Welcome to Cheeky Penguin Websites!

Terms of Service

Cheeky Penguin provides their services to you subject to the following terms and conditions. If you utilize our services in any way, you automatically accept these terms. Please read them carefully. If you have any questions, we would be happy to answer them for you: contact us here.

Privacy Policy

Payment

Project Estimates - All clients will be provided with a project estimate (quote) before commencement of their project. All project estimates are valid for 60 days. Payment is requested 50% in advance (deposit, to start) and the remaining 50% upon completion of project. After the final invoice is paid, all usernames, passwords and editable / usable files shall be supplied by Cheeky Penguin. For small projects less than 5 hours of estimated work, a deposit may not be required. If the project has an estimated cost with a "low" and "high" estimate, the deposit shall be 50% of the average cost. For example, if a quote has a low end estimate of $500 and a high of $1000, the amount due for the deposit shall be 50% of $750. Upon completion of a project, the balance due shall be the final invoice cost less the amount of the deposit. If the deposit does not have a low and high estimate, this means that we are confident in the time it will take us and we will not go over the quoted cost without first informing you. At which point you can decide whether or not to move forward with that item. For business owners with larger or ongoing projects, you may arrange your invoice on a regular billing cycle every two weeks. In general, these types of arrangements will be billed at an hourly rate, not a flat rate per project. Please contact us if you would like more information on making payments for your specific project. Upon project completion, a "sign-off" form will be requested. This is to ensure customer satisfaction and help us serve you better. For large projects, a sign-off will be requested at all major milestones of the project.

Terms

The words (listed below) referred to throughout our website, and on project quotes are used in the context as defined below:
Web pages (also webpage, page) - an HTML or HTM file, standard width 760 pixels, maximum length equal to two 8.5 x 11 word documents
Photos (also photographs, graphics, images, image) - refers to a formatted jpg/jpeg, or gif file that is sized and suitable for use on a web page as is, without requiring any renaming, reformatting, resizing, or compressing.
Online form programming - refers to a form created with FrontPage extensions, or PHP, requiring a compatible host server
Referred Hosting - refers to a third party web host that Cheeky Penguin buys and maintains space on, and can allot some of that space to you
Copy & Text formatting - refers to text supplied by the client in a digital form which can be "copied" and "pasted" into their project and then formatted to suit the project
POP mail account set up - refers to setting up an email account on the server, not the clients computer.
Major search engine - refers to any/all of; Google, Yahoo, MSN, Excite, Lycos
Domain name - refers to the URL that a person types in the address bar to get to your website, for example "www.cheekypenguin.com"
File formats - supplied file formats for web pages are HTM, HTML.
Graphic projects can be supplied in .tif, .jpg, .gif, .png, .eps, .ai or .bmp. You will receive the original, editable file of your project upon final payment.
Project - refers to the work created by Cheeky Penguin on the clients behalf for the estimated cost supplied before commencement

Service

Websites

Websites are generally "flat fee" projects, unless otherwise specified. Included in the fee is up to 5 revision rounds for the initial design totaling up to 1.5 additional hours. Once a concept for layout and design has been presented and approved by the client, Cheeky Penguin will go ahead using that design for the website. Additional fees may apply for any modifications requested after the client has approved the layout/design. Although usually unlikely, if you require more revisions, additional charges will apply at an hourly rate. Please see "Change Orders" for more information.

Logos

There are two logo packages available, both are flat fee projects. "Internet Logo Design" includes your logo in a .jpg file suitable for use on the Internet (for example, on your website). "Print/Custom Logo" includes your logo in various formats suitable for most uses, such as online, printing business cards, printing large signs, black & white for photocopies or faxes, etc. Although usually unlikely, if you require more revisions after the "free" rounds of changes, additional charges will apply at an hourly rate. Please see "Change Orders" for more information.

Optimization

Website optimization means building your website (or "optimizing" it) so that the search engines find it and list in in their indexes (so it shows up when people search for your keywords). Getting a website in the top, or on the first page of the listings is the most widely asked and misunderstood question among new website owners. Although we provide optimization services (SEO) we cannot guarantee that your website will find it's way to page one of Google (and anyone who does is misleading you). This is because Google (or any Search Engine) is free to change their algorithms as they please... (and they do!). Anytime there is a change in the algorithm that displays websites for searches, there is the potential that what we've done to optimize it may no longer work. There is also the possibility that it will work better than before. There is no way of knowing how regular updates will effect optimization until they happen, but we use our professional judgment and experience to get you listed as best we can.

We keep up-to-date on all the algorithm changes as best as possible and make every effort to use techniques that will continue to work even when algorithms are changed. We never use any tricks, "spam", doorway pages, or anything that is known to get your website blacklisted. Everything we do to optimize your site is "approved" by Google and is in accordance with their webmaster guidelines. That said, please be wary of any marketing or web design firm that guarantees you top placement on the search engines, as this is simply IMPOSSIBLE to guarantee. Click on Google's guidelines to read more and verify that they themselves say no-one can guarantee you a top position. We can't make promises... but we can show you that our techniques have worked successfully for other sites and we have achieved #1 placements. Ask us for examples of real websites we made that show up on the first page of Google, Yahoo and MSN and we'll gladly email you some of our current work examples.

Change Orders

This section describes the difference between "free modifications" and "change orders". Free modifications are changes that are within the predetermined time frame (below) for that project type. There is no additional fee for these modifications. Change orders are any changes requested beyond the predetermined allotted time frame. Change orders are billable at $35 or $55/hour depending on the type of project.

Allotted time & revisions for project types: Business cards: 3 revisions, 30 minutes, Website packages: 5 revisions, 1.5 hours, Print/Custom Logos: unlimited revisions up to 3 hours, Clip Art/Web Logos: 3 revisions, 30 minutes, All other graphic work: 3 revisions, 1.5 hours. All technical/programming: all revisions subject to programming charge).

Once the client is happy with their project, they are asked to sign an "sign-off" form. Changes requested after the sign-off form will be considered a "change order" and will be billable at an hourly rate of $35 or $55 depending on the type of work required.

Refunds

We get the question of refunds more often than actual refund requests. Due to the customized nature of our services, refunds can only be provided on projects that have not commenced. Time spent on the planning/researching of a website and the development of sitemaps are part of the commencment process. At this time, after the commencement process has begun Cheeky Penguin Websites reserves the right to provide any type of refund!

There is absolutely no refund once the project is completed! In the unlikely event that you are not completely happy with your project once it has been created for you we will be glad to edit or change your project as you like, until you are completely happy with the results.

Referrals

We are happy to offer our customers (anyone who has purchased a website or other service from us) 8% commission on sales referred to us by them. This means, if you refer people to us and they purchase any of Cheeky Penguin services*, we will pay you 8% of their invoice**, when paid in full. If you host a workshop at your place, and sales are made at the workshop, we will pay you 10% commission*** on those sales, when paid in full. To be eligible for receiving commission, you must first complete our Affiliate Form. If you have not completed an Affiliate Form, we cannot keep track of your referrals and therefore you will not be paid a commission. As a general rule of thumb, we cannot back date Affiliate Forms to pay you commissions on sales that have occurred in the past. To get a copy of our Affiliate Form, please contact us.

* Services must generate a revenue for Cheeky Penguin. Referrals where Cheeky Penguin trades services with the referred customer will not pay commission. Referrals which generate sale of items not related to Cheeky Penguin regular web services (i.e. sale of a personal asset such as an automobile, or other asset) do not pay commission.
** the 8% of the invoice is calculated before tax and has a maximum payout of $500 per referral.
*** the 10% of the invoice is calculated before tax and has a maximum payout of $500 per referral.

Ownership

All rights of ownership, and all final formats ("editable" and "useable" files) shall be provided to the client upon final payment. Cheeky Penguin does not retain the rights to any of the projects we create for you. If your project requires any usernames or passwords, these will also be provided upon receipt of final payment.