Terms of business
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1. About these terms
These terms apply to the web design, development, SEO, branding and related services that Shock Creative (“we”, “us”), a studio based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, provides to you, our client. Together with your proposal, they make up our agreement. If anything in your proposal conflicts with these terms, the proposal takes priority.
By accepting a proposal or paying a deposit, you agree to these terms.
2. Our services
Before any work starts, we’ll send you a proposal setting out what we’ll do, what’s included, the timeline and the price. Anything not listed in the proposal isn’t included.
Timelines are estimates and depend on us receiving content, feedback and approvals when agreed. We’ll tell you promptly if anything is likely to affect the timeline. Ongoing services, such as monthly SEO or care plans, run for the period and with the notice set out in your proposal.
3. Quotes and payment
Every project is quoted individually. Quotes are valid for the period stated on them.
We ask for a deposit before work starts and the balance on completion, before the website goes live or final files are handed over, as set out in your proposal. Larger projects may be invoiced in stages, and ongoing services are invoiced in advance.
Invoices are due within 14 days unless your proposal says otherwise. If an invoice is overdue, we may pause work until it’s paid, and we reserve the right to claim interest and recovery costs under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998.
4. Your responsibilities
To keep the project on track, we’ll need you to:
provide content (such as text, images and logos) by the dates we agree, and make sure you have the right to use it;
give clear, consolidated feedback and approvals on time, ideally from one point of contact;
give us access to the accounts we need, such as your domain, hosting, analytics and existing website;
check the work carefully before you approve it.
Delays in content, feedback or access may move the timeline, and extra work caused by them may be charged as a change (see section 5).
5. Changes and extra work
If you’d like something that isn’t in the agreed scope, we’ll explain what it involves and send a quote. We’ll only go ahead once you’ve approved the change in writing (email is fine). Approved changes may affect the timeline.
6. Intellectual property
Once you’ve paid in full, you own the final designs, the code written specifically for your project and the content we create for you. Until then, we keep ownership and you may use the work in progress for review only.
We keep ownership of our own pre-existing tools, code and know-how, and give you a permanent licence to use them as part of your project. Concepts and designs you didn’t choose stay with us.
Third-party items, such as fonts, stock images, plugins, the content management system and open-source software, remain under their own licences. We’ll tell you about any that need to be bought or renewed.
Unless we agree otherwise, we may show the finished work in our portfolio and name you as a client.
7. Hosting, support and third parties
If you choose our managed hosting or a care plan, what it covers is set out in your proposal. Otherwise, hosting, updates and support after launch aren’t included and can be quoted separately.
We rely on reputable third-party providers, such as hosting companies, email delivery services and domain registrars. We aren’t responsible for their outages or for changes to their services or prices, but we’ll help where we can. Unless we’ve agreed to manage them, you’re responsible for renewing your domain name and any accounts held in your name.
Search engines are outside our control, so we can’t guarantee specific rankings, traffic or results from SEO work.
8. Liability
We’ll carry out the work with reasonable skill and care. Our total liability to you in connection with any project or service is limited to the fees you’ve paid us for it.
We aren’t liable for indirect or consequential losses, or for loss of profit, revenue, data or business opportunity. Unless your plan includes backups, you’re responsible for keeping copies of your own content.
Nothing in these terms limits or excludes any liability that can’t be limited or excluded by law, such as liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, or for fraud.
9. Cancellation
Either of us can end a project or service by giving written notice. If the work ends early, you’ll pay for the work completed up to that date and any third-party costs we’ve already committed to on your behalf. Ongoing services can be cancelled with the notice set out in your proposal.
We may end our agreement if invoices remain unpaid, or if either of us seriously breaches these terms and doesn’t put it right within a reasonable time of being asked to.
10. Governing law
These terms, and any dispute arising from them, are governed by the law of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction.
11. Contact us
Email info@shock-creative.co.uk or call 07772 427316 with any questions about these terms.