Terms of Use.

The short version.

These terms govern the use of matthewmcguire.ca and any service you engage me for as Matthew McGuire (“the studio”). By browsing this site or signing a service agreement, you agree to these terms. If anything below is unclear, email matt@mattmcguiredesign.com, I’ll explain in plain language.

The studio runs on one simple plan: an all-inclusive monthly subscription.

• $0 down, $75/month. The studio designs, builds, hosts, and maintains the site as an ongoing service. 12-month minimum, then month-to-month. This is a subscription, not a buyout, if your subscription ends, the built site goes offline. You always keep your domain and the content you provided.

Read the rest of these terms for full details on payment, cancellation, ownership, and liability.

What the studio provides.

I design and build websites for small businesses. Engagements run as an inclusive monthly subscription, the studio designs, hosts, and maintains the site as an ongoing service. Specifics of any individual engagement, page count, content scope, integrations, included pages, are documented in a service agreement signed by both parties before work begins.

Pricing and payment.

The monthly plan.

• $0 down to sign. No deposit is collected when the service agreement is signed.
• $75 per month, all-inclusive. The monthly subscription begins on your site’s launch day and covers design, build, hosting, ongoing edits, security patches, lifetime updates, and small additions.
• 12-month minimum commitment. The first 12 months of the subscription are committed; after that, the subscription continues month-to-month indefinitely.
• Add-ons: $100 per additional page beyond five, $250 to add a blog. Major new features (e-commerce, booking systems, custom calculators, full redesigns) are quoted in writing and rolled into the monthly when added.
• Domain and SSL fees are passed through at cost, the domain is registered in your business’s name and owned by you, regardless of subscription status.
• Ownership: the built site (code, design, deployed URL) remains the property of the studio. This is a subscription, not a buyout. See Cancellation below for details.

Invoices are sent monthly. Payment is due within fourteen days of receipt. Late payments more than thirty days past due may result in suspension of services and the site going offline until brought current.

Cancellation.

Before the 12-month minimum, if you cancel before completing the 12-month minimum, an early termination fee equal to the remaining months of the commitment multiplied by the $75 monthly rate is due on cancellation. For example, if you cancel at month 6, the remaining 6 months × $75 = $450 is owed. This is what makes $0 down financially viable for a one-person studio.

After the 12-month minimum, you may cancel at any time with 30 days’ written notice, no early termination fee. At the end of the notice period, the subscription ends and the site is taken offline.

The subscription does not advertise a buyout, ownership of the built site stays with the studio. That said, if owning the code outright matters to you, just ask, a one-time buyout can be arranged. This structure is how the $0-down monthly pricing stays financially viable for a one-person studio.

What you keep on cancellation.

If your monthly subscription ends for any reason, you retain ownership of:

• Your domain. Registered in your business’s name from day one, transferred to a registrar of your choosing if needed.
• Your content. Anything you provided to the studio, logo, photos, written copy, branding files, is yours to take to whatever new vendor you engage.
• Anything you produced during the engagement. Bios you wrote, photos you commissioned, blog posts you authored.

What does not transfer on cancellation of the monthly subscription:

• The built site itself, its code, design, layout, custom typography work, hosting setup, and deployed URL. These remain the property of the studio and the live site goes offline at the end of the subscription period.

Studio rights to portfolio use.

The studio retains the right to display screenshots, working URLs, and descriptions of the engagement in its portfolio (matthewmcguire.ca/work) for marketing purposes, unless you request otherwise in writing before launch.

Use of this website.

You may browse, link to, and reference matthewmcguire.ca freely. You may not scrape, reproduce, or republish substantial portions of its content without permission. Automated scraping of contact forms, mass enquiries, or any attempt to interfere with the site’s operation is prohibited.

Liability.

The studio provides services with reasonable professional care. To the extent permitted by law, the studio’s aggregate liability for any claim arising out of an engagement is limited to the total fees paid to the studio over the preceding twelve months. The studio is not liable for indirect, consequential, or business-interruption damages. Nothing in these terms limits liability for fraud, gross negligence, or anything that cannot be limited under applicable law.

Indemnity.

You agree to indemnify the studio against claims arising from your business’s use of content you provide for the site, including but not limited to copyright, trademark, defamation, or regulatory claims related to your business’s practice or materials.

Governing law.

These terms are governed by the laws of the Province of Alberta, Canada. Disputes will be resolved in the courts of Alberta, except where a different forum is required by applicable consumer protection law.

Changes to these terms.

These terms may be updated as the studio’s practices evolve. The “Last updated” date at the top of this page reflects the most recent revision. Material changes affecting active engagements will be communicated by email at least thirty days in advance. Continued use of the service after a change constitutes acceptance.

Contact.

Questions about these terms? Email matt@mattmcguiredesign.com.

These terms are written in plain language for clarity. They are not a substitute for an executed service agreement and should be read alongside any signed engagement contract. If you operate in a jurisdiction with stricter consumer protection rules, those rules take precedence over anything written here.