Terms of Service

These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your use of the Forged Digital Design website and our web design and development services. By accessing our website or engaging our services, you agree to these Terms.

1. Services Provided

Forged Digital Design provides web design, web development, and related digital services including:

• Custom website design and development
• Website maintenance and updates
• Search engine optimization (SEO)
• CMS setup and integration
• Form integrations and serverless functions
• Digital consulting and technical support

The specific scope of work for each project is defined in a separate Web Design Services Agreement or written proposal provided before work begins.

2. Client Responsibilities

Clients are responsible for:

• Providing accurate and complete project information
• Delivering content, images, logos, and other materials by agreed deadlines
• Prompt communication and feedback during development
• Payment of invoices according to agreed terms
• Domain registration and renewal (domains are owned by the client)
• Reviewing deliverables within the approval timeline specified in Section 7
• Maintaining their own content and data backups after project handoff

3. Payment Terms

• Deposit: A 50% deposit is required before work begins. Work will not be scheduled until the deposit is received.
• Final payment: The remaining 50% is due upon project completion, before the website is launched or files are transferred.
• Monthly services: Hosting and maintenance plans are billed on the 1st of each month. Payment is due within 15 days of the invoice date.
• Late payments: Invoices not paid within 15 days of the due date will incur a late fee of 1.5% per month on the outstanding balance.
• Disputed charges: Disputed charges must be reported in writing within 15 days of the invoice date.
• Suspension of work: We reserve the right to pause all work on a project if any invoice is more than 30 days overdue.

4. Revisions

• Each project includes 2 rounds of revisions at no additional cost.
• A "round" is defined as one consolidated batch of feedback submitted at the same time—not individual changes sent separately.
• Additional revision rounds beyond the included 2 are billed at $75 per hour.
• Revisions apply to changes to approved work. New features, additional pages, or functionality not in the original scope are handled through the Change Order process (Section 5).

5. Change Orders and Scope

Work beyond the agreed scope of the project requires a written Change Order before it begins. A Change Order includes:

• Description of the additional work requested
• Cost estimate for the additional work
• Impact on the project timeline (if any)
• Written approval from the client

We will not begin out-of-scope work without a signed Change Order. Verbal requests for additional work are not binding.

6. Project Timeline

Project timelines are estimates provided in good faith based on timely client cooperation and prompt delivery of required materials. Estimated timelines:

• Single-page websites: 1–2 weeks
• Standard websites (up to 5 pages): 2–3 weeks
• Professional websites (7+ pages): 3–5 weeks

Delays caused by late content delivery, slow feedback, or other client-side factors will extend the project timeline accordingly. We are not responsible for missed deadlines caused by client delays.

7. Approval and Deemed Acceptance

When we deliver a milestone or final deliverable for your review:

• You have 14 business days to review and provide feedback.
• If no feedback is received within 14 business days, the deliverable is deemed approved and we will proceed to the next phase.
• Changes to previously approved deliverables count as a new revision round.

8. Project Dormancy and Abandonment

Dormancy

If a project becomes inactive for 30 or more consecutive days due to client non-responsiveness (no feedback, no content delivery, no communication), we reserve the right to:

• Reassign our team resources to other projects
• Adjust the project timeline when work resumes
• Charge a reactivation fee of $150 to cover re-onboarding and rescheduling

Abandonment

If a client is non-responsive for 60 or more consecutive days, we will send three written contact attempts via email. If no response is received within 14 days of the third attempt:

• The project is considered abandoned
• The full remaining project balance becomes due immediately
• All work completed to date remains the property of Forged Digital Design until final payment is received
• If the client wishes to resume an abandoned project, a restart fee of 15% of the original project total is required in addition to any outstanding balance

9. Cancellation and Kill Fee

Either party may cancel a project with written notice. Financial terms upon cancellation:

• Before design begins: The deposit is non-refundable (covers discovery, planning, and scheduling)
• During design phase: 50% of the remaining project balance is due, or payment for hours worked, whichever is greater
• During development phase: 75% of the remaining project balance is due, or payment for hours worked, whichever is greater
• After delivery: 100% of the project balance is due regardless of whether the site is launched

Upon cancellation and receipt of all amounts due, we will provide files for work completed and paid for. Ongoing services (hosting, maintenance) require 30 days written notice to cancel.

10. Intellectual Property

What the Client Owns (Upon Full Payment)

• Custom visual design elements created specifically for the project (layouts, custom graphics, brand-specific assets)
• Custom code written specifically for the project
• The compiled, delivered website as a finished product
• Content the client provided or paid to have created

Intellectual property rights in the final deliverables transfer to the client only upon receipt of final payment in full. Until that time, all rights are retained by Forged Digital Design.

What Forged Digital Design Retains

• Pre-existing code, starter templates, reusable components, and CSS frameworks that existed before the project
• General development methodologies, processes, and techniques
• The right to display completed work in our portfolio, case studies, social media, and promotional materials

We grant the client a perpetual, non-exclusive license to use any pre-existing tools or libraries as incorporated into the delivered project.

Third-Party Components

Third-party assets (stock images, fonts, plugins, frameworks) remain subject to their respective licenses. The client receives a usage license as part of the deliverables, not ownership of third-party intellectual property.

11. AI-Assisted Development

Forged Digital Design may use AI-assisted tools during the design and development process, including code generation, content drafting, and image optimization tools. All AI-generated output is reviewed, refined, and approved by human professionals before delivery. The use of AI tools does not affect the quality, ownership, or warranty of deliverables.

12. Accessibility

We follow WCAG 2.1 Level AA accessibility best practices to a commercially reasonable standard in all websites we build. This includes keyboard navigation, screen reader compatibility, color contrast compliance, and semantic HTML structure.

However, the website owner retains ultimate legal responsibility for ADA compliance. Accessibility of client-provided content (alt text for images, video captions, document accessibility) is the client's responsibility unless separately contracted. We offer accessibility audits and remediation as an add-on service.

13. Website Hosting and Domain Ownership

• Unless otherwise agreed, websites are hosted on Netlify with SSL certificates managed through the hosting platform.
• The client owns their domain name and is responsible for domain registration and renewal.
• We will assist with DNS configuration to point the domain to the hosting platform at no additional charge.
• If the client-agency relationship ends, we will provide reasonable assistance in transitioning hosting arrangements. The client retains access to all code through their GitHub repository.
• Maintenance and hosting plans are available under separate agreement.

14. Warranty and Post-Launch Support

• We provide a 30-day warranty on development work against bugs and defects in code we wrote.
• The warranty covers: code errors, broken functionality, layout issues, and cross-browser display problems in the tested browsers.
• The warranty does not cover: third-party service outages, issues caused by client modifications to the code, browser updates released after launch, hosting infrastructure problems, or content changes made by the client.
• "Basic technical support" during the warranty period means bug fixes and minor display corrections—not new features, content updates, or design changes.
• Extended support and maintenance is available under a separate hosting and maintenance agreement.

15. Browser and Device Testing

All websites are tested on the following browsers and devices prior to launch:

• Desktop: Latest versions of Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Edge
• Mobile: iOS Safari (latest) and Android Chrome (latest)
• Responsive: Common breakpoints for mobile, tablet, and desktop viewports

We do not guarantee compatibility with legacy browsers (Internet Explorer, outdated browser versions) or niche platforms unless specifically agreed upon in writing.

16. Limitation of Liability

Forged Digital Design's total liability for any claim arising from our services is limited to the total amount paid by the client for the specific project in question. We are not liable for:

• Indirect, incidental, or consequential damages
• Loss of business, profits, or data
• Issues arising from client-provided content or materials
• Third-party service failures, outages, or policy changes
• Security breaches caused by client negligence (weak passwords, shared credentials)

17. Confidentiality

We maintain strict confidentiality of client business information, including proprietary data, business strategies, and sensitive materials shared during a project. We will not disclose this information to third parties without the client's written consent, except as required by law.

18. Dispute Resolution

In the event of a dispute arising from these Terms or any service agreement:

1. Negotiation: Both parties will first attempt to resolve the dispute through direct communication in good faith.
2. Mediation: If negotiation fails, the dispute will be submitted to mediation in Beaufort County, South Carolina, with costs shared equally between the parties.
3. Litigation: If mediation fails, either party may pursue legal remedies in the courts of South Carolina.

19. Force Majeure

Neither party shall be liable for delays or failures caused by circumstances beyond reasonable control, including natural disasters, government actions, pandemics, internet outages, or infrastructure failures.

20. Changes to Terms

We reserve the right to modify these Terms at any time. Changes will be posted on this page with an updated effective date. Continued use of our website or services after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms.

21. Contact Information

For questions about these Terms of Service, contact us:

• Email: contact@forgeddigitaldesign.com
• Phone: (843) 619-7394
• Location: Bluffton, South Carolina, USA