Terms and Conditions

Forte Web Solutions Ltd is a web design and digital services business based in Cardiff, UK. We specialise in affordable, high-quality websites for tradespeople, small businesses and local service providers across the UK.

In these terms, the following definitions apply:

• "Services" — the web design, development, hosting, maintenance and related digital services we provide.
• "Project" — a defined piece of work agreed between us and the client, set out in a quote or service agreement.
• "Quote" — a written estimate of fees, deliverables and scope provided by us.
• "Deliverables" — the websites, files, content and materials produced under a Project.
• "Consumer" — an individual acting wholly or mainly outside their trade, business, craft or profession.
• "Business Client" — any client who is not a Consumer, including sole traders, partnerships, companies and other organisations.

A binding contract between you and Forte Web Solutions Ltd is formed when you accept a written quote, pay a deposit, or instruct us to begin work — whichever happens first. By doing so, you confirm you have read, understood and agree to be bound by these Terms and Conditions.

We offer a range of digital services including, but not limited to: website design and development, web hosting, ongoing maintenance and support, search engine optimisation (SEO), pay-monthly website packages, e-commerce solutions, and professional copywriting. Specific deliverables for each Project are set out in the agreed Quote.

Quotes are valid for 30 days from the date of issue, after which prices may be reviewed. Any change to the agreed scope of work will require a revised Quote and may affect the price and timescale. We reserve the right to decline any order at our discretion.

Pay-Monthly Website Packages

For pay-monthly website packages, we require your payment card details to be securely captured before work commences. No charge is taken at this stage. Your first monthly payment will be collected only upon completion of your website, at which point your ongoing monthly billing cycle begins. Subsequent monthly payments will be collected on the same date each month thereafter.

By providing your card details, you authorise us to collect the agreed monthly fee on a recurring basis from the date of website completion. We will notify you of the exact amount and billing start date before your first payment is taken. You will receive at least 10 working days' notice of any change to the recurring amount.

Services with a Setup Fee

For services that include a one-off setup fee (such as bespoke website builds or custom projects), payment is structured as follows:

• 50% of the total setup fee is due before work commences.
• The remaining 50% is due within 14 days of the project being completed and delivered to you.
• Where a service also includes an ongoing monthly charge, that monthly charge will commence from the date of project completion.

Failed or Late Payments

If a scheduled payment fails or is not received by the due date, we will notify you promptly and allow a reasonable opportunity to resolve the issue. If payment remains outstanding after 14 days, we reserve the right to suspend your website or services until the account is brought up to date. We will always notify you before taking this step.

For business clients, we reserve the right to charge statutory interest on overdue invoices under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 at 8% above the Bank of England base rate, plus reasonable debt recovery costs.

Refunds

Setup fee deposits (50%) are non-refundable once work has commenced, except where required by law. If we are unable to complete and deliver the agreed project through our own fault, any deposit paid will be refunded in full. For pay-monthly clients, no charge is taken prior to completion, so no pre-completion refund applies. Post-completion refunds for monthly fees will be considered on a case-by-case basis in accordance with your cancellation rights set out in Section 7.

Consumers entering into a distance contract with us have the right to cancel within 14 days under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, without giving any reason.

If you ask us to begin work during the cooling-off period and then cancel, you will be charged for any work carried out up to the point of cancellation. Pay-monthly clients may cancel with 30 days' written notice, subject to any agreed minimum term. Following cancellation, your files will remain available for 30 days after which they will be securely deleted.

All delivery timescales are estimates only, unless expressly stated in writing as a guaranteed deadline. Client-side delays — for example late provision of content, feedback or approvals — will extend the delivery schedule accordingly. We will notify you as soon as reasonably practicable if we anticipate any significant delay.

You agree to provide all required content, images, branding and approvals in a timely manner. You confirm that you own or have all necessary rights and licences to use any content supplied to us, and you remain fully responsible for the accuracy, legality and appropriateness of that content.

Full intellectual property rights in the bespoke Deliverables created for your Project transfer to you upon receipt of full payment. We retain ownership of any pre-existing templates, frameworks, libraries and tools used to create the Deliverables, and grant you a non-exclusive licence to use them as part of your finished website.

We may display completed work in our portfolio and marketing materials unless you instruct us otherwise in writing. Third-party plugin, theme and software licences remain subject to their own terms.

We warrant that all Services will be performed with reasonable care and skill in accordance with the Consumer Rights Act 2015. We do not guarantee any specific search engine rankings, traffic levels or commercial outcomes. Any errors or defects reported to us will be resolved within a reasonable timeframe. Nothing in these terms excludes or limits your statutory rights as a consumer.

Our total aggregate liability to you in connection with any Project is limited to the total fees actually paid by you for that Project. We will not be liable for any loss of profit, loss of data, loss of business or any indirect or consequential losses.

We accept no liability for outages, downtime, policy or algorithm changes affecting third-party platforms (such as hosting providers, search engines or social networks). Nothing in these terms excludes or limits our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, or for any other liability that cannot be excluded by law.

We process personal data in accordance with our Privacy Policy and our obligations under the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. Where we process personal data on behalf of clients (for example, the personal data of your own customers), a Data Processing Agreement is available on request.

Either party may terminate the agreement immediately on written notice if the other party commits a material breach which is not remedied within 14 days, or becomes insolvent or otherwise unable to meet its obligations.

On termination, all sums due for work completed up to the date of termination become immediately payable. Files and Deliverables will be released once all outstanding payments have been received in full.

These terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction over any disputes arising from or in connection with them.

We encourage you to contact us first to resolve any dispute directly. If you are a consumer and we cannot reach agreement, you may use a certified alternative dispute resolution service — see gov.uk/find-a-mediation-service for details.

We may update these Terms and Conditions from time to time. The latest version will always be posted on this page with a revised "last updated" date. For material changes affecting any ongoing agreement, we will give you at least 30 days' notice before they take effect.

If you have any questions about these Terms and Conditions, please get in touch using the details below.