Website Software Upgrades - Minor
At Amherst Partners we use a number of OpenSource and Commercial software packages in the development of your website. The 2 primary OpenSource packages are Joomla and WordPress. On the Commercial end we purchase developer licenses which we renew yearly for website templates, security software, backup and recovery tools, and SEO/SEF software. These additional Commercial packages are designed to keep your website secure, recoverable, aesthetically pleasing, and friendly to both people and search engines.
When we learn of updates to these software packages we will perform updates at no charge to our clients whenever possible. In cases where we cannot perform simple updates, e.g., major software upgrades (see below) we will either generate a fixed-price quote or an hourly rate for the upgrade. We will not perform major updates without the permission of our clients.
Website Software Upgrades - Major
Both Joomla and WordPress periodically go through major software renovations. Just like Microsoft Windows, there are times when simple updates just won't do. As with Windows, these updates take significant time and effort to accomplish and in many cases require separate efforts to migrate the client specific data to the new version.
With major updates there comes a time when the vendor of the software stops supporting older versions. There also comes a time when the hosting providers have to upgrade their system software to versions that break older versions of products like Joomla and WordPress.
When major software upgrades are required Amherst Partners will generate either a fixed-price quote or provide an hourly rate for performing the upgrade. When we determine it necessary, we will warn a client that choosing not to upgrade is at their own risk and that if their site breaks due to a hosting platform upgrade Amherst Partners is not responsible. However, we will make every effort to respond quickly to these situations and will have to charge a premium hourly rate to perform emergency support.
Non-website Related
In general, Amherst Partners does not provide technical support for PC related issues. However, as a convenience and a courtesy to our clients we will, based upon availability, provide a limited level of remote support for performing PC diagnostic and remedial tasks like performance tuning and virus/malware remove. All PC related support will be billed at our standard Technical Support rate.
Note that we only provide this as a courtesy and do not guaranty availability for performing this support. We reserve the right to charge a premium Technical Support rate for calls and activities after our normal working hours.
Email Setup and Configuration
When you host a website with Amherst Partners we perform most email account and/or email forwarder setup at no additional charge. If we have to spend time on the phone assisting client resources in configuring their email clients (Outlook, iPhone, iPad, Blackberry, etc.) then we charge our standard Technical Support rate.
If email services are purchased without a website all related email activities are charged at our standard Technical Support rate.
