Terms of business

1. About these terms

1. "I", "me" and "my" means Darren Hodson, trading as Darren Hodson Digital, 79 Pershore Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham B5 7NX. "You" means the client named on the quote.
2. Our agreement is made up of your written quote (including any agreed changes) and these terms. If they ever conflict, the quote wins.
3. You accept these terms when you confirm the quote in writing (email is fine) or pay the deposit, whichever happens first.

2. Quotes and scope

1. Quotes are valid for 30 days.
2. The quote sets out exactly what's included: the pages, features and any content writing. Anything not listed is extra.
3. If you'd like to add or change something once work has started, I'll tell you the cost and any effect on the timeline before doing it. Nothing extra is charged without your agreement.

3. Payment

1. Deposit: a 50% deposit is due before work begins. Your project is booked into my schedule once the deposit is received.
2. Balance: the remaining balance is due when the website is complete and you've approved it, before it goes live. I'll launch the site as soon as the payment has cleared.
3. Other invoices, such as extra work or support, are due within 14 days.
4. All prices are in pounds sterling. Where I'm required to charge VAT, it will be shown on the quote and invoice.
5. If an invoice is overdue, I may pause work, delay launch or suspend hosting until it's paid, after letting you know. For business clients, I reserve the right to claim interest and compensation under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998.

4. Your part: content, feedback and delays

1. Great websites are a partnership. You agree to provide the content (text, images, logos and information) and feedback I need, when I need it, and to give me access to any accounts required, such as your domain or Google Business Profile.
2. Timelines in the quote depend on you providing these on time. If you're late, the launch date moves back accordingly.
3. Paused projects: if the project is on hold for more than 30 days while I'm waiting for you, I'll invoice for the work completed so far, payable within 14 days.
4. If the project is on hold for more than 60 days, it will be treated as complete. The full balance becomes due, and restarting the project will be quoted as new work, subject to my availability. I'll always contact you before this happens.

5. Revisions and approval

1. The quote includes two rounds of revisions at the design stage. Further changes are charged at my hourly rate, agreed with you first.
2. Before launch, I'll ask you to check and approve the website. Please check it carefully, especially spelling, prices, contact details and any legal information about your business.
3. After launch, I'll fix any errors in my work that you report within 30 days, free of charge. This doesn't cover new features, content changes or problems caused by changes made by someone else.

6. Content and legal responsibility

1. You're responsible for making sure the content you give me is accurate, legal and yours to use, including photos, logos, fonts and any text copied from elsewhere.
2. Where I write or suggest content, you're responsible for checking and approving it before launch, including any claims about your products or services.
3. You're responsible for your website's legal pages (such as your privacy policy) and for complying with the laws that apply to your business. I'm happy to help, but I'm not a lawyer and this isn't legal advice.

7. How I work: AI and third-party services

1. I build websites with the help of AI tools, including Claude by Anthropic. Everything the AI produces is reviewed, tested and approved by me before it reaches you.
2. Websites may rely on third-party services, such as Cloudflare, Google, domain registries and review widgets. I choose reputable providers, but I'm not responsible for their outages, price changes or changes to how they work.
3. I build every site to give it the best possible chance in Google and AI search, but no one can honestly guarantee rankings or traffic, and I won't.

8. Ownership

1. Once you've paid in full, you own the design, content and code I've created specifically for your website.
2. Until then, ownership stays with me, and I may take the site offline if payment isn't made.
3. Third-party components, such as fonts, frameworks, plugins and stock images, remain under their own licences.
4. I may show your website in my portfolio and include a small "website by" credit link in the footer. Just ask if you'd rather I didn't.

9. Domains and hosting

1. Where possible, domain names are registered in your name, so you always own them. Renewal fees are your responsibility unless they're included in your hosting plan.
2. Hosting is £15 a month for Astro websites (including business email) and £20 a month for Joomla websites, unless your quote says otherwise. Hosting is billed in advance.
3. Either of us can cancel hosting with 30 days' notice. When you leave, I'll help you move your website and email to your new provider.
4. If a hosting invoice is more than 14 days overdue, I may suspend the service after giving you notice.
5. You agree not to use hosting for anything illegal, harmful or abusive, including sending spam. I may suspend any account that puts my servers or other clients at risk.
6. Where I host your website or email, I process personal information on your behalf as your "data processor", and I'll handle it in line with UK data protection law and my privacy policy.

10. Cancelling a project

1. You can cancel at any time by letting me know in writing. You'll pay for the work completed up to that point, and the deposit is non-refundable once work has started.
2. I may end our agreement if invoices remain unpaid after reminders, or if continuing would be unlawful or unreasonable, and I'll give you written notice.
3. If you're a consumer (buying for yourself rather than a business), you have 14 days from accepting the quote to cancel under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013. If you ask me to start work within those 14 days and then cancel, you'll pay for the work done up to that point. Your statutory rights are not affected.

11. Liability

1. I'll carry out all work with reasonable care and skill.
2. My total liability to you under our agreement is limited to the fees you've paid me in the 12 months before the claim.
3. I'm not liable for indirect losses, such as loss of profit, business or data, or for losses caused by third-party services, hacking of accounts outside my control, or changes made to the site by anyone else.
4. Please keep your own copies of important content. I keep backups of the websites I host, but they're not a substitute for your own records.
5. Nothing in these terms limits liability that can't legally be limited, such as for death or personal injury caused by negligence, or for fraud.

12. Confidentiality

I'll keep your business information, passwords and account details confidential, and only use them to deliver your project.

13. Events outside my control

Neither of us is responsible for delays caused by events outside our reasonable control, such as serious illness, power or internet failures, or major outages at a provider. We'll keep each other informed and agree a way forward.

14. General

1. If any part of these terms turns out to be unenforceable, the rest still applies.
2. I may update these terms from time to time. Changes won't affect projects already agreed unless we both agree in writing.
3. These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have jurisdiction. If you're a consumer living elsewhere in the UK, you can also use your local courts.