Terms and Conditions

Richard Howell Web Design · Last updated: 15th June 2026

These terms explain exactly how the service works, what you get, what it costs and what happens if you ever want to leave. They are written to be clear rather than clever. If anything below is unclear, ask me before you sign up and I will explain it in plain terms.

These terms are the agreement between you (the client) and Richard Howell Web Design ("I", "me", "my"), a sole trader based in Cambridge. By starting a plan you accept them. Where they mention your plan, that means the specific plan, price and options you agreed when you signed up.

1.What the service is

I provide a website as an ongoing service. I design, build, host and look after a website for your business for as long as you stay subscribed. You are paying for that ongoing service, not buying a finished website outright. The fee is not a build cost being paid off in instalments. It covers having a professional site that stays live, secure, current and looked after.

2.Plans, fees and the photo session

• Plans are charged monthly or yearly at the price shown when you sign up. A yearly plan is paid in advance for twelve months. Where a free month is offered on yearly plans, it is already built into the yearly price.
• The photo session (currently £300) is a one-off at the start, provided as a separate photography service and never part of your monthly plan. Good, real images of your business make a big difference to how the site looks and how well it tells your story, so a session is normally how we begin, and the photographs are yours to keep and use however you like. If you already have professional-quality images of your own, those can be used instead. The one thing I will not do is build around stock photos or phone snaps, because the site only works when the imagery is right.
• Prices are exclusive of any tax that may apply. I am not currently VAT registered.

3.What your plan includes

While your plan is active, the fee covers:

• The design and build of your website, and the words to go on it.
• Hosting, an SSL certificate, security and regular backups.
• Keeping the site live, working and up to date as browsers and standards change.
• Reasonable changes and updates from time to time, such as updating your details, hours, prices, text or swapping out an image.
• Being on hand to help if something goes wrong with the site.

4.Approving your site

Before your site goes live, you will have the chance to review it, and a reasonable round of changes is included to get it right. The aim is a site you are happy with overall and that does its job well. Getting the fine design detail right is my job, not something for you to manage. Once the overall look has been agreed, extensive or repeated changes, or changes that amount to a redesign, may be treated as additional work and quoted separately.

5.What costs extra

So there are no surprises, the following sit outside the monthly fee and are quoted and agreed before any work starts:

• Larger pieces of work or new functionality, such as a booking system, an online shop, or a major expansion beyond the original site.
• A full redesign, or a second website.
• Additional photo sessions beyond the one at launch.
• Setting up a business email address on your domain, charged as a one-off. The email service itself is an ongoing subscription that you fund and own, in the same way as your domain.
• Logo design, branding or other graphic work, if you ask for it, quoted separately.
• Anything that needs a paid third-party service or licence, for example a premium plugin or a stock image you ask for.

6.Payment

Monthly fees are paid in advance each month, and yearly fees in advance for the year, by card through a secure payment provider. If a payment fails, I will let you know and give you a fair chance to put it right. If a plan stays unpaid for 14 days, I may pause the site until payment is up to date. I will not delete anything, and because your domain sits in your own account, a missed payment never puts it at risk.

7.Your domain name

Your domain name is registered in your name, in your own account with a provider such as GoDaddy, so it belongs to you from day one. It is your account and you have full access to it, and the domain stays yours whatever happens, including if you stop your plan. I have access to the account as well, so I can handle the setup and the technical side, but the account is yours, not mine. Because the domain already sits in your own account, there is nothing for me to transfer or hand back if you ever leave. You simply keep it, and I step away from the account. I will never hold your domain to ransom or use it as leverage.

8.Ownership of the website

Because this is a service rather than a purchase, the website I build, meaning its design, layout and underlying code, remains my property and is licensed to you to use in full for as long as your plan is active. You do not own the build itself unless you buy it outright (see section 9). Anything you provide to me, such as your logo, text, images and brand, stays yours throughout.

While your plan is active, your licence covers using the live website as I have provided it. It does not allow you, or anyone acting on your behalf, to copy, recreate, adapt or rebuild the website, or its design, layout, code or written content, in whole or in part, whether on another platform, with another provider, or after your plan ends. If you want the freedom to do that, you can buy the website outright (see section 9). Your own logo, any text or images you supplied yourself, and the photographs from your photo session all remain yours to use anywhere. The restriction above is only about not cloning the website I build for you, meaning its design, layout, code and written copy, which stay mine.

9.Buying the website outright

If at any point you would prefer to own your website outright instead of continuing the monthly service, that can be arranged by agreement. The one-off price is set in writing at the time and reflects the design, build and work that went into the site, so it is a fair reflection of its value rather than a token amount. Once it is paid in full, the site files are handed over to you, you own the build, and the subscription ends. Once you own the build, the site will still need hosting to stay online, which you are welcome to keep with me (currently £150 a year) or move to a provider of your choice. Until a buyout is agreed and paid, ownership of the build stays with me and the monthly service continues as normal.

10.Cancelling, and what happens next

• Monthly plans: you can cancel at any time, with no exit fee. A quick heads-up is appreciated, though it is not required. Your site stays live until the end of the month you have paid for, then the service ends.
• Yearly plans: these are paid in advance for the full twelve months and run for that year. They are not refunded part way through if you decide to stop early.
• When a plan ends, the website service ends with it: the site is taken offline and is no longer hosted or maintained, unless you have bought it outright. You always keep your domain name and any content you provided.

11.Pausing and restarting

The service is designed to run continuously. Being online without gaps is part of what makes a website and its search presence work, so a plan cannot be switched on and off through the year or paused for quiet seasons. If you cancel and later want to come back, that is treated as a fresh start: bringing the site back, re-hosting and re-establishing it may involve setup work and a setup fee, which I will quote before any work begins.

12.No guarantee of results

I build and look after your site to a professional standard, and I set it up properly to be found, with clean, fast, mobile-friendly pages, sound technical SEO, sensible local search and content choices, and your Google Business Profile where that is part of your plan. In short, I do everything within my control to give your site the best possible chance of being found and of turning visitors into enquiries. What I cannot and do not guarantee is a particular result, such as a specific position on Google, a level of visitors, or a number of enquiries, bookings or sales. Those depend on things no one controls, including your market, your competitors, your pricing, demand, and how search engines choose to work. So the fee is for the work and the expertise that go into giving you the best chance, not for a result that cannot honestly be promised.

13.Your part

To build and look after your site, I will need a bit of cooperation and access from you in reasonable time:

• A few details about your business, and answers to some questions early on.
• Access to the accounts I need to do the work, such as your domain, your Google Business Profile, and your hosting if you are bringing your own. I will talk you through giving me access where it is needed.
• Confirmation that any text, images or logos you give me are accurate and yours to use.
• Replying within a reasonable time, so the work and any updates are not held up.
• Keeping your Google Business Profile active day to day, such as posting and replying to reviews, and keeping any login details secure.

14.Third-party services

The service relies on third parties such as hosting providers, domain registrars and Google. I am not responsible for outages, changes, price rises or issues caused by those third parties, though I will do what I reasonably can to put things right and keep your site running.

15.Liability

I will provide the service with reasonable care and skill, in line with normal professional practice. As far as the law allows, I am not liable for any loss of business, profit, revenue, data or goodwill, or for any indirect or knock-on loss. My total liability to you in any twelve-month period is limited to the total fees you have paid me in that period. Nothing in these terms limits liability where it cannot lawfully be limited, including for death or personal injury caused by negligence.

16.Ending the agreement from my side

I may pause or end the service if fees go unpaid after a fair reminder, or in cases of misuse, abusive behaviour, or use of the site for unlawful purposes. Other than in those cases, I will always give reasonable notice and a chance to put things right first. If I ever decided to stop offering the service entirely, I would give you fair notice and help you move on smoothly. Your domain is already in your own account, and your content and photos are yours, so those stay with you whatever happens, and I would talk through your options for the site so you are never left stranded.

17.Changes to these terms

I may update these terms from time to time, for example if the service changes. If I make a significant change, I will tell you in advance. Continuing to use the service after a change means you accept the updated terms. Your price will not change during a period you have already paid for.

18.Governing law

These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales, and any dispute will be subject to the courts of England and Wales.

19.Contact

Richard Howell Web Design
Email: hello@richardhowellwebdesign.com