WordPress Care Plan Terms & Conditions
1. Introduction
These Terms and Conditions govern the provision of ongoing WordPress Care Plan services provided by Chiara Broom, Freelance Web Design. By subscribing to a Care Plan, you agree to these terms.
2. Definitions
Service: The WordPress Care Plan, which includes maintenance, monitoring and support.
Client: The individual or organisation subscribing to the Service.
Agreement: This document and any written communication confirming your Care Plan.
3. Scope of Services
The Standard WordPress Care Plan includes the following.
Hosting
Managed hosting with active SSL is included for as long as you are on a Care Plan, along with free domain renewal. If you use your own hosting, this element does not apply, and support for third-party hosting is limited.
Updates
Weekly updates to WordPress core, theme and plugins, checked for compatibility where possible.
Backups
Weekly off-site backups stored securely, with one-click restore. Backups are retained for [30] days.
Monitoring
Weekly malware and vulnerability scans, plus downtime monitoring. Site speed is reviewed in your monthly report.
Support Time
Support is provided via email or WhatsApp message only. Phone calls are not included as part of the Care Plan.
Up to 30 minutes per month is included for technical troubleshooting. This covers issues such as plugin update conflicts, error messages, security warnings or website functionality problems.
This support time does not include content updates, page edits, design changes, copywriting or new feature requests. Unused support time does not roll over to the following month.
Support is reactive. I do not proactively monitor every function of your site, so please report any issue you notice as soon as possible. The sooner you tell me something is wrong, the sooner I can look into it.
Reporting
A monthly summary of updates, backups, security checks, uptime and basic analytics (where available).
What Is Not Included
- New content uploads
- Design or layout changes
- Copywriting, SEO or marketing updates
- Major plugin repair or inherited site issues
- Recovery from client changes or third-party edits
- Custom development or new features
These services are available at a reduced Care Plan rate of £45 per hour for planned work, or £60 per hour for urgent work.
Priority Support
Care Plan clients receive priority support. This means their requests are placed ahead of non-Care Plan clients within normal working hours and within the scheduling rules below.
Lead Time for Extra Work
10 working day lead time for all extra work. Urgent requests are charged at £60 per hour.
Legacy Client Allowance
Legacy clients with a previous written agreement (pre 2025) retain up to 30 minutes per month for minor content updates such as event listings. All requests must be scheduled in advance with a 10 working day lead time. Short notice or urgent requests are billed at £60 per hour.
- This allowance covers minor updates only. New pages, audits or functionality are not included.
- All work must be scheduled in advance.
- Requests are subject to a 10 working day turnaround, depending on availability.
- Short notice or urgent content requests fall outside the Care Plan and will be billed at the urgent rate.
4. Payment Terms
Monthly Care Plan pricing is determined by the size and complexity of your website. Sites with more pages, more plugins, e-commerce functionality, or additional integrations require more time to maintain, test and secure, and are priced accordingly. Your monthly price is confirmed in writing before your Care Plan begins and will not change without 30 days' notice.
Monthly Care Plan payments are due on the 1st of each month via GoCardless Direct Debit.
A 5% late payment fee will be applied to any invoice that remains unpaid after 10 calendar days.
If payment remains outstanding for more than 14 days, I reserve the right to suspend your Care Plan services, including website hosting (where applicable), updates, monitoring, backups and technical support, until the account has been brought up to date.
Hosting accounts suspended due to non-payment may be subject to a £50 reinstatement fee in addition to any outstanding fees before services are restored.
All prices are stated in GBP and exclude VAT where applicable.
5. Client Responsibilities
Clients must provide correct login details.
Please let me know if you or anyone else makes changes to your website, including installing or removing plugins. Unreported changes can affect stability, security and performance, and may fall outside the scope of this plan. While backups are provided, clients should keep their own copies of key business data such as orders or form submissions.
Clients are responsible for ensuring that their payment details remain up to date and that recurring payments can be collected successfully. Failure to maintain valid payment details may result in suspension of Care Plan services.
6. Limitations of Liability
No liability is accepted for indirect losses, downtime, plugin failures or third-party issues.
Data loss is unlikely but cannot be guaranteed.
Total liability is limited to the fees paid in the previous three months.
7. Term and Termination
The Care Plan operates on a rolling monthly basis with no minimum contract term.
Either party may terminate the agreement by giving 30 days' written notice.
No partial refunds are given for unused periods.
Where hosting is included within your Care Plan, hosting services will cease at the end of the paid period unless otherwise agreed. If you wish to move your site to another host, please request this before your plan ends.
If a Care Plan has been suspended due to non-payment and the outstanding balance remains unpaid for 90 days, I reserve the right to permanently terminate the hosting account and remove all associated website files, databases, email accounts and backups from my servers.
Once hosting has been terminated and data has been deleted, recovery cannot be guaranteed. Where possible, reasonable notice will be given before permanent deletion takes place.
8. Governing Law
These terms follow the laws of England and Wales.
9. Updates to Terms
Terms may be updated with 30 days' notice. Continued use of the Care Plan confirms acceptance.
10. Entire Agreement
This document and any written communication about your plan form the entire agreement.
Key Points
- Monthly price is based on the size and complexity of your website, confirmed in writing before you start
- Hosting and free domain renewal included while on a Care Plan
- Weekly updates, checked for compatibility
- Weekly off-site backups included, retained for 30 days
- Weekly malware and vulnerability scans, plus downtime monitoring
- 30 minutes technical troubleshooting each month
- Support is reactive, by email or WhatsApp, within working hours
- Priority support for Care Plan clients
- 10 working day lead time for all extra work
- Reduced rate of £45 per hour for planned extra work
- Urgent work charged at £60 per hour
- 30 days notice to cancel