Legal
Terms of Service
Last updated: 10 July 2026
1. Acceptance of Terms
By engaging Website Design Kiwi ("I", "my", "me") for services, by creating an account, or by using my website, you ("you", "your", "the client") agree to be bound by these Terms of Service in full. If you do not agree, you must not use my services. These terms constitute a legally binding agreement between you and Website Design Kiwi. You acknowledge that you have read and understood these terms before engaging my services.
2. My Services
Website Design Kiwi provides custom website design, development, hosting, ongoing website management, and search engine optimisation (SEO) on a subscription basis. All websites are custom-built by me. Unlimited change requests are included within the fair use scope of each plan. Fair use means requests that relate to the ongoing maintenance, improvement, and evolution of your existing website. Requests for entirely new websites, major platform rebuilds, complete redesigns from scratch, or work that is disproportionate in scope to your plan level fall outside fair use and may be quoted separately at my discretion. I reserve the sole right to determine what constitutes fair use. If I believe a request exceeds fair use, I will notify you and provide a separate quote before proceeding. I observe standard public holidays and seasonal closures (including the Christmas–New Year period) during which I am closed. These days are not counted as business days for the purposes of any turnaround or response-time commitments.
3. No Client Access, No CMS
You acknowledge and agree that: • You do not have access to your website's backend, code, hosting dashboard, server, or any content management system (CMS). Your client-dashboard account is for briefs, requests, files, project information, and billing only; it does not provide website editing or infrastructure access • 100% of all website changes. including text updates, image swaps, new pages, design modifications, feature additions, and bug fixes. are performed exclusively by me • Active paid clients can submit change requests through the request form inside the client dashboard or by email. Files uploaded in the dashboard must be attached to a website brief or a specific request; the dashboard is not a general-purpose file-storage service • Creating an account does not make you a client and does not activate client services. Client status and access begin only when a paid website plan becomes active, or when I explicitly add you as a manual client for an agreed engagement • This policy exists to ensure every request is properly documented, tracked, prioritised, and completed to the highest standard. It protects both you and me by creating a clear, auditable record of every change made to your website • You accept that this model is a fundamental part of my service. If you require self-service editing, CMS access, or the ability to make changes to your website yourself, my service is not suitable for you
4. Plans and Billing
My services are provided on recurring subscription plans with no minimum commitment unless a separate written agreement states otherwise. The billing interval you select at checkout, such as monthly or annual, is charged in advance. A one-time build fee may also apply and is shown before payment. You authorise me and my payment processor to charge your nominated payment method at checkout and at the start of each renewal period. Creating an account alone does not start billing. Billing starts only when you complete checkout for a paid plan. Prices are listed in the currency shown at checkout unless stated otherwise. All prices are exclusive of GST unless stated otherwise. Pricing is subject to periodic adjustment of up to 7% per year to account for rising operational costs, inflation, and continued investment in my services. I will provide at least 30 days' written notice before any price change takes effect. If you do not agree with an increase, you may cancel your plan before the new rate applies. I reserve the right to introduce, modify, restructure, or discontinue plans, features, add-ons, or pricing tiers at any time. I will endeavour to provide reasonable notice of material changes, but am under no obligation to maintain any specific plan structure, feature set, or pricing indefinitely. Multiple websites: where your plan covers more than one website, each website is billed as a separate recurring quantity at your plan's per-site rate, and a separate one-time build fee may apply to each website. If you cancel one website while keeping others, your plan quantity is reduced from the end of the current billing period. Add-ons such as ongoing SEO management are billed per website and are only available alongside an active website plan.
5. Payment Failures
If a scheduled payment fails for any reason (including but not limited to insufficient funds, expired card, or declined transaction), I will attempt to notify you and may retry the charge. You acknowledge that: • If payment is not received within 7 days of the due date, I reserve the right to suspend your website and all associated services without further notice • During suspension, your website may be taken offline and will not be accessible to the public • I am not liable for any loss of traffic, leads, revenue, or business opportunity resulting from a suspension caused by non-payment • Reactivation of a suspended account is at my sole discretion and may be subject to a reactivation fee • Persistent non-payment (more than 30 days overdue) may result in permanent cancellation and deletion of your website files, which may not be recoverable • You remain liable for all outstanding fees regardless of whether your account has been suspended or cancelled Chargebacks and payment disputes: if you initiate a chargeback, reversal, or payment dispute for a charge that was validly incurred under these terms, I reserve the right to immediately suspend or cancel your services. You agree to contact me first to resolve any billing concern before raising a dispute with your bank or card provider. You remain liable for the disputed amount and for any fees, costs, or charges I incur in responding to an unwarranted chargeback.
6. Refund Policy
All fees are non-refundable unless required by applicable consumer law (including the New Zealand Consumer Guarantees Act 1993, where it applies). No refunds are issued for partial months. If you cancel mid-cycle, you retain access until the end of your current paid billing period. If I cancel your subscription (see section 7), I will determine at my sole discretion whether a pro-rata refund for any unused portion is appropriate. One-off quoted work (where applicable) is non-refundable once work has commenced.
7. Cancellation Policy
Either party may end the service relationship at any time. You may cancel your subscription with immediate effect and you will retain access until the end of the current paid billing period. Unused time is not refunded unless required by applicable consumer law. I also reserve the right to cancel a client's subscription at my sole discretion and for any reason. When I initiate a cancellation, I will either (a) allow the subscription to run through to the end of the current paid billing period, or (b) issue a pro-rata refund for any unused portion of the billing period, at my discretion. I will notify you in writing of the approach taken. Where ownership of website files has accrued under the conditions in section 12 (Intellectual Property), an export will be provided in accordance with that section. Otherwise, no source code, exports, or hosting transfers are provided on cancellation.
8. Your Responsibilities
You are responsible for: • Providing accurate, complete, and lawful information about your business and requirements • Ensuring you have the legal right to use any content (text, images, logos, trademarks) you supply to me. I am not liable for any intellectual property disputes arising from content you provide • Reviewing and approving website content before launch. once you approve, you accept responsibility for the accuracy of the published content • Notifying me promptly if you become aware of any security issues, misuse, or unauthorised access to your website • Complying with all applicable laws, regulations, and industry standards relevant to your business and its online presence • Maintaining the confidentiality of your client-dashboard login credentials • Submitting change requests through your client dashboard or via email to me
9. Client Cooperation and Delays
The timely delivery and ongoing performance of my services depends on your reasonable cooperation. This includes providing content, feedback, approvals, access credentials, and any other materials or information I request within a reasonable timeframe. You acknowledge that: • Delays caused by your failure to provide requested content, feedback, approvals, or access are not my responsibility and do not constitute a breach of service by me • If a project is delayed by more than 30 days due to your inaction, I reserve the right to consider the current phase of work complete and move on to other client work. Resuming your project may be subject to scheduling availability and may incur additional charges • I am not responsible for missed deadlines, launch dates, or marketing opportunities resulting from delays on your end • Repeated failure to respond to communications within 14 days may be treated as an abandonment of the project or service. In such cases, I reserve the right to cancel your subscription in accordance with section 7, and no refund will be issued • Where I provide drafts or staging versions for your review, your failure to respond within 14 days will be deemed approval of the draft as-is
10. Website Launch and Delivery Timelines
Any timelines, launch dates, or delivery estimates I provide are indicative only and do not constitute a binding commitment. Web design and development timelines are inherently variable and depend on factors including project complexity, your responsiveness, the volume of revisions, and my current workload. I will use commercially reasonable efforts to deliver your website within any estimated timeframe, but I am not liable for any loss, damage, or expense arising from delays in delivery. whether caused by me, by you, or by third parties. I do not guarantee a specific launch date for any project unless explicitly agreed in a separate written agreement.
11. Acceptable Use
You must not use my services for any purpose that is unlawful, harmful, or prohibited by these terms. Without limitation, you agree not to use my services to: • Host, distribute, or promote content that is illegal, defamatory, obscene, threatening, harassing, discriminatory, or that infringes on the intellectual property rights of others • Distribute malware, viruses, spam, phishing content, or any other harmful or deceptive material • Conduct or facilitate any activity that violates applicable laws or regulations • Engage in any activity that could damage, overload, or impair my servers, networks, or infrastructure • Use my platform to send unsolicited bulk communications (spam) • Resell, redistribute, or sublicense my services to third parties without my written consent I reserve the right to immediately suspend or terminate your service, without notice or refund, if I reasonably believe you are in breach of this acceptable use policy. I may also report illegal activity to the relevant authorities. I am not obligated to monitor your content, but I may review it at any time and remove or disable access to any content that I determine, in my sole discretion, violates this policy.
12. Intellectual Property
My service is a fully managed subscription. The website I design, build, and host for you is provided as part of your plan and remains hosted, maintained, and operated by me for the duration of your subscription. The website, its underlying code, design system, infrastructure, and all proprietary tools, frameworks, templates, systems, processes, and reusable components used to deliver the service remain my intellectual property at all times. Earned ownership after 12 paid months: once you have completed twelve (12) consecutive months of paid subscription in good standing, or have prepaid a full annual term in good standing, you are entitled, on written request, to a one-time static export of your finished website (HTML, CSS, images and copy as published) so you may host it independently. This entitlement excludes my underlying source code, design system, build tooling, frameworks, reusable components, server configurations, automation, integrations, third-party licences, and any proprietary systems used to deliver the service, all of which remain my intellectual property. The export is delivered as-is, without ongoing support, hosting, updates, or maintenance from me. Before the 12-month threshold is met, no source code, files, exports, or hosting transfers are provided. You retain ownership of the original content and brand assets you supply (text, photography, logos, video) and grant me a licence to use, adapt, and display them on the website while your subscription is active. I retain the right to display your website in my Live Demos gallery, portfolio, case studies, and marketing materials unless you request otherwise in writing. Any open-source software incorporated into your website remains subject to its respective licence terms.
13. Hosting and Uptime
I provide hosting as part of my service plans. While I target 99.9% uptime, I do not guarantee uninterrupted, error-free, or secure service. I am not liable for any downtime, data loss, security breaches, or service interruptions caused by circumstances beyond my reasonable control, including but not limited to third-party infrastructure failures, DNS propagation, cyberattacks, natural disasters, power outages, or actions by hosting providers or CDN services. I perform regular backups as part of my service, but do not guarantee that backups will be complete or available in all circumstances. You are encouraged to maintain your own copies of critical content.
14. Ongoing Care & Website Management
My ongoing care service includes the management, maintenance, and continuous improvement of your website as part of your subscription plan. You acknowledge that: • Ongoing care is a best-efforts service. I apply commercially reasonable efforts to maintain, update, and improve your website, but I do not guarantee any specific outcomes, results, or performance improvements • I may proactively make changes to your website's design, structure, technology, code, or hosting infrastructure as part of my ongoing improvement process. These changes may be made without prior notice where I believe they improve performance, security, compatibility, or user experience • Response times for change requests are targets, not guarantees. While I endeavour to meet the response time commitments listed for your plan tier (e.g. 48 hours for Starter, 24 hours for Growth), these are indicative goals and do not constitute a service-level agreement or binding guarantee unless explicitly agreed in writing • The scope, depth, and priority of improvements I make are at my sole discretion. I allocate resources across my client base and cannot guarantee that any individual website will receive a specific volume of attention in any given period • Technology evolves and I may, at my discretion, migrate your website to different platforms, frameworks, hosting providers, or technology stacks if I determine it is in the best interest of service quality, performance, or long-term sustainability. I will endeavour to minimise disruption during such transitions • I am not responsible for the performance, availability, or changes made by any third-party services, tools, plugins, or integrations connected to your website I do not guarantee that your website will be free from bugs, errors, or vulnerabilities at any given time. Web technology is complex and continuously evolving, and no website can be guaranteed to function perfectly under all conditions and on all devices.
15. Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
Where my service plans include SEO work (whether described as "SEO foundations", "advanced SEO", "full technical SEO", or any similar term), you acknowledge and agree to the following: I do not guarantee any specific search engine rankings, positions, traffic volumes, impressions, click-through rates, or any other SEO metric. Search engine rankings are determined by third-party algorithms (primarily Google) that are outside my control and subject to change at any time without notice. SEO results are influenced by numerous factors beyond my control, including but not limited to: • Search engine algorithm updates and policy changes • Competitor activity and the competitive landscape of your industry • Your business's existing domain authority and online history • The quality and quantity of backlinks to your website • Your geographic location and target market • The content, products, and services your business offers • User behaviour signals and engagement metrics • Third-party reviews and citations • Technical factors including hosting speed, which may vary I will use commercially reasonable efforts to optimise your website for search engines in accordance with current best practices. However, SEO is an ongoing, evolving discipline with inherent uncertainty, and past performance is not indicative of future results. I am not liable for any loss of rankings, traffic, leads, revenue, or business opportunity resulting from search engine algorithm updates, manual penalties, deindexing, or any other actions taken by search engines. I do not engage in practices that violate Google's Webmaster Guidelines (commonly known as "black hat" SEO). However, search engine guidelines change frequently, and I cannot guarantee that techniques considered acceptable today will remain so in the future. You acknowledge that SEO work requires time to take effect and that results may not be visible for weeks or months after implementation. The absence of immediate results does not indicate a failure of service. Standalone SEO management is an add-on to an existing website hosted and managed by me. It requires an active website plan and is attached to a specific website you nominate. If the associated website plan is cancelled or lapses, the standalone SEO service attached to it may be cancelled at the end of the current billing period.
16. Third-Party Costs and Services
My services may involve or rely on third-party products, platforms, and services including but not limited to domain name registrars, Google Workspace, Google Analytics, hosting infrastructure providers, CDN services, SSL certificate providers, payment processors, and other software or tools. You acknowledge that: • Third-party services are subject to their own terms, conditions, pricing, and policies, which are outside my control • I am not liable for any price increases, service changes, outages, discontinuations, or policy changes imposed by third-party providers • Where I manage third-party services on your behalf (e.g. domain registration, Google Workspace), the underlying costs are set by those providers and may change without notice from me • You are responsible for reviewing and agreeing to the terms of any third-party service connected to your website • I am not liable for any data loss, security breaches, or service failures caused by third-party providers • If a third-party service is discontinued or becomes unavailable, I will use reasonable efforts to find an alternative, but I do not guarantee feature parity or uninterrupted service during any transition Domain name registration: where you purchase domain registration as an add-on, the domain is registered on your behalf and subject to availability. If the exact name you request is unavailable, I will offer a reasonable alternative. Domain registration fees are annual, non-refundable once the domain is registered, and subject to the registrar's pricing, which may change at renewal. While your subscription and domain add-on remain active and paid, I will manage the domain and its renewals on your behalf; you remain the beneficial owner of the domain and may request a transfer to your own registrar account, subject to registrar transfer rules and any applicable lock or waiting periods.
17. Data Handling and Privacy
I collect, store, and process personal and business information in accordance with my Privacy Policy and the New Zealand Privacy Act 2020. You acknowledge that: • I may store and process your data (including website content, business information, and account details) on servers located in New Zealand or overseas • I take commercially reasonable measures to protect your data, but I do not guarantee absolute security. no system is completely immune to unauthorised access, data breaches, or cyberattacks • Dashboard uploads are private supporting materials linked to a website brief or service request. I may access, download, copy, and use those materials only to deliver the requested services • You must not upload unlawful material, malicious software, confidential information you are not authorised to share, or files that infringe another person's rights. I may block, quarantine, or delete unsafe or prohibited files • File links sent in service notifications are time-limited. Email is used to alert me to the request, while the private dashboard and storage system remain the record of the uploaded material • When a paid plan ends, new change requests, replies, and uploads are disabled. I may retain account, request, billing, and uploaded-file records for up to 30 days to support administration, disputes, legal obligations, or reactivation, after which I may permanently delete them without further notice • You are responsible for maintaining your own backups of any critical content or data • I may use anonymised, aggregated data derived from my client base for internal analytics, service improvement, and benchmarking purposes For full details on how I handle personal information, please refer to my Privacy Policy.
18. Confidentiality
Both parties acknowledge that during the course of my engagement, each may receive or have access to confidential information belonging to the other party. Confidential information includes, but is not limited to, business strategies, financial information, customer data, technical processes, pricing structures, marketing plans, and any other information that is not publicly available. Each party agrees to: • Keep confidential information strictly confidential and not disclose it to any third party without the prior written consent of the disclosing party • Use confidential information only for the purpose of fulfilling obligations under these terms • Take reasonable measures to protect confidential information from unauthorised access, use, or disclosure This confidentiality obligation does not apply to information that: • Is or becomes publicly available through no fault of the receiving party • Was already known to the receiving party prior to disclosure • Is independently developed by the receiving party without use of or reference to the confidential information • Is required to be disclosed by law, regulation, or court order This confidentiality obligation survives the termination or expiry of these terms for a period of 2 years.
19. Non-Solicitation
During the term of my engagement and for a period of 12 months following termination or cancellation, you agree not to directly or indirectly solicit, recruit, hire, or engage any employee, contractor, or personnel of Website Design Kiwi who has been involved in providing services to you. This restriction does not apply to general job advertisements or recruitment campaigns that are not specifically targeted at my personnel. If you breach this clause, you agree to pay Website Design Kiwi liquidated damages equal to 6 months of that person's most recent gross remuneration as a reasonable pre-estimate of the loss I would suffer.
20. Force Majeure
Neither party shall be liable for any failure or delay in performing its obligations under these terms where such failure or delay results from circumstances beyond the affected party's reasonable control. Force majeure events include, but are not limited to: • Natural disasters (earthquakes, floods, volcanic eruptions, storms, tsunamis) • Pandemics, epidemics, or public health emergencies • War, terrorism, civil unrest, or government sanctions • Power outages, internet or telecommunications failures • Cyberattacks, including DDoS attacks, ransomware, or other malicious activity • Actions or omissions of government, regulatory, or statutory authorities • Failure of third-party infrastructure, hosting, or cloud service providers • Industrial disputes, strikes, or labour shortages (other than involving the affected party's own employees) If a force majeure event continues for more than 60 consecutive days, either party may terminate the affected services by giving written notice to the other party. In such cases, fees will be adjusted pro-rata for the period of non-performance.
21. No Warranties
My services are provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis. To the maximum extent permitted by law, I disclaim all warranties, whether express, implied, or statutory, including but not limited to implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. I do not warrant that: • My services will meet your specific requirements or expectations • My services will be uninterrupted, timely, secure, or error-free • Any results obtained from my services will be accurate, reliable, or complete • Any errors or defects will be corrected within any specific timeframe
22. Limitation of Liability
To the maximum extent permitted by law, Website Design Kiwi's total aggregate liability to you for any and all claims arising out of or related to my services. whether in contract, tort (including negligence), strict liability, or otherwise. is limited to the total fees actually paid by you in the 3 months immediately preceding the event giving rise to the claim. In no event shall I be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, punitive, or exemplary damages, including but not limited to: • Loss of profits, revenue, or business opportunity • Loss of data or content • Loss of goodwill or reputation • Cost of procurement of substitute services • Business interruption or downtime losses • Any damages arising from reliance on my services This limitation applies regardless of whether I have been advised of the possibility of such damages and regardless of whether any remedy fails of its essential purpose.
23. Indemnification
You agree to indemnify and must defend and hold harmless Website Design Kiwi and its personnel or contractors from and against all loss, damage, liability, charge, expense or cost (including all reasonable legal and other professional costs on a full indemnity basis) of any nature or kind arising from your breach of these Terms & Conditions. Without limiting the above, this indemnity extends to any and all claims, damages, losses, liabilities, costs, and expenses arising out of or related to: • Your use of my services • Content, materials, or information you provide to me • Your violation of any applicable law or regulation • Any claim by a third party arising from the content, products, or services of your business • Any intellectual property infringement arising from materials you supply
24. Modifications to Services
I reserve the right to modify, suspend, or discontinue any aspect of my services at any time, with or without notice. This includes but is not limited to: • Changing, adding, or removing features, tools, or capabilities • Modifying the technology, platforms, or frameworks used to deliver my services • Restructuring plan tiers, pricing, or included features • Changing third-party providers, hosting infrastructure, or integrations • Updating my processes, workflows, or service delivery methods I will use reasonable efforts to notify you of material changes that significantly impact your service, but I am not obligated to maintain any specific feature, functionality, or service configuration. Your continued use of my services following any modification constitutes acceptance of the modified terms. If you do not agree with a modification, your sole remedy is to cancel your subscription in accordance with section 7.
25. Changes to These Terms
I reserve the right to update, modify, or replace these terms at any time and at my sole discretion. Changes may be made with or without prior notice. I will endeavour to notify clients of material changes via email or through my website. However, it is your responsibility to review these terms periodically. Your continued use of my services after any changes constitutes acceptance of the revised terms. If any change to these terms is found to be unenforceable, the remaining provisions shall continue in full force and effect.
26. Severability
If any provision of these terms is held to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction, that provision shall be modified to the minimum extent necessary to make it enforceable, or if modification is not possible, it shall be severed. The remaining provisions shall continue in full force and effect.
27. Entire Agreement
These terms, together with my Privacy Policy and any other policies referenced herein, constitute the entire agreement between you and Website Design Kiwi with respect to my services. They supersede all prior or contemporaneous communications, representations, or agreements, whether oral or written. No waiver of any provision of these terms shall be deemed a continuing waiver or a waiver of any other provision. My failure to enforce any right or provision shall not constitute a waiver of that right or provision.
28. Governing Law and Disputes
These terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of New Zealand. Any disputes arising from or relating to these terms or my services shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of New Zealand. Before initiating any legal proceedings, both parties agree to attempt to resolve any dispute through good-faith negotiation for a period of at least 30 days.
29. Contact
Questions about these terms? Contact me at hello@websitedesign.kiwi.