Website & service terms

These terms are with Top of the Search Ltd, Company No. 14941262. Registered Office: 71-75 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2H 9JQ, United Kingdom. That is the registered office only — the business operates in Swansea and South Wales.

Top of the Search provides websites, practical business systems and local visibility work. Each project is shaped around the business and the agreed scope; ongoing support is optional rather than part of a fixed package.

The exact scope for your business — including any pages, tools or ongoing work — is agreed with you in writing before any work or payment begins.

New work is quoted individually after we understand your needs, scope and budget. The price and payment schedule are agreed in writing.

No VAT added — Top of the Search is not VAT registered.

Anything outside the agreed scope is quoted and agreed in writing before the work starts. Hosting, domain registration and third-party software costs are discussed in the quote.

Where a website setup, design or implementation fee is charged, that fee covers the work involved in designing, configuring and launching the website or digital system. Unless expressly agreed otherwise in writing, payment of a setup, design or implementation fee does not constitute the purchase or transfer of Top of the Search's underlying development project, source environment, reusable components, systems or infrastructure.

The written quote sets out what is included in your project. A website, an internal tool and local visibility work may involve different tasks; none is automatically included just because it appears elsewhere on this website.

Where photography is part of the agreed website scope, we use client-supplied images. On-site photography can be arranged separately if required.

Ongoing support and retainers are optional and tailored to what is required. This might involve maintenance, local visibility, monitoring or further improvements. The tasks, reporting and cost are set out in your agreement.

Hosting arrangements and costs depend on the solution and are agreed in writing. Ongoing support is optional; it is not automatically included in every project.

Ongoing monthly website, hosting or management services can be ended with 30 days' written notice, unless a different minimum term or notice period has been expressly agreed in writing. Existing clients remain on their previously agreed terms unless a change is separately agreed.

Invoices are payable in line with the payment schedule agreed in writing. If an overdue payment remains unpaid after we have given reasonable notice, we may suspend the affected ongoing services, such as hosting, support or management, until the account is brought up to date.

Suspension or an outstanding payment does not transfer ownership of your domain or any other client-owned business assets to Top of the Search, and we will not retain your domain because of an unpaid invoice. Any recovery of outstanding amounts remains subject to your agreement with us and applicable law.

The materials and business assets that belong to you stay yours. These include:

• Your domain name
• Logos and branding you supply
• Photographs, videos and other media you supply
• Business information and content you supply
• Your customer data
• Third-party business accounts that belong specifically to your business

Top of the Search will not withhold your domain name or other client-owned business assets when services end, subject to any legitimate outstanding contractual obligations.

Where we manage your domain or DNS as part of the agreed service, the ownership, access and management arrangements are confirmed with you. Where Top of the Search has registered or administered a domain on your behalf, the domain remains your asset and we will reasonably cooperate with transferring control to you when the service ends. Domain registration or renewal fees remain your cost unless agreed otherwise in writing.

Unless expressly agreed otherwise in writing, you are purchasing the website service and the agreed deliverables, not the underlying development infrastructure used to produce and run them.

Top of the Search retains ownership of its pre-existing and reusable intellectual property, systems and development resources, including where applicable:

• Development projects and development environments
• Source code forming part of our reusable systems or infrastructure
• Reusable components, templates, frameworks and libraries
• Internal tools, workflows, prompts, automation logic, processes and methods
• Deployment configurations, hosting infrastructure and development accounts

These materials are not included in a standard website handover, and we are not required to provide access to our development accounts, internal systems or development platform to you or a replacement supplier.

Unless a separate written agreement specifically provides for transfer of the website's underlying source project or development environment, websites supplied as part of our managed website service are hosted and managed by Top of the Search using our own development and hosting infrastructure.

During an active paid service, you have the right to use the completed website for your business. Ending the managed service does not automatically entitle you or a third-party provider to our underlying project, source environment, development account, reusable code, templates or internal infrastructure.

None of this gives us any ownership of your business, branding, domain or the content you supplied. Where a third-party platform, template, font or stock asset is used, that item stays subject to its own licence.

Hosting provision and costs are agreed for the solution. When you give notice to end an ongoing website service:

• We continue providing the existing service during the agreed notice or transition period, provided payments remain up to date.
• You are free to appoint another provider to create and host a replacement website.
• We will reasonably cooperate with transfer or DNS changes for your domain.
• We will provide or return client-owned assets and reasonable account information belonging specifically to your business.
• We are not required to provide access to our own development platform, internal systems, reusable codebase, workflows or infrastructure.
• Once the transition period ends or your replacement website goes live, whichever is agreed with you, we may remove our hosted version of the website.
• You are responsible for making sure your replacement provider has a replacement website and hosting ready before our service ends.

Projects may involve services such as booking platforms, gift-card systems, analytics, Google Business Profile, email marketing platforms and similar tools.

Where an account was created specifically for your business and can be transferred, we will reasonably assist with transferring administrative control to you when services end. Client data held within client-specific third-party services remains your business data, subject to the relevant provider's terms and applicable law.

Our own master accounts, agency accounts, licences, subscriptions, development accounts and systems used across multiple clients are not transferable. Where necessary, you or your new provider may need to set up your own account or subscription with the third-party provider.

We will cooperate reasonably and professionally with a replacement provider. Reasonable handover assistance includes:

• Transferring or repointing a client-owned domain
• Supplying client-owned assets we hold
• Transferring eligible client-specific third-party accounts
• Providing reasonable information needed to avoid unnecessary interruption to your business

Reasonable handover does not include access to our internal development systems, accounts, prompts, templates, workflows, reusable intellectual property or infrastructure. Substantial migration, technical work or other work requested outside the normal handover process may be chargeable, but you will always be told about any charge before that work is undertaken.

Different ownership or handover arrangements can be agreed for bespoke projects. If a proposal, quotation or written agreement specifically states that source code, a project or another deliverable will be transferred to you, that written agreement takes precedence over the standard managed website provisions above.

This website describes how we quote for new work. It does not change existing written client prices, terms or commitments, including any previously agreed 90-Day Progress Promise. Those remain governed by the client's agreement.

The ownership, intellectual property, hosting and handover provisions above apply to services entered into subject to these terms. They do not retrospectively change ownership or contractual rights under earlier agreements.

The former package-specific promise is not automatically included in new project quotes. Any specific commitment must be set out in the written agreement.

To do the work properly we need a few things from you:

• Accurate information about your business, services and service areas
• Any photography, logos or content you want used, and the right to use them
• Access to your Google Business Profile, domain or existing website where it is needed
• Reasonably timely feedback and approval at the agreed review points
• Payment according to the agreed project schedule

Nobody controls Google's search results. We do not guarantee any specific ranking position, a first position, a number of enquiries, or any level of revenue. What we commit to is the agreed work and honest measurement where tracking forms part of the scope.

Reasonable changes to the scope of the work can be made by agreement between us. Where a change involves substantial additional work it is quoted and agreed in writing before it starts.

Top of the Search, Swansea and South Wales.

Email: jon@topofthesearch.co.uk
Phone: 07743 363390

Questions about these terms are welcome before you commit to anything — see the contact page.