Terms & Conditions

1. About us

“Starling Designs”, “we”, “us” and “our” refer to Starling Designs Consulting (Pty) Ltd, a company registered in South Africa.

• Registration number: 2026/696899/07
• Service address: available on lawful request
• Email: info@starling-designs.co.za
• WhatsApp: +27 61 503 6454
• Website: starling-designs.co.za

“Client”, “you” and “your” mean the person or organisation purchasing or requesting our services.

2. Services and project scope

We provide website design, redesign, website assistance, Website Health Checks, website care and related digital services. The exact deliverables, inclusions, exclusions, price and expected timeline for a project will be recorded in the applicable package description, quotation or proposal.

Anything not expressly included is outside the agreed scope and may require a separate quotation. We may decline work that is unlawful, unethical, unsafe, outside our expertise or incompatible with the website platform or existing setup.

3. Quotes, acceptance and bookings

Unless a quotation says otherwise, it remains valid for 14 calendar days. A project is only booked once we have received written acceptance and any deposit or upfront payment specified in the quotation.

Provisional dates are not reserved indefinitely. Work is scheduled according to availability after all booking requirements have been met.

4. Prices and payments

• All prices are in South African rand (ZAR) and will state whether VAT is included, if applicable.
• The payment schedule and deposit, if any, will appear on the quotation or invoice.
• Invoices must be paid by the due date shown on the invoice.
• Bank, payment-gateway, currency-conversion and third-party charges are for the client’s account unless agreed otherwise.
• Final files, website handover or launch may be withheld until all amounts due for the relevant work have been paid.

If an undisputed invoice is overdue, we may pause work after giving reasonable written notice. The timeline will move accordingly.

5. Timelines and delays

Any timeline is an estimate unless we expressly agree to a fixed deadline in writing. The project timeline begins only after we receive all required content, access, approvals and payment.

If feedback, content, access or approval is late, the delivery date and reserved production slot may move. If a client is unresponsive for more than 30 days, we may place the project on hold and provide a revised schedule when it resumes.

6. Your responsibilities

You agree to:

• provide complete, accurate and timely information, content, feedback and access;
• appoint one authorised decision-maker where the client is an organisation;
• check and approve text, spelling, prices, links, contact details and functionality before launch;
• ensure that supplied text, images, fonts, logos, data and other material may lawfully be used;
• keep secure backups and protect login credentials; and
• comply with laws applying to your business, website, marketing, products and collection of personal information.

You remain responsible for the accuracy and legality of all client-supplied content and business claims.

7. Revisions and additional work

The number of revisions included in a package will be stated in the package or quotation. A revision is a reasonable adjustment to work already presented; it is not a new direction, new page, new feature or replacement brief.

Requests outside the agreed scope or included revision allowance will be quoted separately and may extend the timeline. We will not begin chargeable additional work without your approval.

8. Website Health Check and Website Help

A Health Check does not guarantee that we can repair, redesign, access or work on the website. If you would like to proceed, we will first confirm whether the website’s platform, licences, hosting and existing setup are compatible with the services we provide. Recommended work is only accepted after a separate scope and quotation are agreed.

The R950 Health Check fee may be credited toward qualifying website work booked within 30 calendar days of delivery of the report. The credit:

• does not apply to Quick Fix services;
• has no cash value and is not transferable;
• may only be used once and against the website that was assessed; and
• does not guarantee that we will accept the recommended work.

Quick Fix, Website Refresh and Website Redesign services are limited to the work confirmed in their quotation. Problems hidden from an external assessment or discovered after access is granted may require a revised scope.

9. Website Care Packages

Care Packages cover only the services and allowance listed in the selected plan. They do not include a redesign, major development, new pages, premium licences, emergency recovery, hosting or third-party fees unless expressly stated.

• Requests are completed during normal working hours and according to the turnaround stated for the plan.
• Unused monthly time, updates or allowances do not roll over unless we agree otherwise in writing.
• A Care Package does not guarantee that a website will never be hacked, fail or experience third-party downtime.
• Either party may cancel according to the notice period stated in the applicable proposal or subscription terms.

We may recommend a separate quotation where a request is too large, specialised or risky to perform within routine care.

10. Hosting, domains and third-party services

Hosting, domain registration, plugins, themes, fonts, payment gateways, social platforms, analytics and other integrations may be supplied by independent third parties. Their own terms, prices, availability and privacy practices apply.

We are not responsible for third-party downtime, policy changes, account suspension, price changes, data loss, security incidents or discontinued functionality outside our reasonable control. Where possible, third-party accounts should be registered in the client’s name. Renewal fees remain the client’s responsibility unless our quotation says otherwise.

11. Intellectual property and portfolio use

You keep ownership of material you supply. You grant us permission to use that material only as needed to perform the agreed services.

Once all project fees are paid, you receive the rights to the final custom design deliverables created specifically for you, subject to any third-party licence terms. Drafts, rejected concepts, working files, our pre-existing materials, reusable methods, code libraries, templates and tools remain ours unless the quotation expressly transfers them.

We may display completed, publicly launched work in our portfolio and marketing, unless confidentiality was agreed or you ask us in writing not to do so.

12. Cancellation, postponement and refunds

You may cancel in writing. You will be responsible for work completed, approved third-party costs and any cancellation terms recorded in the accepted quotation. Amounts already earned for completed work are not refundable.

If a project is postponed, we may reschedule it according to our next available opening and update the quotation if the scope, supplier costs or rates have changed.

Nothing in these terms removes or limits any cancellation, cooling-off, refund or other right that cannot lawfully be excluded under South African law.

13. Warranties, website performance and liability

We will perform our services with reasonable care and skill. However, we cannot guarantee specific search rankings, sales, enquiries, traffic, conversion rates, uninterrupted operation or compatibility with every future browser, device or third-party update.

Please notify us promptly if you believe the delivered work does not match the agreed scope. We will have a reasonable opportunity to investigate and correct work for which we are responsible.

To the fullest extent permitted by law, neither party will be liable to the other for indirect, special or consequential loss, including lost profits, lost opportunities or lost data. Our total aggregate liability relating to a service will not exceed the fees actually paid to us for that specific service during the six months preceding the event giving rise to the claim.

This limitation does not apply where liability cannot legally be excluded or limited, or to fraud, wilful misconduct or gross negligence.

14. Confidentiality and personal information

Each party will take reasonable steps to protect confidential information received from the other and will use it only for the project or as required by law.

We process personal information in accordance with applicable South African data-protection law and our Privacy Policy. If we process personal information on your behalf through a website or service, additional written data-processing terms may be required.

15. Suspension and termination

Either party may terminate the service for a material breach that is not corrected within a reasonable period after written notice. We may suspend or end work immediately where continuing would be unlawful, unsafe, abusive or likely to harm a person, system or our reputation.

On termination, amounts due for completed work and approved costs remain payable. Each party must return or securely delete confidential material where reasonably requested, subject to legal recordkeeping duties and routine backups.

16. General terms

Electronic communication

Email, WhatsApp messages, form submissions and electronic acceptance may be used for instructions, approvals and notices. You are responsible for ensuring that your contact details remain current.

Events outside reasonable control

Neither party is responsible for delay caused by events beyond its reasonable control, including widespread service outages, natural disasters, serious illness, labour disruption, civil unrest or government action. The affected party must communicate the delay and resume performance as soon as reasonably possible.

Governing law and disputes

These terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of South Africa. The parties will first try in good faith to resolve a dispute through written discussion. If it remains unresolved, either party may use any court, tribunal, ombud or consumer-protection process with lawful jurisdiction.

Changes and severability

We may update these website terms from time to time. The version accepted when a project is booked will continue to apply to that project unless the parties agree otherwise. If any provision is found unenforceable, the remaining provisions will continue to apply.

Entire agreement

These terms, together with the accepted quotation, proposal and any referenced policies, form the agreement for the service and replace earlier discussions about the same scope.