Terms of business

Terms of business

These terms apply to every website build and plan from Itchen Studio. Your quote links here, and you agree to them when you accept the quote and pay the deposit. They're written to be read, so if anything's unclear, email sam@itchenstudio.co.uk.

Version 1.0 · October 2026

Part A: Website builds

1. Who we are and how these terms work

1.1 "I", "me" and "Itchen Studio" mean Sam Towson, a sole trader trading as Itchen Studio. "You" means the business named in the quote.

1.2 These terms apply to every quote, website build and plan I provide. Together with your quote, they make up our agreement. If the quote and these terms disagree, the quote wins.

1.3 You accept a quote by confirming in writing (an email or message saying you accept is enough) and paying the deposit. Quotes are valid for 30 days.

1.4 You confirm that you're accepting for the purposes of your business, not as a consumer.

2. What I'll build

2.1 I'll build the website described in your quote, based on the mock-up you've seen, to a reasonable professional standard.

2.2 Every build includes the items listed in the quote. Anything not listed, such as logo design, photography, online shops, payments, blog writing, advertising or social media management, isn't included unless we agree it in writing.

2.3 I can't guarantee search engine rankings, visitor numbers, enquiries or sales. Nobody honestly can.

3. What I need from you

3.1 You'll send me the content listed in the quote (usually photos, your logo, answers to my questionnaire, and access to your domain) and make sure it's accurate.

3.2 You confirm you own, or have permission to use, everything you send me, including photos, logos, text and reviews. You'll cover any costs or claims I face because something you supplied infringes someone else's rights.

3.3 You'll give feedback on each draft within 7 days, so the build keeps moving.

3.4 The ready-in time in your quote starts when I have everything in 3.1.

4. Changes and revisions

4.1 You get two rounds of changes: one on the first draft and one on the final draft. A round means one list of changes sent together.

4.2 Extra rounds, and changes after you've signed off the final draft, cost £30 per half hour. I'll tell you the likely cost before I start.

4.3 New pages or features that weren't in the quote are quoted separately (an extra page is £95) and may extend the ready-in time.

5. If things stall

5.1 If I don't hear from you for 30 days while I'm waiting on content or feedback, I'll pause the build and let you know in writing.

5.2 If I still haven't heard from you 60 days after my last message, I may close the build. I'll keep the deposit, and restarting will need a new quote.

6. Paying

6.1 You pay 50% of the build price as a deposit to book your build, and the other 50% before the site goes live on your domain.

6.2 Invoices are due within 7 days. You can pay by bank transfer, or by card through Stripe.

6.3 I'm not VAT registered, so there's no VAT to add.

6.4 If an invoice is late, I may pause work until it's paid, and I may charge interest and compensation under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998.

7. Cancelling

7.1 If you cancel before I start work, I'll refund your deposit in full.

7.2 If you cancel after I've started work, I'll keep the deposit.

7.3 If you cancel after I've delivered the final draft, the full build price is due.

7.4 If I have to cancel for reasons on my side, I'll refund everything you've paid for work not yet delivered.

8. Sign-off and launch

8.1 When the site is ready, I'll ask you to sign it off in writing. An email saying you're happy is enough.

8.2 Once you've signed off and paid in full, I'll put the site live on your domain.

8.3 If you find something that doesn't work as it should within 30 days of launch, I'll fix it free of charge. This doesn't cover new content or changes of mind.

9. Who owns what

9.1 Once you've paid the build price in full, you own the website made for you: its design, the words I wrote for you, and its files. Until then, I own them and you can only view the preview.

9.2 You always own the content you supplied (3.1). You give me permission to use it to build, host and look after your site.

9.3 I keep ownership of my own tools, code snippets, templates and know-how that I use across many sites. You get a permanent, free licence to use any of them that are built into your site.

9.4 Fonts, icons, photos or code from other providers stay under their own licences. I'll only use ones your site is allowed to use.

9.5 I may show your site, and screenshots of it, in my portfolio and marketing, and add a small "Website by Itchen Studio" credit in the footer. Tell me in writing if you'd rather I didn't.

9.6 If you decide not to go ahead with a mock-up I made for you, I'll take it down and won't use your name or content anywhere.

10. Liability

10.1 I'll carry out my work with reasonable care and skill.

10.2 I'm not responsible for losses that aren't a foreseeable result of my breaking this agreement, or for loss of profit, revenue, business or data.

10.3 I'm not responsible for problems caused by services I don't control, such as hosting, domain registries, email providers or form services, though I'll do what I reasonably can to fix them.

10.4 My total liability to you under this agreement is limited to the amount you've paid me in the 12 months before the claim.

10.5 Nothing in these terms limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, for fraud, or for anything else the law doesn't allow to be limited.

Part B: Care plan and hosting-only plan

11. Choosing a plan

11.1 After launch you can choose the care plan, the hosting-only plan, or to host the site yourself. Every build includes the first month of the care plan free, so you can try it.

11.2 If you choose to host it yourself, I'll hand over your site files and domain as set out in section 18.

12. The care plan

12.1 The care plan costs £29 a month, or the price in your quote.

12.2 It includes:

• hosting, domain renewal and HTTPS (the padlock)
• backups and uptime monitoring
• up to 30 minutes of small changes each month
• keeping your contact form and its spam filtering working
• a speed and security check once a year

12.3 Small changes means updating text, prices, opening hours or photos, adding reviews, and similar edits to existing pages. New pages, new features and redesigns aren't small changes. I'll quote for them first, at £95 per page or £30 per half hour.

12.4 Unused minutes don't carry over to the next month. If a month's changes will take longer than 30 minutes, I'll tell you the cost of the extra time before I start.

13. Response times

13.1 My working hours are 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday, excluding bank holidays.

13.2 On the care plan, I'll reply to change requests within 2 working days and usually make small changes within 5 working days.

13.3 If your site goes down, I'll start looking into it the same working day you tell me, or the same working day my monitoring alerts me.

13.4 I'll do my best to keep your site online, but hosting depends on other providers, so I can't promise it will never be unavailable.

14. The hosting-only plan

14.1 The hosting-only plan costs £60 a year, paid yearly in advance. It includes hosting, domain renewal and HTTPS.

14.2 No changes are included. Changes cost £30 per half hour, and I'll quote first.

15. Paying for plans

15.1 Plans are paid through Stripe by Direct Debit or card. The care plan is charged monthly in advance, starting one month after launch.

15.2 If a payment fails, I'll let you know. If it isn't sorted within 14 days, I may pause changes. If it still isn't sorted 30 days after the failed payment, I may take the site offline after giving you 7 days' written notice. I'll never hold back your domain (section 18).

15.3 I may change plan prices by giving you at least 30 days' written notice. If you don't want to pay the new price, you can cancel before it starts.

16. Cancelling a plan

16.1 The care plan has a minimum term of three months from launch, which includes the free first month. After that it rolls on monthly, and you can cancel with 30 days' written notice.

16.2 The hosting-only plan renews every year. You can cancel at any time before the renewal date. I don't refund part years.

16.3 You can switch from the care plan to the hosting-only plan at the end of any month after the minimum term.

16.4 I can end a plan with 60 days' written notice, for example if I stop offering it. I'll help you move your site to another provider at no charge.

Part C: General terms

17. Your domain

17.1 Your domain is registered with you as the owner (the registrant), even when I register and renew it for you.

17.2 While you're on a plan, I manage the domain in my registrar account and include renewals in your plan price.

17.3 If you already have a domain, I'll help you move it or point it to your new site. You're responsible for any costs from your existing provider.

18. If you leave

18.1 If you end your plan, or decide to host the site yourself, I'll hand over the following within 5 working days of your request, free of charge:

• your domain, transferred to the registrar or account you choose
• a copy of your site files, as long as the build price has been paid in full
• a list of your domain's DNS settings, so your email and other services keep working

18.2 I'll keep your site live on my hosting until the end of your notice period, or until it's running with your new provider if that's sooner.

18.3 I'll never hold back your domain, including if there's money owed. I may still recover any money owed in the usual way.

18.4 Some domains can't move for 60 days after they were registered or transferred. If that applies, I'll move yours as soon as the rules allow.

19. Confidentiality and data

19.1 I'll keep your business information confidential and only use it to provide my services, unless the law requires otherwise.

19.2 When your site's contact form passes your customers' details to you, or my hosting stores them, I handle that data on your behalf as your data processor. The Schedule sets out how.

19.3 My own privacy notice, at itchenstudio.co.uk/privacy, explains how I handle information about you.

20. Ending the agreement

20.1 Either of us can end this agreement straight away by written notice if the other seriously breaks it and doesn't put it right within 14 days of being asked to, or becomes insolvent.

20.2 Sections 9 (ownership), 10 (liability), 18 (leaving) and the Schedule continue after the agreement ends.

21. Changes to these terms

21.1 I may update these terms. New versions apply to new quotes. For plans you're already on, I'll give you at least 30 days' written notice of any change, and you can cancel before it applies.

22. Other legal bits

22.1 This agreement is the whole agreement between us about its subject. Neither of us is relying on anything said that isn't in it.

22.2 If a court decides part of these terms can't be enforced, the rest still applies.

22.3 Nobody else has rights under this agreement.

22.4 Notices can be given by email to the addresses we normally use with each other.

22.5 I'm not responsible for delays caused by events outside my reasonable control.

22.6 This agreement is governed by the law of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales deal with any disputes.

23. Contact

Sam Towson, trading as Itchen Studio
32 Devon Drive
Chandlers Ford, Hampshire SO53 3GN
sam@itchenstudio.co.uk · itchenstudio.co.uk

Schedule: Data processing terms

These terms apply whenever I process personal data on your behalf. You're the controller of that data and I'm your processor, as UK GDPR describes.

S1. What I process

S2. My commitments

S2.1 I'll only process the data to provide my services to you, following your documented instructions, which include these terms. If the law requires me to do something else, I'll tell you first unless the law forbids it.

S2.2 I won't sell the data, use it for my own purposes, or keep copies of form messages.

S2.3 I'm the only person who works on your site. I keep the data confidential.

S3. Security

S3.1 I'll take appropriate steps to keep the data secure. These include HTTPS on every site, two-factor sign-in on all the accounts I use to run your site, a password manager for logins, and spam filtering on forms.

S4. Sub-processors

S4.1 You agree that I can use these providers to deliver the service:

• Cloudflare, for hosting and security
• my form delivery provider, currently Web3Forms, to pass form messages to your inbox

S4.2 I'll tell you at least 30 days before adding or replacing a provider that handles the data, so you can object. If we can't resolve an objection, you can cancel your plan without notice.

S4.3 I'll make sure each provider is bound by data protection terms that give the data the same level of protection as these terms.

S4.4 Where a provider handles the data outside the UK, I'll only use providers covered by UK adequacy regulations or appropriate safeguards such as the UK International Data Transfer Addendum.

S5. Helping you

S5.1 I'll help you respond to people who ask to see, correct or delete their data, as far as I reasonably can given what I hold.

S5.2 I'll give you the information you reasonably need to show you're meeting your data protection obligations.

S6. Data breaches

S6.1 If I become aware of a personal data breach affecting your data, I'll tell you without undue delay, and within 48 hours. I'll tell you what happened, what data is affected, and what I'm doing about it.

S7. Checks

S7.1 I'll answer your reasonable questions about how I handle the data, and allow a check by you or someone you appoint on reasonable notice, at your cost.

S8. Your responsibilities

S8.1 You're responsible for having a lawful basis to collect the data on your site, and for your site's privacy notice being accurate. I'll provide a template privacy notice with every build.

S9. When we stop working together

S9.1 When I stop hosting your site or looking after its form, I'll delete any of your customers' data I hold within 30 days, unless the law requires me to keep it.

Version 1.0 · October 2026. Earlier versions are available on request.