reputable managed WordPress hosting providers.

10.2 Hosting-provider control. The hosting provider controls the hosting environment, server resources, server-level configuration, security certificates, and many factors affecting website speed, functionality, and availability. We cannot guarantee or accept responsibility for matters controlled by the hosting provider. This does not excuse our own failure to perform the services required by the Agreement.

10.3 Hosting account and payment. The Client must maintain an active hosting account, accurate account and billing information, a current payment method, and appropriate access. We are not responsible for suspension, downtime, data loss, account lockout, or other problems resulting from an expired, suspended, inaccessible, or unpaid hosting account.

10.4 Hosting-related work. Hosting support, server configuration, hosting migration, restoration outside the included service, and delays or troubleshooting caused by a hosting provider are billable at our current hourly rate unless expressly included in the Order Form.

10.5 Domain names. The Client is responsible for registering and renewing its domain name, maintaining accurate registrar information, and keeping a current payment method on file. We may assist with registration, renewal, DNS, or connection of the domain to the website at our current hourly rate unless that work is included.

10.6 Domain expiration. We are not responsible for suspension, interruption, or loss of a domain caused by expiration, billing failure, registrar action, account lockout, or inaccurate contact information. Work required because of domain expiration or loss of access is billable at our current hourly rate.

10.7 Email service. We do not provide or support general business email service unless expressly stated in the Order Form. We recommend that Clients obtain business email through an appropriate provider, such as Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, or another qualified provider or IT professional.

10.8 Website-generated email. A website may generate messages following form submissions, purchases, account activity, password resets, or similar events. Email providers may delay, reject, filter, or place these messages in spam. We cannot guarantee receipt or delivery of website-generated email.

10.9 Client monitoring. The Client must regularly review spam folders and the website’s form, order, membership, and transaction interfaces for submissions or notifications that may not have reached an inbox.

10.10 Related systems. Unless expressly included, Website Management Services do not cover DNS service, SSL certificates, email deliverability, local devices, domain-registrar services, or third-party platforms. Work involving those systems is billable at our current hourly rate.

11. Client Responsibilities

The Client will:

• Provide accurate information, timely decisions, required access, and an authorized contact.
• Protect every device used to access the website by installing and maintaining current security software, using a current web browser, applying recommended operating-system patches, and keeping other installed software reasonably up to date.
• Use a unique, strong password for every website and related service account, use a password manager where practical, and enable multifactor authentication where available. Website passwords must not be reused for unrelated accounts.
• Notify us promptly of suspected incidents, unexpected behavior, unauthorized users, lost or compromised credentials, or material website problems. Because automated monitoring cannot identify every functional or content problem, the Client must tell us when the website requires attention.
• Maintain required theme, plugin, hosting, domain, email, and third-party licenses and avoid installing or authorizing software, users, or changes that materially increase risk without notifying us.
• Ensure that its content, collection and use of personal information, cookies, accessibility, ecommerce, marketing, and business activities comply with applicable laws and contractual obligations.
• Coordinate access by developers, SEO providers, social-media providers, content providers, and other third parties. The Client is responsible for their authorized actions, and corrective work made necessary by those actions is billable at our current hourly rate unless expressly included.

Delays, failures, security problems, or additional work caused by the Client’s failure to fulfill these responsibilities may extend schedules and be billed at our current hourly rate.

12. Accessibility, Privacy, and Regulatory Compliance

12.1 No implied compliance service. Website Management Services do not include legal advice, privacy compliance, accessibility auditing or remediation, consent management, or compliance with HIPAA, FERPA, PCI DSS, GDPR, state privacy laws, the Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 508, or other specialized requirements unless expressly included in a separate Order Form or statement of work.

12.2 Client disclosure. The Client must inform us in writing before service begins if the website handles regulated or especially sensitive information or is subject to particular accessibility, privacy, security, or recordkeeping requirements.

12.3 Not a law office. Design TLC is not a law firm, its personnel do not provide legal advice, and the Client should retain qualified legal counsel regarding legal or regulatory obligations. Design TLC should not be used as the Client’s sole source of compliance information.

12.4 Accessibility standards. When accessibility work is separately purchased, the applicable Order Form or statement of work will identify the standard and scope. Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (“WCAG”) may be used as a technical reference, but conformance with WCAG does not by itself guarantee compliance with the ADA, Section 508, or any other law. We do not guarantee that a website will conform with WCAG or applicable law unless expressly agreed in writing.

12.5 Privacy documents and practices. The Client is responsible for the accuracy and legal sufficiency of its privacy policy, terms, disclosures, notices, cookie and consent practices, data collection, and retention decisions unless the Client separately engages qualified counsel or another specialist.

13. Fees, Invoices, and Payment

13.1 Fees. Recurring fees for the selected plan are stated in the Order Form. Our current standard hourly rate is not fixed in the Order Form. It is available upon request, and we will disclose it before performing any billable work that requires Client approval under this Agreement. We may change fees or the current hourly rate on advance written notice, effective no earlier than the next renewal or another date permitted by the Agreement and applicable law.

13.2 Billing increments and expenses. Additional services are billed in increments of 15 minutes. Approved third-party charges, licenses, taxes, and out-of-pocket expenses are additional.

13.3 Payment. Invoices are due upon receipt. Amounts unpaid more than 30 days after the invoice date may accrue interest at the lesser of 12% per year or the maximum lawful rate. Client is responsible for reasonable collection costs to the extent permitted by law.

13.4 Suspension. We may suspend some or all services for overdue amounts after reasonable notice. Suspension may disable monitoring, backups, licenses, updates, or support. Client remains responsible for accrued charges and security obligations during suspension.

13.5 Returned payments. A returned payment may be subject to a fee of $30 or a maximum amount permitted by law.

14. Ownership and Licenses

14.1 Client materials. As between the parties, Client retains ownership of content, trademarks, data, and materials Client provides. Client grants us a limited license to use them as reasonably necessary to provide the services.

14.2 Design TLC materials. We retain ownership of our preexisting materials, methods, know-how, templates, scripts, configurations, and reusable tools. Client receives only the rights expressly granted in an applicable project agreement or Order Form.

14.3 Third-party materials. Themes, plugins, fonts, images, code, and services owned by third parties remain subject to their respective licenses and terms.

15. Confidentiality and Credentials

Each party will use reasonable care to protect the other party’s nonpublic business information and use it only to perform or receive services. This obligation does not apply to information that is public through no breach, already lawfully known, independently developed, or lawfully received without restriction. We may disclose information to personnel, contractors, and vendors who need it to provide services and are subject to appropriate obligations, or when legally required. Client authorizes us to store and use credentials reasonably necessary to provide the services.

16. Disclaimers

We will perform services in a professional and workmanlike manner consistent with generally accepted practices for similar services. Except for that express commitment and to the fullest extent permitted by law, services are provided “as is” and “as available.” We disclaim implied warranties, including merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title, and noninfringement. We do not guarantee error-free operation, uninterrupted availability, perfect security, detection of every threat, compatibility of every update, preservation of every item of data, search ranking, traffic, sales, or any particular business result.

17. Limitation of Liability

17.1 Excluded damages. To the fullest extent permitted by law, neither party will be liable for indirect, incidental, special, exemplary, punitive, or consequential damages, or for lost profits, revenue, goodwill, business opportunity, or data, arising from or related to the Agreement, even if advised that such damages were possible.

17.2 Liability cap. To the fullest extent permitted by law, Design TLC’s aggregate liability arising from or related to the Agreement will not exceed the fees paid by Client for the affected Website Management Services during the six months immediately preceding the event giving rise to the claim.

18. Indemnification

Client will defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Design TLC and its personnel from third-party claims, damages, liabilities, judgments, and reasonable legal fees arising from (a) Client-provided content or materials that infringe another party’s rights; (b) Client’s unlawful use of the website or services; or (c) Client’s material breach of the Agreement. We will provide prompt notice, permit Client to control the defense with reasonably acceptable counsel, and reasonably cooperate at Client’s expense. Client may not settle a claim in a manner that admits fault by or imposes an obligation on an indemnified party without that party’s written consent.

19. Third-Party Work

We are not responsible for acts, omissions, changes, or services of Client, hosting providers, developers, marketing providers, content providers, or other third parties. Work reasonably required because of third-party action or omission is billable unless expressly included. This provision does not excuse our own failure to perform the services required by the Agreement.

20. Suspension, Termination, and Offboarding

20.1 Effect. When Website Management Services expire or end, our monitoring, backups, updates, reporting, support, and Design TLC-provided licenses may stop. The Client then assumes full responsibility for operating, monitoring, securing, updating, licensing, backing up, and recovering the website.

20.2 Licenses and management tools. Themes, plugins, security tools, backup tools, and other products licensed through Design TLC may be removed, disabled, or become unavailable after service ends. The Client is responsible for obtaining replacement licenses and services.

20.3 Transition copy. Upon a request made within 5 days after termination and after payment of all amounts due, we will make one then-available website backup or reasonable transition information available at no charge. We may delete retained backups, credentials, and management records after that period, subject to our legal and operational retention obligations.

20.4 Additional transition work. Migration, offboarding, hosting or domain coordination, credential remediation, emergency recovery, installation of replacement licenses, and other transition assistance are billable at our current hourly rate unless expressly included in the Order Form.

20.5 Incidents after termination. Security investigation, malware cleanup, restoration, or other work performed after Website Management Services end is not included and will be billable if requested or authorized by the Client.

21. Notices

Notices under the Agreement must be sent by email to the addresses in the Order Form, with notices to Design TLC sent to [email protected]​​, or by nationally recognized courier to the addresses stated in the Order Form. Email notice is effective when sent unless the sender receives a delivery-failure notice. A party must promptly update its notice information.

22. Disputes; Governing Law

22.1 Good-faith discussion. Before formal proceedings, the parties will attempt in good faith to resolve a dispute through discussions between authorized representatives.

22.2 Mediation. Except for collection of undisputed invoices or a request for emergency equitable relief, an unresolved dispute will be submitted to nonbinding mediation. The parties will mutually select a mediator, may participate remotely by agreement, and will share mediator fees equally.

22.3 Courts and law. If mediation does not resolve the dispute within 60 days after a written mediation request, either party may bring proceedings in the state or federal courts located in Arlington County, Virginia, and each party consents to that jurisdiction and venue. Virginia law governs without regard to conflicts principles.

23. General Terms

23.1 Independent contractors. The parties are independent contractors. The Agreement does not create employment, partnership, joint venture, fiduciary, or agency relationships.

23.2 Assignment. Client may not assign the Agreement without our written consent. We may assign it to an affiliate or in connection with a merger, reorganization, financing, or sale of all or substantially all relevant assets, provided the assignee assumes our obligations.

23.3 Force majeure. Neither party is liable for delay or failure caused by circumstances beyond its reasonable control, except that this provision does not excuse payment obligations for services already provided.

23.4 Waiver and severability. A waiver must be in writing and applies only to the specific instance stated. If a provision is unenforceable, it will be modified to the minimum extent necessary, and the remaining provisions will remain effective.

23.5 No third-party beneficiaries. The Agreement benefits only the parties and permitted successors and assigns.

23.6 Survival. Payment, ownership, confidentiality, disclaimers, limitations, indemnification, dispute, and other provisions that by their nature should survive will survive termination.

23.7 Entire agreement. The Agreement is the entire agreement concerning its subject matter and supersedes prior or contemporaneous understandings concerning that subject matter.

23.8 Amendments. The parties may amend the Agreement through a written or electronic record affirmatively accepted by authorized representatives. We may make nonmaterial administrative, vendor, or operational changes on advance notice when the core service and fees are not materially reduced or increased. Material changes require affirmative acceptance unless applicable law and the accepted Agreement permit another procedure.

23.9 Counterparts. The Agreement may be accepted in counterparts and by electronic signature, each of which is treated as an original and together constitute one instrument.

24. Acceptance

By signing or electronically accepting the applicable Order Form and these Terms, Client acknowledges that it has had an opportunity to review them, ask questions, and consult counsel of its choosing. The individual accepting represents that the individual is authorized to bind Client.

Questions

If you have any questions about our Terms of Service, please contact us at [email protected].