Terms of service.

Who these cover

These terms are between Alp Web Studio ("we", "us"), a studio operating from Halifax, Nova Scotia, and you, the business or organisation we're building for. They apply from the moment you sign a scope, alongside the scope document itself.

Where the scope and these terms disagree, the scope wins. It's the document written for your specific job, and it's the one you actually read.

The scope comes first

Before any work starts you get a written scope: the pages, what goes on them, the $800 build fee, the plan, and the monthly price. Nothing gets built until you've signed it, and nothing is billed at that point either.

If you want something that isn't in the scope, we'll tell you whether it's a small change we'll just do, or a change big enough to need re-quoting. We won't do the second kind and invoice you afterwards.

What the build fee covers, and what the monthly does

The $800 build fee covers the design, the build, the on-page SEO set at launch, and getting the site live. On any monthly plan afterwards: managed hosting, SSL, backups, daily monitoring, on-page SEO upkeep, and content changes.

"Content changes" means updating what's on the site: hours, prices, photos, staff, services, a seasonal promotion. Text or email and most are done the same working day.

It doesn't stretch to a second website, a redesign from scratch, or new custom features. Those are quoted separately, and we'll say so before doing anything rather than after.

The Lead Machine additionally includes the quote estimator, the owner lead dashboard, speed-to-lead texts, two-way SMS and review requests. Message volumes are expected to be normal business use; if a client's usage becomes extreme we'll talk to them about it rather than issuing a surprise overage. Those four run on our software rather than in your site files, so they are available only while the Lead Machine plan is active.

Billing

• $800 to build. One payment for the design and the build, in Canadian dollars plus applicable tax. It is the only one-time charge, and there is no separate setup fee or deposit.
• Invoiced at launch, when the site is live, not when you sign the scope, and not while it's still being built.
• The monthly is recommended, not required. $99 on Starter, $399 on the Lead Machine. It covers managed hosting, SSL, backups, daily monitoring, on-page SEO upkeep and content changes. Decline it and you take the files instead, which section 05 covers.
• Monthly, in advance, on the same date each month, in Canadian dollars, plus applicable tax.
• No minimum term. Month to month, from the first month.
• If a payment fails we'll get in touch. We won't take a site down over a failed card without talking to you first and giving you a fair chance to fix it.
• Price changes apply to new clients first. Existing clients get at least sixty days' notice, and you're free to cancel instead.

Cancelling

Email us. That's the whole process, there's no retention call, no form, and no notice period beyond the current month.

Cancellation takes effect at the end of the billing month you're in. The site stays up until then, and there is no penalty or exit fee of any kind.

Cancelling the monthly doesn't undo the build. You paid $800 for the site and you keep the files either way; what ends is the hosting, the backups, the monitoring and the changes, so you'll need somewhere to host it. The same applies if you decline the monthly at launch rather than cancelling later.

You keep your website files, and we'll help you move to another host within reason. What doesn't come with you is our own software: the quote estimator and the lead dashboard. Section 07 covers that split in detail.

We can also end an agreement, with thirty days' notice. In practice this happens only where a client asks us to publish something unlawful, misleading or abusive, or where the working relationship has broken down. You'd get your files in that case too.

What you provide

To land at the fast end of that window we need your business details, services, hours, service area and a few photos, plus access to your domain, hosting or Google Business Profile where relevant. On the Lead Machine we also need a session on how you price work.

You're responsible for having the right to use anything you give us: logos, photographs, copy, reviews and trade marks. If you send us an image you found on Google, tell us, and we'll find one you're actually allowed to publish.

You're also responsible for the accuracy of what your site says about your business, including anything regulated: licences, certifications, insurance, and any claim about your services. We write the words, you approve them before launch, and after that the statements are yours.

If we can't get material from you, the timeline moves. We'll tell you what's outstanding rather than letting the job go quiet.

Who owns what

• Your content is yours. Logos, photos, text you supplied, your business information, and any data your site collects from your customers.
• Your website files are yours. The HTML, CSS, JavaScript, images and content that make up your site. The $800 build fee pays for them, so they're yours from launch whether you take a monthly plan, decline it, or cancel it later.
• Our software stays ours. The quote estimator and the owner lead dashboard are products we built and run for many clients. You have the right to use them while you're on a plan, and that right ends when the plan does. That's true whether you never take a monthly plan or you cancel one later.
• Our tooling stays ours. The internal components and build methods we reuse across projects remain ours, though nothing in them stops your site working after you've left.
• Showing the work. We may show your site in our portfolio and link to it, unless you ask us not to. Ask, and we'll take it down.

While you're with us and paid up, you have the right to use everything we've built for you, without restriction, for your business.

What we don't promise

Being specific here is worth more to you than a warranty clause.

• Google rankings. Nobody controls them. We do the on-page fundamentals properly and we don't promise a position. Be careful with anyone who does.
• A number of leads. How much work your site brings in depends on your market, your pricing, your reputation and how fast you answer. We won't put a figure on it before we've seen any of that.
• Uninterrupted uptime. We use managed hosting, watch it daily, and fix things fast. We don't offer a contractual uptime guarantee, because we'd be passing on someone else's promise as our own.
• That third parties behave. Domain registrars, hosts, Google, and messaging providers all have their own outages and policy changes. We deal with them for you; we can't bind them.
• Legal or regulatory compliance for your industry. We build accessible, standards-based sites, but if your sector has specific requirements you should have someone qualified check them.

And one thing we do promise, which is on the pricing page as well: if we don't think a site will pay for itself for your business, we'll say so on the call rather than take the money.

Liability

We'll do the work with reasonable skill and care. If we get something wrong, tell us and we'll put it right.

Beyond that, our total liability in connection with the services is limited to the amount you've paid us in the twelve months before the claim. We're not liable for indirect or consequential losses, lost profit, lost business, lost data, or for anything caused by material you supplied or by a third-party service failing.

Nothing here limits liability that can't be limited by law, including for fraud, or for death or personal injury caused by negligence.

One-time work

The add-ons, SEO tune-up, WordPress malware cleanup, speed fix, and Google Business Profile setup, are one-time jobs on a site we didn't build, and these terms apply with some differences:

• Each starts with a free look and a fixed quote. You approve the number before any work happens.
• They're invoiced on completion, not monthly, and they don't put you on a plan.
• You keep your own hosting, and we don't take on ongoing responsibility for a site we didn't build.
• We need access to do the work, and we'll tell you exactly what access and why.
• On a malware cleanup we'll clear what we find and harden the site, but we can't guarantee a site stays clean once we hand it back, because we're not the ones maintaining it.

Governing law, and changes to these terms

These terms are governed by the laws of the Province of Nova Scotia and the federal laws of Canada that apply in it, and the courts of Nova Scotia have jurisdiction.

If a clause turns out to be unenforceable, the rest stands.

We may update these terms. If a change materially affects clients on a plan, we'll email you before it takes effect and you're free to cancel instead. The date at the top of this page tells you when it last changed.

Questions about any of this: hello@alpwebstudio.com or (902) 225-5280.