These Terms of Service (the "Terms") govern your access to and use of the website createwebsite4u.com (the "Site") and your purchase of any website design, development, and related services (collectively, the "Services") offered by Create Website 4U ("Company", "we", "us", or "our"). By using the Site or engaging us for Services, you agree to these Terms.

1. Who We Are

Create Website 4U provides website design and development services for small businesses, including but not limited to business websites, e‑commerce integrations, SEO setup, analytics implementation, hosting setup, content updates, and optional add‑ons. Primary service region: Charlotte, North Carolina and remote engagements in the U.S.

2. Use of the Site

You must use the Site lawfully and not attempt to disrupt it.
You may contact us via the Site’s contact form; you agree not to submit unlawful, abusive, or misleading content.

3. Engagement of Services

A Service engagement begins when you accept a written estimate, proposal, or statement of work ("SOW"). The SOW defines scope, deliverables, timelines, responsibilities, and pricing. If a term here conflicts with an SOW, the SOW controls for that engagement.

3.1 Client Responsibilities

Provide timely content, branding assets, approvals, and access credentials (e.g., domain registrar, DNS, hosting, email provider).
Ensure you have rights to all content you supply and that it complies with applicable laws (including privacy and IP laws).
Designate a point of contact authorized to give approvals and feedback.

3.2 Scope Changes

Requests outside the agreed scope are handled via written change orders and may affect timeline and fees.

4. Payment Terms

Unless otherwise stated in the SOW, typical structure: an initial deposit to start, milestone payment(s), and final payment due on completion/approval and before launch or transfer.
Invoices are due upon receipt unless specified otherwise.
Late payments may incur a reasonable late fee and/or interest as permitted by law. Work may pause for overdue balances.
Taxes: You are responsible for any applicable taxes. We recommend consulting your tax advisor regarding North Carolina and local tax requirements.

5. Intellectual Property

Upon full and final payment, you receive ownership of the final website design and custom code specifically created for you, excluding (a) our pre‑existing tools, libraries, and processes; (b) third‑party materials; and (c) open‑source components, each of which are licensed separately as noted below.
We retain ownership of our pre‑existing materials and developer tools used to deliver the project and grant you a non‑exclusive, perpetual license to use them as incorporated into your deliverables.
Third‑party services (e.g., hosting, email delivery, analytics, payments) and open‑source software are subject to their own licenses and terms. You must comply with those terms.
Portfolio Right: You grant us permission to display non‑confidential screenshots, project titles, and your public brand name/logo solely to showcase our work in our portfolio and marketing materials.

6. Third‑Party Services and Dependencies

Projects may rely on third‑party services (e.g., domain registrar and DNS, hosting such as Vercel, email delivery such as Resend, analytics, payment processors, maps, authentication, reCAPTCHA). We do not control third‑party availability, pricing, or policies. You are responsible for obtaining and maintaining required accounts and paying third‑party fees.

7. SEO, Performance, Accessibility, and Compliance

SEO: We follow best practices where applicable but do not guarantee rankings, traffic, or revenue outcomes.
Performance: We optimize within scope and constraints. Actual speed depends on hosting, content, third‑party scripts, network, and user device conditions.
Accessibility: On request and if included in scope, we can implement reasonable accessibility measures. Conformance to standards (e.g., WCAG) is not guaranteed unless explicitly stated in the SOW.
Legal Compliance: You are responsible for the lawful operation of your site (including privacy notices, cookie banners/consent, email marketing compliance such as CAN‑SPAM, and data protection obligations like GDPR/CPRA if applicable).

8. Approvals, Acceptance, and Launch

We provide review checkpoints. Your written approval constitutes acceptance for each milestone.
Final delivery/launch occurs after final payment. Minor post‑launch issues reported within a reasonable period will be addressed per the SOW. Ongoing maintenance/support requires a separate agreement or add‑on.

9. Confidentiality

Each party agrees to use the other party’s confidential information only for the engagement and to protect it with reasonable care.

10. Warranties and Disclaimers

EXCEPT AS EXPRESSLY STATED IN AN SOW, THE SITE AND SERVICES ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NON‑INFRINGEMENT.
We do not warrant uninterrupted or error‑free operation or specific business outcomes.

11. Limitation of Liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, IN NO EVENT WILL WE BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, REVENUE, DATA, OR USE. OUR AGGREGATE LIABILITY FOR ANY CLAIM RELATING TO THE SITE OR SERVICES WILL NOT EXCEED THE AMOUNTS PAID BY YOU FOR THE SPECIFIC SERVICES GIVING RISE TO THE CLAIM IN THE 3 MONTHS PRECEDING THE EVENT.

12. Indemnification

You will defend, indemnify, and hold us harmless from claims, damages, liabilities, costs, and expenses arising from (a) your content or instructions; (b) your breach of these Terms or applicable law; or (c) your use of the Site or Services.

13. reCAPTCHA and Third‑Party Policies

This site uses Google reCAPTCHA to protect the contact form. Use of reCAPTCHA is subject to the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.

14. Termination

Either party may terminate a Service engagement for material breach if not cured within 10 days of written notice.
Upon termination, you will pay for all Services performed and approved work to date, plus non‑cancelable third‑party costs.

15. Governing Law and Dispute Resolution

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of North Carolina, without regard to conflict‑of‑laws rules. The exclusive venue for any dispute not subject to informal resolution will be the state or federal courts located in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, and the parties consent to personal jurisdiction there.

16. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. Material changes will be indicated by updating the "Last updated" date above. Continued use of the Site or Services after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.

17. Contact

Questions about these Terms? Contact us at www.createwebsite4u.com@gmail.com.

Note: These Terms are provided for general informational purposes and do not constitute legal advice. For legal compliance specific to your business (e.g., entity status, tax, privacy, accessibility, and marketing rules), consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction.