GoatCloud Terms of Service

General

These terms of services apply to the services GoatCloud Communications LLC (“GoatCloud” or “we”) provides to our clients. If you are our client or customer, that means you. They are important and help to define our relationship. Please read them carefully.

Website and Online Presence Development

Websites specifically, and online presence generally, are never perfect. We do not warrant that every element of your website or online presence will always work as you expect or hope. WordPress websites, in particular, have many disparate parts (including core software, theme, and plugins), resident on hardware with its own, varied, specifications. Modifying, adding or deleting one element or piece of software or hardware that is used for your online presence may impact another. Furthermore, an online visitor’s use characteristics (including Internet connection, computer or device, operating system, browser and etc., and which vary widely from person to person) will also impact their experience on your website or online asset. Additionally, your online presence may be subject to attack by a malicious party at any time, which can detrimentally affect your online presence. Your website or online asset or account may fail on occasion, even at times you wish it would not or think it should not, and by using GoatCloud’s services, you understand and accept that risk.

By using our services, we expect that you will promptly alert us of any issue you identify that you believe is negatively impacting the services we are providing to you. Even if you have contracted with us to monitor your website or online presence performance, we are not always immediately made aware of problems that surface.

Websites we design or deploy will not necessarily work on browsers (such as Internet Explorer, Edge, Chrome, Firefox, Opera or any other) or operating systems (such as Windows, iOS, Linux, OSX, Android or any other) or computers that are antiquated, out of date or no longer supported by their maker.

We may occasionally deploy licensed software on third party websites (such as yours) or on other online assets of yours. If you are no longer a client of GoatCloud, your ability to use such software may expire and you may be compelled, if you desire to continue using the software, to obtain your own license to use the software. In such a case, failure to obtain your own license may result in such software failing to update or function properly.

Compliance with Relevant Laws

GoatCloud embraces universal access to online assets and consumer privacy and operates with such principles in mind. Nevertheless, with respect to any website or other online asset developed, maintained or worked on by GoatCloud for a client, GoatCloud does not guarantee compliance with any law, rule or regulation requiring website content, format, function or structure. We expressly do not guarantee any client’s compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) or the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and disclaim any liability regarding the same. Our clients acknowledge and agree that they solely are responsible for compliance with any privacy, accessibility, and/or any other law, rule or regulation, whether international, federal, state or local, regarding websites and other online assets.

Multiple Clients & Client Information

We provide services to dozens of clients. Our clients may overlap geographically or with respect to business focus, or both. We do not, and will not, share your client information with another client.

Virtual Hosting

GoatCloud resells website and email hosting services provided by reliable third parties chosen by GoatCloud. Any terms of service of such third party with relation to acceptable website content or activity shall also apply to our virtual hosting clients, and to any reseller of our virtual hosting services.

GoatCloud clients and resellers of our virtual hosting services agree that they will not use our services for any illegal purpose. GoatCloud cooperates with law enforcement.

To provide virtual hosting services, GoatCloud currently resells the services of Liquid Web. Liquid Web’s terms of service are available here: https://www.liquidweb.com/about/policies/terms-and-conditions.html. Every GoatCloud client and reseller of GoatCloud’s virtual hosting services agrees to be bound by such terms of service of any other provider of reseller services to GoatCloud in addition to GoatCloud’s own terms of service.

To improve or enhance services, or for any reason, GoatCloud reserves the right to change its reseller arrangement, including to a different reseller, at any time and without notice.

Our fundamental hosting goal is to provide a quality experience to our customers. We reserve the right to monitor the use of software deployed by our customers on our hosting platform. Customers who use software that in any way disrupts or impedes our ability to provide service to other customers may be required by GoatCloud at its sole discretion to disable or remove such software from their hosting account.

Virtual Hosting through GoatCloud includes:

• WordPress website hosting. Your site shall experience at least 99.9% uptime. If the site experiences downtime such that 99.9% uptime (as calculated by the underlying host) is not achieved in a given month, Owner’s sole remedy is to receive one month of credit on his/her account.
• Depending on your plan, hosting service may include up to 5 gigabytes of hard drive space (for website and email accounts combined) and 50 gigabytes monthly bandwidth; up to 5 email accounts; 3 FTP accounts; 5 MYSQL databases; 3 add-on domains.
• Email. We stopped offering cPanel-based email accounts to new virtual hosting customers in or about October 2016. We aim to phase out cPanel-based email for existing customers over time.

Managed WordPress maintenance

Our managed WordPress maintenance service includes:

• Site Backup. Company will back up site content regularly (usually at a rate of no less than every other week) and after any substantial change in the website. No more than two backups are expected to be kept; old backups are deleted.
• Software updates. The software that constitutes the WordPress website shall reasonably be kept up to date, including the base WordPress content management system (CMS), along with the theme and all plug-ins. The client is responsible for maintaining the license of any third party software not provided by GoatCloud.
• Site security. Reliable security software shall be deployed on the site to keep the site reasonably safe from unwanted intrusions or hacks. We cannot and do not guarantee protection against all intrusions or hacks.
• Deployment of new software. Company may deploy on the site new software that takes the place of, or better accomplishes the tasks performed by, then existing software on the site.
• Limited Troubleshooting. We will work expediently to fix any problem we cause. For other site problems, we will engage in limited troubleshooting to help resolve the problem. We may be not be able to resolve problems caused by you or by third parties, and may charge you at our customary hourly rate ($99) for troubleshooting such problems.

Limited Liability

GOATCLOUD, ITS DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES OR AGENTS, SHALL NOT BE LIABLE TO YOU OR YOUR DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES OR AGENTS, OR TO ANY THIRD PERSON FOR ANY INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, INCLUDING FOR ANY LOST PROFITS OR LOST OR COMPROMISED DATA ARISING FROM YOUR USE OF OUR SERVICES, OR ANY USER CONTENT, USER WEBSITES OR ANY MATERIAL ACCESSED OR DOWNLOADED THROUGH THE SERVICES, EVEN IF GOATCLOUD IS AWARE OR HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. NOTWITHSTANDING ANYTHING TO THE CONTRARY CONTAINED HEREIN, GOATCLOUD’S LIABILITY TO YOU, OR ANY PARTY CLAIMING THROUGH YOU, FOR ANY CAUSE WHATSOEVER, AND REGARDLESS OF THE FORM OF THE ACTION, IS LIMITED, AS FOLLOWS: 1) FOR WEBSITE DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS, TO THE AMOUNT PAID BY YOU TO GOATCLOUD FOR THE DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT SERVICES IN THE SIX (6) MONTHS PRIOR TO THE INITIAL ACTION GIVING RISE TO LIABILITY; AND 2) FOR ANY OTHER PROJECT OR SERVICE, TO THE AMOUNT PAID BY YOU TO GOATCLOUD FOR SUCH SERVICES IN THE THREE (3) MONTHS PRIOR TO THE INITIAL ACTION GIVING RISE TO LIABILITY. THIS IS AN AGGREGATE LIMIT. THE EXISTENCE OF MORE THAN ONE CLAIM HEREUNDER WILL NOT INCREASE THIS LIMIT.

Governing Law & Jurisdiction

These terms of service shall be governed, construed, and enforced in accordance with the laws of the state of New York, without regard to its conflict of laws rules. You agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the state of New York and courts for or in the City of Schenectady, Schenectady County, New York, and agree that any legal action relating to these Terms of Service or our services to you shall be brought in those courts.

Nevertheless, you agree that any dispute between us shall be resolved by final and binding arbitration conducted in Schenectady, New York, by the American Arbitration Association pursuant to its applicable rules, using only one arbitrator, and that the prevailing party shall be entitled to recovery of reasonable attorney fees incurred therein.

To resolve any dispute, GoatCloud and you agree to attempt mediation prior to commencing arbitration or litigation.

Failure to Keep Account Current

Failure to pay invoices when due may result in account suspension or termination. Invoices more than 45 days past due shall be assessed interest at the rate of 1% per month (12% per annum). GoatCloud may, at its sole discretion, offset any amount owed to GoatCloud against any credit on your account.

You Should Have a Privacy Policy. It is your responsibility.

Clients who use, collect, maintain or share private information about individuals should have a privacy policy no less protective of an individual’s privacy than GoatCloud’s privacy policy, found here: https://goatcloud.com/legal-stuff-disclaimer-privacy-information/.

Refunds of Payments Made to GoatCloud

We typically request a down payment to commence work, not uncommonly 50% of the total project cost. Such down payment is in consideration, in part, of our budgeting our time to work on your project. Upon receipt of such payment, your ability to receive a refund of such payments diminishes over time if you fail to regularly communicate with us or provide the content or feedback we need to advance the project. At our sole discretion, you may be eligible to receive a refund of such payment as follows: 30 days after down payment, 66% of down payment; 60 days after down payment, 33% of down payment; 90 days and more after down payment, 0% of down payment. If you are to receive a refund, we may pay it in installments over up to 90 days.

Notwithstanding the above, the first $500 of any project first payment is non-refundable. Further, GoatCloud shall receive no less than full payment for actual hours worked (at an hourly rate of no less than $99) even if you terminate your relationship with GoatCloud at any time and for any reason.

Suspension or Termination of Account

Any violation of these terms of service by a user of GoatCloud’s services, including nonpayment of amounts due, may result in the immediate suspension or termination of services, including for virtual hosting or virtual hosting reseller accounts.

During an account suspension, neither you nor the public may have access to to your website or to email services. Your website may display to the public an “Account Suspended” or similar message. Email addressed to you may bounce back to the sender, and you may not be able to send out email from any email account provided by GoatCloud.

After no later than 90 days of consecutive suspension, your account may, at our sole discretion, be terminated. Upon such termination, all data related to your account, including your website and any email messages, will be deleted. If you have not kept your own copy of such information, you will lose it.

Changes to Terms of Service

These terms may change at any time without prior notice.

Last updated November 7, 2023.