Terms and Conditions

1. INTRODUCTION

Welcome to Site Genius (“Site Genius”, “we”, “us”, or “our”). These Terms and Conditions govern the provision of website design, development, hosting, maintenance, digital marketing, and related services by Site Genius to its clients (“Client”, “you”, or “your”).

By accepting a quotation, paying an invoice, signing a proposal, or engaging our services, you agree to be bound by these Terms and Conditions.

These Terms and Conditions shall be governed by and interpreted in accordance with the laws of the Republic of South Africa.

2. COMPANY DETAILS

Site Genius
Website: https://sitegenius.co.za
Email: info@sitegenius.co.za

3. SERVICES

Site Genius provides services including but not limited to:

• • Website design
  • Website maintenance and support
  • Website hosting and domain management provided by Rizco
  • E-commerce website Design
  • Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
  • Digital marketing services
  • Content management and related digital services

The scope of work for each project will be outlined in a quotation, proposal, service agreement, or invoice.

4. QUOTATIONS AND ACCEPTANCE

4.1 All quotations are valid for thirty (30) days unless otherwise stated.

4.2 A project is deemed accepted when:

• • The Client accepts a quotation in writing;
  • The Client pays any required deposit; or
  • The Client instructs Site Genius to commence work.

4.3 Any changes to the agreed scope of work may result in additional charges and revised delivery timelines.

5. PAYMENT TERMS

5.1 Once-Off Website Design Projects

For all once-off website design and development projects:

• • A deposit equal to fifty percent (50%) of the total quoted project value is required before any work commences.
  • The remaining fifty percent (50%) shall be payable prior to the website being launched, transferred, or made publicly accessible.

5.2 Non-Refundable Deposit

The Client acknowledges and agrees that:

• • The 50% deposit secures project scheduling, planning, design resources, and development time.
  • Once Site Genius has commenced work on the project, the deposit becomes non-refundable.
  • If the Client cancels the project after work has commenced, the deposit shall be retained by Site Genius as compensation for time, resources, labour, and administrative costs already incurred.

5.3 Outstanding Payments

Site Genius reserves the right to:

• • Suspend work on any project where payments are overdue.
  • Withhold delivery, launch, transfer, or publication of any website until all outstanding amounts have been paid in full.

5.4 Monthly Service Billing

The following provisions apply to all recurring monthly services, including but not limited to:

• • Website hosting;
  • Website maintenance and support packages;
  • Monthly website management services;
  • Social media marketing services; and
  • Any other recurring monthly service offered by Site Genius.

Invoices for monthly services will be issued on or around the 21st day of each month.

All invoices are payable in full on or before the 1st day of the following month.

Failure to make payment by the due date may result in the suspension of services, including but not limited to website hosting, website maintenance, technical support, social media marketing services, and any other recurring services provided by Site Genius.

Site Genius reserves the right to suspend or discontinue services until all outstanding amounts have been paid in full.

The Client remains responsible for all fees due for services rendered up to the date of suspension or termination.

6. CLIENT RESPONSIBILITIES

The Client agrees to:

• • Provide all required content, images, logos, information, and feedback in a timely manner.
  • Ensure that all materials supplied are lawful and do not infringe any third-party rights.
  • Review and approve designs and content within reasonable timeframes.
  • Provide accurate and complete information necessary for the completion of the project.

Delays caused by the Client may result in revised timelines and additional charges.

7. PROJECT TIMELINES

Any project timelines provided by Site Genius are estimates only.

Site Genius shall not be liable for delays caused by:

• • Delayed client feedback or approvals;
  • Failure by the Client to provide required content;
  • Third-party service providers;
  • Hosting, domain, software, or platform-related issues;
  • Circumstances beyond our reasonable control.
    
    

8. REVISIONS

Unless otherwise specified in writing:

• • The project includes reasonable design revisions.
  • Requests that materially alter the approved design, project scope, or functionality may be treated as additional work and billed separately.
    
    

9. WEBSITE CONTENT

The Client remains solely responsible for all content supplied for use on the website.

The Client warrants that all content:

• • Is lawful;
  • Does not infringe intellectual property rights;
  • Does not contain defamatory, misleading, or unlawful material.

The Client indemnifies Site Genius against any claims arising from content supplied by the Client.

10. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

10.1 Client Content

The Client retains ownership of content supplied by the Client.

10.2 Site Genius Materials

All methodologies, coding frameworks, templates, design processes, and proprietary tools developed or used by Site Genius remain the property of Site Genius unless expressly agreed otherwise in writing.

10.3 Transfer of Ownership

Ownership of the completed website design and custom work shall transfer to the Client only after full payment of all outstanding amounts.

Until full payment is received, Site Genius retains all ownership rights in the work produced.

11.HOSTING, DOMAINS AND THIRD-PARTY SERVICES

11.1 Hosting Services

Website hosting services provided to Clients are hosted and managed by Rizco, an independent third-party hosting provider.

Site Genius acts solely as an intermediary between the Client and the hosting provider and may, at its discretion, assist with communication, support requests, technical queries, and issue escalation on behalf of the Client.

11.2 Third-Party Provider Responsibility

The Client acknowledges and agrees that:

• • Site Genius does not own, operate, or control the hosting infrastructure used to provide hosting services.
  • Hosting services are subject to the terms, conditions, policies, uptime commitments, and operational procedures of Rizco and any other relevant third-party providers.
  • Site Genius cannot guarantee uninterrupted hosting services, server availability, website uptime, backup integrity, email delivery, data recovery, or network performance.

11.3 Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by South African law, Site Genius shall not be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, or special damages, losses, costs, claims, or expenses arising from or related to:

• • Hosting outages or downtime;
  • Server failures;
  • Data loss or corruption;
  • Email delivery failures;
  • Security breaches affecting the hosting environment;
  • Backup failures;
  • Website unavailability;
  • Third-party provider errors, negligence, or service interruptions;
  • Any loss of revenue, profits, business opportunities, customers, or goodwill resulting from hosting-related issues.

The Client agrees that any hosting-related claims shall be directed to the hosting provider where applicable.

11.4 Client Responsibility

The Client remains responsible for maintaining their own copies of critical website content, databases, emails, and other business data. While backups may be provided by the hosting provider, Site Genius does not guarantee the availability, accuracy, or recoverability of such backups.

11.5 Third-Party Services

Site Genius may also arrange or recommend domains, plugins, software licenses, payment gateways, email services, and other third-party services. Site Genius shall not be liable for interruptions, failures, pricing changes, policy changes, or the discontinuation of any third-party service.

12. SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING SERVICES

12.1 Service Scope

Site Genius provides social media marketing services, including but not limited to:

• • Social media account setup and optimisation
  • Content creation and scheduling
  • Social media advertising management
  • Audience targeting and campaign optimisation
  • Performance reporting
  • Brand awareness and lead generation campaigns

The specific services provided shall be determined by the package selected by the Client or as otherwise agreed in writing.

12.2 Monthly Services

Social media marketing packages are provided on a month-to-month basis unless otherwise agreed in writing.

Services will commence once:

• • Payment has been received;
  • The Client has provided all required account access, branding assets, and information.

12.3 Advertising Budgets

Where a package includes an advertising budget, such budget shall be used for advertising activities on the applicable platform.

Advertising budgets and campaign performance remain subject to the policies, algorithms, fees, and operational procedures of third-party platforms including Facebook, Instagram, and other social media providers.

Any additional advertising spend requested by the Client shall be charged separately unless otherwise agreed.

12.4 Client Responsibilities

The Client agrees to:

• • Provide accurate and complete business information;
  • Supply branding materials, logos, images, and content where required;
  • Grant the necessary access permissions to social media accounts;
  • Respond to requests for approvals and information within a reasonable timeframe.

The Client warrants that all content and information supplied is lawful and does not infringe the rights of any third party.

12.5 Content Approval

Where content approval is required, the Client shall review and approve content within a reasonable period.

Site Genius shall not be liable for delays resulting from the Client’s failure to provide approvals or feedback.

The Client remains responsible for the accuracy of information published on their behalf.

12.6 Platform Policies and Third-Party Services

The Client acknowledges that social media platforms operate independently of Site Genius.

Site Genius shall not be responsible for:

• • Account suspensions or restrictions;
  • Advertising account suspensions;
  • Reduced reach, engagement, or visibility;
  • Content removals;
  • Platform outages;
  • Algorithm changes;
  • Changes to advertising policies or platform functionality.

The Client agrees to comply with all applicable platform terms, advertising policies, and community standards.

12.7 No Guarantee of Results

While Site Genius will provide services with reasonable care and skill, the Client acknowledges that marketing results cannot be guaranteed.

Site Genius does not guarantee:

• • Specific follower growth;
  • Lead generation volumes;
  • Sales increases;
  • Website traffic increases;
  • Advertising performance;
  • Engagement levels;
  • Search engine rankings.

Results may vary depending on market conditions, competition, audience behaviour, advertising budgets, platform changes, and other factors outside the control of Site Genius.

12.8 Acceptable Content

Site Genius reserves the right to refuse, suspend, or terminate services where requested content or advertising:

• • Violates South African law;
  • Infringes intellectual property rights;
  • Contains false, misleading, fraudulent, discriminatory, defamatory, or unlawful material;
  • Violates platform advertising policies or community standards.

12.9 Cancellation

Either party may terminate social media marketing services by providing thirty (30) calendar days’ written notice.

Fees already paid for services rendered are non-refundable.

Advertising budgets already allocated or spent on advertising platforms are non-refundable.

13. WEBSITE SECURITY

While Site Genius implements reasonable security practices, no website or online service can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

The Client acknowledges that:

• • Site Genius cannot guarantee protection against all cyber threats.
  • The Client is responsible for maintaining secure passwords and access credentials.
  • Site Genius shall not be liable for losses arising from hacking, malware, cybercrime, or unauthorised access unless caused by Site Genius’s gross negligence.
    
    

14. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

To the fullest extent permitted by South African law:

• • Site Genius shall not be liable for indirect, consequential, incidental, special, or punitive damages.
  • Site Genius’s total liability arising from any claim shall not exceed the amount paid by the Client for the relevant services giving rise to the claim.

Nothing in these Terms excludes liability where such exclusion is prohibited by law.

15. WARRANTIES

Site Genius provides its services with reasonable care and skill.

Except where required by law, all services are provided “as is” and no warranties are given regarding:

• • Search engine rankings;
  • Sales performance;
  • Business outcomes;
  • Continuous website availability; or
  • Compatibility with future technologies or third-party platforms.
    
    

16. TERMINATION

Either party may terminate a project or service agreement by written notice.

Upon termination:

• • All completed work performed up to the date of termination shall remain payable.
  • Any unpaid invoices become immediately due and payable.
  • The non-refundable deposit provisions shall continue to apply.
    
    

17. PRIVACY AND POPIA COMPLIANCE

Site Genius processes personal information in accordance with applicable South African privacy laws, including the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (“POPIA”).

Personal information will only be collected, used, stored, and processed for legitimate business purposes and as required to provide services to Clients.

18. FORCE MAJEURE

Site Genius shall not be liable for delays or failure to perform caused by events beyond its reasonable control, including:

• • Natural disasters;
  • Internet outages;
  • Cyber-attacks;
  • Government actions;
  • Power failures;
  • Labour disputes;
  • Civil unrest.
    
    

19. DISPUTE RESOLUTION

The parties shall attempt to resolve disputes amicably through good-faith negotiations.

Should a dispute remain unresolved, the parties agree that the courts of the Republic of South Africa shall have jurisdiction.

20. GOVERNING LAW

These Terms and Conditions shall be governed by and interpreted in accordance with the laws of the Republic of South Africa.

21. CHANGES TO THESE TERMS

Site Genius reserves the right to amend these Terms and Conditions at any time.

Updated versions will be published on the website and shall become effective upon publication.

22. CONTACT

For any questions regarding these Terms and Conditions, please contact:
Site Genius
Website: https://sitegenius.co.za|
Email: info@sitegenius.co.za