Terms & Conditions

These Terms and Conditions govern the provision of web design and development services by AM Studios (“we”, “us”, “our”), operated by Aston and Michael McIlroy, to you (“the Client”). By engaging our services or submitting a project enquiry, you agree to these terms.

1. Services

AM Studios provides web design, web development, and related digital services as agreed in writing for each project. The specific scope, deliverables, timeline, and price for each project will be confirmed before work begins.

2. Payments & Deposits

2.1 Deposit

A non-refundable deposit of 40% of the agreed project fee is required before any work commences. This deposit secures your place in our schedule and covers initial design and planning work.

2.2 Final Payment

The remaining 60% balance is due upon project completion and before the website goes live or final files are transferred to you.

2.3 Late Payment

If payment is not received within 14 days of the due date, we reserve the right to suspend work and charge statutory interest under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998.

2.4 Payment Processing

Payments are processed securely via Stripe. By making a payment you also agree to Stripe's terms of service.

3. Project Timeline

Estimated timelines are provided in good faith but are not guaranteed. Delays caused by the Client — including late provision of content, feedback, or approvals — may extend the timeline without affecting payment obligations.

4. Client Responsibilities

The Client agrees to:

• Provide all required content (text, images, logos) in a timely manner.
• Provide clear and timely feedback at each review stage.
• Ensure all content supplied is owned by the Client or properly licensed.
• Not supply content that is defamatory, illegal, or infringes third-party rights.

5. Revisions

Each project includes a reasonable number of revisions as agreed at the outset. Significant changes to the agreed scope after work has commenced may incur additional charges, which will be agreed in writing before proceeding.

6. Intellectual Property

6.1 Ownership on Full Payment (Handoff Plan)

Clients on a handoff-only plan receive full ownership of the website design and code upon receipt of the final build payment. From that point AM Studios has no further obligation to host, maintain, or keep the website online. The Client is solely responsible for arranging their own hosting and ongoing maintenance.

6.2 Hosted Websites — Conditional Ownership

Where AM Studios hosts the Client's website, AM Studios retains ownership of the website and all associated files until all build fees and hosting fees have been paid in full. Intellectual property rights transfer to the Client only upon settlement of all outstanding amounts. During any period of unpaid hosting fees, AM Studios may suspend access to the website in accordance with Clause 6.5.

6.3 Third-Party Assets

Any third-party assets (fonts, stock images, plugins, frameworks) remain subject to their respective licences. AM Studios will inform the Client of any such assets and associated licence obligations.

6.4 Portfolio Rights

AM Studios retains the right to display the completed project in our portfolio and marketing materials unless the Client requests otherwise in writing.

6.5 Hosting & Domain Control

Where AM Studios hosts your website on your behalf, we retain administrative control of the hosting account, domain (where applicable), and live deployment for as long as we provide that service. This does not affect your ownership of the design, code and content under Clause 6.1 — it means we control where and how the live site runs while we're responsible for keeping it online, secure, and paid for.

If your account falls more than 14 days behind on hosting or support plan fees following the notice in Clause 2.3, we may suspend or take down the live site until payment is brought up to date, in line with Clause 8.2, including following a price change under Clause 11.4.

Domain names registered by AM Studios on your behalf are registered in AM Studios' name for administrative simplicity while we manage your hosting. The domain is yours: on written request, we will transfer it to you or to a registrar of your choice within 5 working days, at no charge, provided your account is fully paid up to date.

6.6 Prior to Full Payment

Until full payment is received, all work remains the intellectual property of AM Studios regardless of the plan selected.

7. Confidentiality

Both parties agree to keep confidential any proprietary or sensitive information shared during the project. This obligation survives termination of the agreement.

8. Cancellation

8.1 Client Cancellation

If the Client cancels a project after work has commenced, the deposit is non-refundable. If work completed exceeds the deposit value, AM Studios may invoice for work completed to date at our standard day rate.

8.2 AM Studios Cancellation

We reserve the right to cancel a project if the Client breaches these terms, provides illegal content, or fails to communicate for more than 30 days. In such cases, the deposit will not be refunded.

9. Limitation of Liability

AM Studios' total liability for any claim arising out of or in connection with our services shall not exceed the total fees paid by the Client for the project in question.

We are not liable for: indirect or consequential losses; loss of profit, revenue, or business; or any failure caused by third-party services (hosting, payment providers, etc.).

Nothing in these terms limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud, or any other matter that cannot be excluded by law.

10. Warranties

AM Studios warrants that the services will be performed with reasonable skill and care. We do not warrant that the website will be error-free or uninterrupted. We do not guarantee specific search engine rankings or traffic outcomes.

11. Hosting & Support Plans

11.1 Handoff (no ongoing hosting)

For clients who choose not to take an ongoing plan, AM Studios delivers the finished website files and/or repository on completion of the project. From that point, hosting, domain management, SSL, security updates and content changes are entirely the Client's responsibility. No monthly fee applies. A hosting or support plan can be added later at our then-current rates.

11.2 Hosting-only plan — from £20/month

Covers hosting, SSL, uptime monitoring, and security patching for your live site. Does not include content changes or new features — see Clause 11.3 for that. Billed monthly by Direct Debit via Stripe on a rolling basis; either party may cancel with 30 days' written notice. The monthly fee quoted is a base rate; the total may vary depending on the cost of your domain name, which is passed through at cost.

11.3 Support plan — from £60/month

Includes everything in the hosting-only plan (11.2), plus reasonable ongoing content update requests each month (e.g. text edits, image swaps, minor layout tweaks), assessed in good faith, plus priority support response times. Unusually high volumes of requests, or requests that amount to a new feature or a significant redesign, are not covered here and fall under Clause 5 (Revisions) instead. Does not include new feature development. Billed monthly by Direct Debit via Stripe. As with the hosting-only plan, the monthly fee quoted is a base rate; the total may vary depending on the cost of your domain name, which is passed through at cost.

11.3.1 Minimum Term

The Support plan requires a minimum commitment of 3 months from the start date. After the minimum term has been completed, the plan continues on a rolling monthly basis and either party may cancel with 30 days' written notice.

11.3.2 Discounted Build Price

Where the Client's build fee was discounted on the basis that the Client takes the Support plan, that discount is conditional on completing the 3-month minimum term set out in Clause 11.3.1. If the Client cancels the Support plan before completing the minimum term, the discount is forfeited and AM Studios may invoice the Client for the difference between the full (non-discounted) build price and the discounted price actually paid.

11.4 Price Changes

We may change the price of the hosting-only or support plan by giving you at least 30 days' written notice (email is sufficient). If you do not agree to the new price, you may cancel under the notice terms in Clauses 11.2/11.3 before the change takes effect. If your plan continues past the date the new price takes effect, this is treated as acceptance of the new price. If payment at the new rate is not received, Clause 6.5 (suspension for non-payment) applies and the live site may be taken down until the account is brought up to date at the current rate.

Where a monthly plan is cancelled, Clause 6.5 (suspension for non-payment) and Clause 12 (Service Continuity) continue to apply for as long as AM Studios hosts the site.

12. Service Continuity

We will always aim to give clients as much notice as reasonably possible if we are unable to continue trading or providing hosting services. Because your website runs on our hosting infrastructure, if AM Studios ceases trading or is otherwise unable to continue operating, hosted websites may go offline as a result. We will use reasonable endeavours to notify affected clients in advance and to facilitate a handover of the domain and site files where possible, but we cannot guarantee continuity of hosting in these circumstances. This clause does not affect the domain transfer commitment in Clause 6.5, which we will honour wherever it is practically possible to do so.

13. Governing Law

These Terms and Conditions are governed by the laws of England and Wales. Any disputes shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.

14. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. Changes will be posted on this page with an updated date. Continued use of our services after changes constitutes acceptance.

15. Contact

For any questions about these terms, contact us at: info@amstudios.org.uk