TERMS

1. Acceptance

By using this website, booking a consultation, approving a proposal, or purchasing a service, you agree to these terms. If a signed proposal, statement of work, or written agreement conflicts with these terms, the signed or expressly accepted agreement controls for that project.

2. Our services

Bootstrapped Studios provides custom web design and development services to businesses. Depending on the agreed scope, a project may include strategy, design, software development, integrations, hosting setup, maintenance, automation, data migration, or related consulting. We are not a marketplace and do not process your customers' transactions. Payments to us are for professional web design and development services.

2A. Free mockups and product samples

We may create a live, clickable mockup for a business at its request or on our own initiative. A mockup is a promotional product sample provided so the recipient can evaluate our proposed direction before deciding whether to commission a project. It is free to request, receive and view, and there is no obligation to buy.

Unless we expressly agree otherwise in writing, the mockup and its code, design, copy and other contents remain the property of Bootstrapped Studios. Receiving a link does not transfer ownership or grant a licence to publish, copy, modify, extract, host, resell, commercially use or represent the mockup as the recipient's website. Access may be private, temporary or withdrawn. If the recipient commissions a finished site, the accepted proposal defines the deliverables, permitted use and ownership of that project. The sample link does not.

3. Proposals and project scope

Every build is scoped separately. Your proposal or written project confirmation will describe the expected deliverables, price, payment schedule, and material assumptions. Work outside that scope may require a revised quote, extra time, or a separate phase. Informal ideas discussed before approval are not guaranteed deliverables unless they appear in the accepted scope.

4. Fees and payment

We publish build starting ranges and a build estimator on this website. Build estimates are non binding planning ranges in Canadian dollars before applicable tax, not fixed quotes. Each build is scoped and priced in a written proposal or invoice. The separate website care retainer has the published monthly or yearly price described in section 11 and begins on the agreed terms. Domain registration and renewals, third party subscriptions, licences, payment processing, paid media and unusual content production are separate unless expressly included in the written scope. Website hosting is included only while care is active, including the first 90 days with a qualifying new build. We do not take online payments or collect deposits through this website. Fees, milestones and due dates are set out in your proposal or invoice and are payable through the method and provider agreed there, whose own terms and privacy practices also apply. You are responsible for accurate billing information and any taxes, duties, or bank fees legally assigned to you.

5. Timelines

We work fast and share target delivery windows for each project in your proposal. Timelines assume we have the content, access, approvals and feedback reasonably required to proceed, and the schedule pauses whenever we are waiting on those, on a third party decision, or on a material scope change. Target dates are good faith estimates, not fixed guarantees, unless a written agreement says otherwise.

6. Client responsibilities

You agree to provide accurate information, timely feedback, lawful content, required account access, and one person authorized to make project decisions. Delays in content, feedback, access, or approvals may move the delivery schedule. You are responsible for reviewing the site before launch and confirming that names, claims, prices, policies, media, and legal disclosures are accurate for your business.

7. Revisions and changes

Included revision rounds, if any, are described in the project scope. A request that changes the approved direction, adds a new feature, or materially expands a deliverable may be treated as a change request. We will explain any effect on price or timing before beginning that extra work.

8. Ownership and studio marketing rights

After all project invoices are paid, you own the final custom deliverables created specifically for you, subject to any third party licenses disclosed in the project. We retain ownership of our preexisting tools, general methods, reusable components, and know how. Unless you ask us in writing not to, we may identify your business and show the public finished work in awards entries and studio marketing.

9. Client content and lawful use

You confirm that you have the rights and permissions needed for every asset, instruction, trademark, data set, product, and piece of content you give us. You may not use our services to violate law, exploit or endanger anyone, infringe intellectual property, distribute malware, mislead customers, or evade a provider's rules. We may refuse or stop work that creates a serious legal, safety, fraud, or security risk.

10. Third party services

Projects may connect to services such as hosting providers, domain registrars, payment processors, email platforms, analytics tools, social networks, or application programming interfaces. Those providers control their own availability, prices, rules, approvals, and data handling. We are not responsible for a third party outage, account decision, policy change, or service discontinuation, but we will help you plan around reasonable integration risks.

11. Website care retainer

Our single website care retainer costs $349 CAD per month or $3,499 CAD per year, before applicable tax, for one agreed website. Both billing options include the same service: unlimited requests and fixes within the website care scope, managed hosting and SSL, backups, uptime monitoring, routine security maintenance and direct studio support. Content changes, design refinements and ordinary new content pages are included. There is no monthly request limit or hourly allowance. We agree priorities and delivery timing according to the work involved; requests are not all delivered simultaneously. A separate website, full rebuild or major new application requires separate scope and pricing. Apps and standalone automation support are scoped separately.

New website builds commissioned from September 10, 2026 include the first 90 days of care from launch. This is the same care service, including hosting during that period, with no card required. Existing clients retain their agreed terms. Paid care begins only after you expressly agree to the price and billing cycle. A paid annual term starts after the included period, not during it.

Paid care is invoiced in advance and renews on the agreed monthly or yearly cycle until future renewal is cancelled. You can cancel future renewal at any time by emailing hello@bootstrappedstudios.com before that renewal. Care and hosting continue until the end of the current paid period. Annual billing purchases a full year; unused time is not prorated except where required by law or agreed in writing. We do not automatically begin paid care at the end of the included period.

Hosting is included only while the care plan is active, including the initial 90 days. The build fee does not include ongoing hosting after care ends. Before the included or paid period ends, we confirm the hosting end date and coordinate the code, agreed data and account handoff so you can move to hosting you pay for directly. You must arrange replacement hosting by that date to keep the site online. Ending care does not remove ownership of your paid custom deliverables.

Domain registration and renewal fees are separate from both included hosting and the care fee. If a new domain is needed and we arrange its purchase, the agreed registration cost appears as a separate item on the initial website invoice. Future renewals follow the registrar's disclosed rate and schedule and are paid directly or invoiced separately as agreed. The client's business is the registrant and retains account access. An existing domain can be connected without buying another. Paid third party services, transaction fees and exceptional infrastructure requirements are identified and agreed separately before purchase.

We aim to provide an initial reply within one business day, meaning Monday to Friday excluding Ontario public holidays. This is a response target, not a completion or restoration guarantee. Service incidents take priority. Monitoring does not guarantee overnight human response or uninterrupted availability. The supported stack, backup arrangements, monitoring, contact route and any exceptional infrastructure are documented when care begins.

12. Cancellation and refunds

Either party may cancel a project as set out in the accepted proposal. Amounts paid are refundable only where required by law or expressly promised in that proposal. If we cancel a project without cause, we will refund the portion paid for work not performed. Approved third party costs and completed work remain payable.

13. Warranties

We promise to perform our services with reasonable care and professional skill. Unless a written agreement says otherwise, all other warranties are excluded to the fullest extent permitted by law. We cannot promise uninterrupted operation, a particular revenue result, search ranking, processor approval, audience growth, or protection from every security threat.

14. Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, Bootstrapped Studios will not be liable for indirect, incidental, special, punitive, or consequential loss, including lost profit, lost data, lost opportunity, or business interruption. Our total liability arising from a project or service will not exceed the amount you paid us for that project or service during the 12 months before the event giving rise to the claim. Nothing in these terms limits liability that cannot legally be limited.

15. Indemnity

You agree to defend and reimburse Bootstrapped Studios for third party claims, losses, and reasonable costs caused by content or materials you supplied, your unlawful use of the deliverables, or your breach of these terms. This does not apply to the extent a claim was caused by our own breach or misconduct.

16. Suspension and termination

Either party may end an ongoing service according to its proposal or plan terms. We may suspend work or access for overdue payment, abuse, a serious security risk, or unlawful use. Where practical, we will give notice and a reasonable opportunity to fix the issue first.

17. Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of Ontario and the applicable federal laws of Canada, without regard to conflict of law rules. The courts located in Ontario have exclusive jurisdiction, unless consumer protection law requires another forum.

18. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms as the studio or law changes. The effective date at the top shows the latest revision. Material changes will apply going forward and will not rewrite an already accepted project agreement without your consent.