Terms and Conditions

1. About these terms

These terms apply to every website, web app and related service CoryNet agrees to provide. They sit alongside the written proposal for your project. If the proposal and these terms disagree, the proposal wins.

2. Who we are

CoryNet is a sole trader business run by Cory Hickton. In these terms, "CoryNet", "I", "me" and "my" mean CoryNet, and "you" means the business that accepts a proposal.

3. Business customers only

I work with businesses, including sole traders. By accepting a proposal, you confirm you are buying for your trade, business or profession, and not as a consumer.

4. Proposals

Every job starts with a conversation about your business. After that I send a written proposal setting out what I will build, what is not included, and the price of each service: a one-off setup fee and, for anything I host and look after, a monthly fee.

• A proposal is valid for 30 days unless it says otherwise.
• You accept a proposal by telling me in writing, for example by email or message. That forms the agreement between us, made up of the proposal and these terms.
• Anything not described in the proposal is not included, unless we agree it in writing later.

5. Setup fees

The setup fee covers planning, designing and building what the proposal describes. I invoice it when you accept the proposal, and I start work once it is paid, unless we agree a different arrangement in the proposal.

Once work has started, the setup fee is not normally refundable if you change your mind, pause the project or decide not to go live. If that happens, I may reduce or refund part of the fee where that is fair for the work done.

6. Monthly fees

Each service I host and look after has its own monthly fee, shown on your invoice by its web address or name. The monthly fee covers hosting, security, keeping the service up to date, and reasonable routine changes (see section 8).

• Monthly fees start on the 1st of the month after the service goes live. For example, a website that goes live on 18 September is first billed on 1 October. The days before that are not charged.
• Monthly fees are invoiced in advance on the 1st of each month.
• Monthly services continue month to month until either of us ends them (see section 16).

CoryNet is not registered for VAT, so no VAT is added to my fees. If that changes, I will tell you before it affects your invoices.

7. Paying invoices

Invoices are payable by the date shown on them, by bank transfer or by card through the payment link on the invoice. I will never ask you to send card details by email or message.

If an invoice is unpaid:

• After 7 days, I may pause changes, extra work and support.
• After 14 days, I may suspend the services the invoice covers, normally after telling you first.
• I may also claim interest and recovery costs under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998.

8. Changes and extra work

The monthly fee includes reasonable routine changes to what is already built, such as updating text, photos, opening hours, contact details or prices.

New pages, new features, redesigns and anything that changes how a system works are extra work. I will tell you the price before I start, and only go ahead once you agree.

9. Your part

To keep the project moving, you agree to:

• give me the information, content, photos and access I need, in reasonable time;
• only supply material you have the right to use, and that is lawful and accurate;
• check the details I publish for you, such as prices, contact details and opening hours; and
• keep your own logins and accounts secure.

If a project stalls for more than 60 days because I am waiting on you, I may pause it and pick it back up when I next have space. Timescales in a proposal are estimates, not guarantees.

10. Checking and going live

Before anything goes live, you get a chance to look at it and ask for changes within what the proposal covers. A service goes live when you tell me you are happy, or when you start using it.

11. Domains, email and other services

The proposal says who holds your domain name. Where I register a domain for you, I register it in your business's name where possible. Domain and email costs are separate unless the proposal says otherwise.

The things I build rely on other companies' services, such as hosting, email delivery and payment providers. Their terms apply to those services. I choose reliable providers, but I am not responsible for their outages or changes outside my control.

12. Who owns what

• You keep ownership of everything you supply: your content, logos, photos and data.
• Once the relevant invoices are paid, you own the written content and graphics I create specifically for you.
• I keep ownership of my code, tools, templates and ways of working, which I reuse across projects. You may use what I build for you for as long as its monthly service continues.
• If you want a copy of a site or app's code to run elsewhere, we can agree that as part of the proposal or when a service ends.

13. Personal data

Where a website or app I host for you collects personal information about your customers, such as enquiries or bookings, you are the controller of that information and I process it on your behalf. I will only use it to provide your service, keep it secure, use reputable providers to host it, and help you respond to requests from your customers about their data. You are responsible for telling your customers how you use their information.

How I handle information about you and your business is explained in my Privacy Policy.

14. Backups

Where a service I host for you stores data in a database, I take encrypted backups of it, normally every day, and normally keep them for up to 90 days.

Backups are there so that I can recover a service after a serious failure, such as a provider losing data, a system being damaged or a cyber attack. They are not a way to undo mistakes. If you or someone using your service deletes or changes something by accident, I do not promise to get it back. I may be able to help, and if so that is extra work (see section 8).

A restore returns a whole system to the moment the backup was taken, so anything added since then may be lost. Backups do not cover your email, or accounts and data you hold with other companies. I cannot guarantee that every backup will be complete or that all data can be recovered, so please keep your own copy of anything you could not afford to lose.

When a service ends, its backups are kept until they expire and are then deleted.

15. Support

Support for live services is part of the monthly fee. I provide it remotely, by phone, email or message, during my usual working hours. CoryNet is one person, so unless the proposal says otherwise there are no guaranteed response times, but I will always deal with anything that stops a service working as a priority.

16. Ending a monthly service

Either of us can end a monthly service by giving at least 30 days' notice in writing. Fees falling due during the notice period are still payable, and there are no refunds for part months.

When a service ends, I stop hosting it. Before then, once any outstanding invoices are paid, I will give you a copy of your content and the data stored for you. Moving a site or system to another provider is extra work, which I can quote for.

17. Suspending a service

I may suspend a service if invoices are unpaid (see section 7), if it is being used unlawfully or to send spam, if it creates a serious security risk, or if I am treated abusively. Where I can, I will tell you first and give you the chance to put things right.

18. Liability

Nothing in these terms limits liability that cannot legally be limited, such as for death or personal injury caused by negligence, or for fraud.

Otherwise, I am not liable for indirect or consequential loss, or for loss of profit, income, business, goodwill or opportunity. My total liability:

• for setup work, is limited to the setup fee for that service; and
• for a monthly service, is limited to the monthly fees you paid for that service in the previous 12 months.

19. Showing the work

Unless you ask me not to, I may name your business as a client, link to your public website, and show screenshots of it and a description of the project on my website and social media. I never publish private information about your business or your customers.

20. Changes to prices and these terms

I may change a monthly fee or these terms by giving you at least 30 days' written notice. If you don't want to continue, you can end the service before the change takes effect. The version of these terms on this page is the current one.

21. General

• Neither of us is responsible for delays caused by events outside our reasonable control.
• The proposal and these terms are the whole agreement between us for that project.
• Neither of us may transfer the agreement to someone else without the other's written agreement.
• Notices can be sent by email, to hello@corynet.co.uk or the email address you give me.
• If any part of these terms is found to be invalid, the rest still applies.

22. Governing law

These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales deal with any dispute. If something goes wrong, we will try to sort it out by talking first.