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Terms of Service

Effective date: 09/09/2025

Website: https://swerve-designs.co.uk

Company: Swerve Designs (“we”, “us”, “our”)

These Terms of Service set out the agreement between Swerve Designs and any individual or organisation that accesses our website or engages our services (“you”, “your”, “Client”). By using our site or commissioning work, you agree to these Terms.

1) Services We Provide

We design, build and support digital and brand assets, including:

  • Website design and development (primarily WordPress)

  • Performance tuning and Website Maintenance care plans

  • Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and content support

  • Branding, logo design and corporate identity

  • Collateral such as business cards and simple templates

Service details, deliverables and timelines are confirmed in your quote, proposal or email confirmation (“Order”).

2) Quotes, Scope and Changes

  • Quotes are valid for 14 days unless stated otherwise.

  • Scope is defined in the Order. Work outside scope is billed at our standard rates after written approval.

  • If requirements change or new features are requested, we will advise on impact to cost and timing before proceeding.

3) Fees, Deposits and Payment

  • Projects usually require a 50% deposit to book production time. The balance is due on approval or before launch/handover, as stated in the Order.

  • Maintenance, SEO or content plans are billed monthly in advance.

  • Invoices are payable within 7 days unless specified otherwise. Late payment may pause work and could incur reasonable admin charges.

4) Client Responsibilities

  • Provide accurate content, assets, approvals and access credentials when requested.

  • Nominate a single point of contact for feedback and decisions.

  • Review proofs and pre-launch sites within agreed review windows so momentum is not lost.

  • You warrant that any materials you supply are lawful to use and do not infringe third-party rights.

5) Timelines and Approvals

  • Schedules assume timely feedback and content.

  • If feedback or content is delayed for 10+ business days, we may re-allocate studio time and reschedule the project.

  • Structured review rounds are included as per the Order; additional rounds can be added at our standard rates.

6) Deliverables and Acceptance

  • Design proofs or staging links are shared for review.

  • A deliverable is deemed accepted when you approve it in writing (email/WhatsApp) or when requested amends are limited to copy or minor layout tweaks.

  • On acceptance and receipt of final payment, we supply agreed files or launch the site.

7) Intellectual Property and Licensing

  • Before final payment: concepts, source files and code remain our property.

  • After final payment: you receive a licence to use the final approved deliverables for your business. Source design files (e.g., working files) are not included unless specified in the Order.

  • We may re-use non-client-specific components (frameworks, boilerplate, utility code) in other projects.

8) Third-Party Services, Plugins and Fonts

  • We often rely on reputable third-party services (hosting, plugins, themes, analytics, fonts).

  • Licences or subscription costs for these tools may be billed to you or paid directly by you, as agreed.

  • We are not responsible for outages or changes caused by third parties, but we will assist reasonably within your plan or at our standard rates.

9) Domains, Hosting and Email

  • You retain ownership of your domain and hosting accounts.

  • We can recommend providers and assist with setup and DNS/SSL.

  • Where we liaise with a host on your behalf, we do so as an agent and cannot control their platform behaviour, performance or support response times.

10) Website Maintenance Care Plans

  • Care plans typically include safe updates, backups, security monitoring, uptime checks, light content edits and monthly reports (plan-dependent).

  • Updates are tested on staging where practical; critical patches may be applied directly to protect security.

  • Content hours do not roll over unless specified.

  • Cancellations take effect at the end of the current billing period.

11) Content, Blogging and Social Posting (if included)

  • For monthly content packages, we propose topics using Search Console trends, keyword research and your priorities.

  • We create articles, interlink with key pages and schedule social posts to your connected profiles, as agreed.

  • You are responsible for final approval and compliance of published content.

  • Unless specified otherwise, copyright in each article transfers on payment; we may keep an archival copy.

12) SEO: Fair Expectations

  • We implement technical best practice and produce search-friendly content.

  • Rankings vary due to competition, updates and factors beyond our control, so specific positions or traffic levels cannot be guaranteed.

  • Measurement is based on agreed metrics (e.g., conversions, qualified enquiries, visibility).

13) Accessibility and Browser Support

  • We aim for readable typography, sensible colour contrast and keyboard-friendly layouts.

  • We support modern evergreen browsers and current mobile OS versions. Legacy browser quirks may require additional effort quoted separately.

14) Backups, Security and Performance

  • On new builds we configure caching, image optimisation and sensible security measures.

  • Ongoing performance tuning, backup retention and security scanning are provided within an active care plan.

  • No system is immune to failure; we act promptly and reasonably if issues arise.

15) Portfolio and Credits

  • We may display completed work (screenshots, links, client name and logo) in our portfolio and marketing unless you ask us not to in writing before launch.

  • A small site credit in the footer may be included; removal can be agreed.

16) Confidentiality

17) Data Protection (POPIA)

  • We process personal information as a responsible party in line with our Privacy Policy.

  • If we act as an operator (processor) for your data, we will follow your lawful instructions and apply appropriate safeguards.

  • You remain the responsible party for your customers’ data on your website.

18) Warranties and Disclaimers

  • We provide services with reasonable care and skill.

  • The site and deliverables are provided on an “as available” basis.

  • We do not warrant uninterrupted operation or future compatibility where third-party services or platform changes are involved.

19) Limitation of Liability

To the extent permitted by law, we are not liable for indirect or consequential losses, loss of profits, loss of data, or business interruption. Our total liability arising from a project is limited to the fees you paid to us for the specific work giving rise to the claim.

20) Indemnity

You indemnify us against claims, losses and costs arising from content, materials or instructions you supply that infringe rights or breach law.

21) Suspension and Termination

  • We may suspend work for non-payment or material breach after reasonable notice.

  • Either party may terminate a project if the other party materially breaches these Terms and fails to remedy within 10 business days of notice.

  • On termination, you pay for all work completed to date and any committed third-party costs.

22) Force Majeure

Neither party is liable for delay or failure caused by events beyond reasonable control (for example: power failure, network outage, strikes, regulations, or natural events). We will resume work as soon as reasonable.

23) Disputes

We prefer to resolve issues quickly and fairly. If a dispute arises, the parties will attempt to settle it in good faith. Failing that, the matter will be subject to the jurisdiction of the courts of South Africa.

24) Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. The effective date above shows the latest version. Continued use of the site or services after updates means you accept the revised Terms.

25) Contact

Questions about these Terms or a specific project:

Email: info@swerve-designs.co.uk