By placing an order with us, you confirm that you have read, understood and agree to these terms and conditions.
These terms are written in plain English on purpose. If anything is unclear, ask us before you sign. We would rather answer a question now than have a misunderstanding later.
1.1 "We", "us" and "our" means HC Media Group Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales (company number 11277587), registered office 5 Church Street, Tolleshunt D'Arcy, Maldon, Essex, CM9 8TS. We trade as HC Media Group, SME.marketing, Making Websites Better and People Behind Brands. These terms apply whichever brand you buy from.
1.2 "You" and "the Client" means the business or person ordering services from us.
1.3 "Order" means the proposal, quotation or order confirmation you accept, which sets out the services, prices and any special terms.
1.4 "Ongoing Services" means any service billed on a recurring basis, including SEO, paid media management, social media, Marketing Manager, hosting and support.
1.5 "Project Services" means one-off work such as website builds, branding and strategy.
1.6 "Minimum Term" means 3 months from the start date of each Ongoing Service, unless the Order says otherwise.
1.7 "Contract" means the Order together with these terms. If the Order and these terms disagree, the Order wins.
2.1 Quotations are valid for 14 days from the date of the quotation.
2.2 We may update these terms from time to time. We will give you at least 30 days' written notice of any change that affects you. If you do not accept the change, you can end the affected service at the end of that notice period without any early termination fee.
2.3 These terms apply to business clients.
3.1 All prices are in pounds sterling and exclude VAT, which is added at the current rate.
3.2 For Ongoing Services, we may increase our prices no more than once in any 12 month period. We will tell you in writing at least 30 days before any increase takes effect. If you do not accept the increase, you can end the service at the end of that notice period without any early termination fee.
3.3 Work outside the agreed scope is charged at our hourly rate of £85+ VAT, and we will always agree it with you before we start.
4.1 Ongoing Services: the first month is payable in advance when you place your Order. After that you will be invoiced monthly in advance.
4.2 Project Services: payment is due as set out in the Order. The payment options are:
4.2.1 Payment in full in advance.
4.2.2 Three equal monthly payments, interest free; or
4.2.3 Twelve monthly payments through our finance partner, available to limited companies only and subject to the finance partner's approval. The finance agreement is between you and the finance partner, and its terms will be confirmed by them.
4.3 Work begins once we receive cleared funds for the first payment.
4.4 Invoices are payable within 7 days of the invoice date, by bank transfer, standing order, card payment (through a third party), or through our finance partner. Payment details are shown on each invoice.
4.5 If an invoice is unpaid 14 days after its due date, we may pause the affected services after giving you 7 days' written notice. We are not liable for any consequences of a pause caused by non-payment.
4.6 Where an agreed payment plan falls behind, the full outstanding balance becomes due if any instalment is more than 14 days late.
4.7 On overdue amounts we may charge interest at 8% per year above the Bank of England base rate under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998, together with the fixed compensation allowed by that Act and the reasonable costs of recovering the debt, including any collection agency fees.
4.8 If we cannot complete work for reasons outside our control, you pay for the work we have actually done up to that point.
5.1 We will build your website in line with the specification in the Order. We will supply 2 design concepts for you to choose from, followed by up to 3 rounds of amends. Further changes after that are charged at our hourly rate.
5.2 When a stage is complete, we will ask you to sign it off in writing. Once signed off, further changes to that stage are treated as additional work. If you feel the website does not meet the agreed specification, tell us in writing and we will work with you to put it right.
5.3 The website, designs and code remain our property until all invoices for the project are paid in full. Ownership then passes to you as set out in clause 11.
5.4 You must provide the content, images and information we need as soon as reasonably possible. Timescales depend on receiving these.
5.5 We quote on the basis that the project is completed within 6 months. If the project runs beyond 6 months because of delays on your side, we may charge an additional 15% of the project fee to cover our increased costs.
5.6 The project price includes hosting the development site for 6 months. If the site needs to stay on our development server beyond that, because it is not ready to go live for reasons on your side, we charge £80 + VAT per month until it goes live.
5.7 Any additions to the brief are carried out at our discretion and may be charged. Where we carry out a small addition free of charge as a goodwill gesture, further changes to it may be charged.
5.8 If the project is stopped before completion for any reason, the work completed up to that point is chargeable.
5.9 Client changes: we are not responsible for loss of data, functionality or defects caused by changes you or anyone acting for you make to the website, including WordPress core updates, plugin updates or third-party software you install. We can fix these at our hourly rate.
5.10 Browser support: we build websites for browsers currently supported by their manufacturers. We are not responsible for display issues in out of date or unsupported browsers.
5.11 Security: we build websites to be as secure as reasonably possible at the time of delivery. We cannot guarantee protection against new threats that emerge after delivery. Ongoing security is covered by our hosting and support plans.
5.12 You are responsible for having the rights to any material you supply to us. We may refuse to use material where we have reason to believe it infringes someone else's rights, unless you can show permission.
6.1 Your Google Analytics, Google Search Console, Google Business Profile, advertising accounts, social media accounts and domain name belong to you and should be registered in your name. We will be given the access we need to deliver the services.
6.2 Where we set up an account on your behalf, we will set it up in your name, or transfer ownership to you on request once all invoices are paid.
6.3 Please keep your logins secure and tell us if you change a password we rely on, so the work is not interrupted.
7.1 When set out in the Order, we will provide SEO services, including optimisation for search engines and AI search tools such as ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Overviews.
7.2 We will use our reasonable skill and care to improve your visibility. However, search engines and AI tools are controlled by third parties and change their systems often. We do not guarantee any particular ranking, position, mention, traffic level or increase in business, and no one at HC Media Group is permitted to promise one.
7.3 We are not liable for changes to your website's position in search results or AI answers.
7.4 SEO services may not be paused during the Minimum Term unless we agree in writing.
8.1 Paid media: when set out in the Order, we will manage advertising campaigns on the platforms named, which may include Google, Microsoft, Meta (Facebook and Instagram), LinkedIn, TikTok and ChatGPT Ads.
8.2 Advertising spend is paid by you directly to the platform, unless we agree otherwise in writing. Our management fee is separate from your advertising spend. You are responsible for any amounts owed to the platforms.
8.3 Platforms set their own advertising policies and may reject or limit adverts or suspend accounts. We will work to resolve this but are not responsible for platform decisions. We do not guarantee any particular result, cost per lead or return on advertising spend.
8.4 Social media and content packs: social media packs include one round of amends. Further amends are charged at our hourly rate. Content is published only after you have approved it.
8.5 Reviews and reputation: we will never write, buy or incentivise fake reviews, or post reviews that do not reflect a genuine customer experience. We will not carry out any reputation work that breaks platform rules or the law.
8.6 PR: we will use our reasonable skill to secure coverage, but editorial decisions belong to publishers and journalists. We do not guarantee coverage in any particular publication. Some PR services are delivered through specialist partners.
8.7 Lead generation: we will deliver the campaigns set out in the Order. Lead numbers depend on factors including your market, offer, budget and how quickly enquiries are followed up, so we do not guarantee a number of leads or sales.
9.1 We use AI tools, including our own AI assistant, to research, draft and analyse. Every piece of work is reviewed by a member of our team before it reaches you or goes live.
9.2 We will ask you to approve content, adverts and website copy before they are published. You are responsible for checking that factual claims about your business, such as prices, qualifications, awards and reviews, are accurate before you approve them.
10.1 When set out in the Order, we will host your website. Hosting is £300 + VAT per year unless the Order says otherwise.
10.2 Hosting is provided on a fair use basis. If your website's traffic or storage needs grow beyond a standard small business website, we will discuss a suitable hosting package with you before any change in price.
10.3 You are responsible for the accuracy, legality and compliance of the content on your website, including content added by your users.
10.4 We may be required by law to monitor or disclose website content and traffic. We will only do so where the law requires it.
10.5 We will use reasonable efforts to keep downtime to a minimum, but we cannot guarantee that hosting will be available at all times. We may need to suspend hosting temporarily for repair, maintenance or improvement and will give you as much notice as is reasonably practicable.
10.6 We and our suppliers may remove material from a hosted website without notice where it is illegal or breaches our suppliers' acceptable use policies.
10.7 If you move your hosting to another provider, we will help you move it. We charge a transfer fee of £150 + VAT, and the transfer will take place once that fee and any outstanding invoices are paid.
10.8 We resell domain names, hosting, mailboxes and other services from third-party providers, including 123reg. We are not liable for financial loss caused by a domain name not being renewed where you have not paid the renewal, or by a third-party service being unavailable.
11.1 Once all invoices for the relevant work are paid in full, you own the website, designs, content and other materials we create specifically for you, and your domain name.
11.2 We keep ownership of our own tools, frameworks, templates, code libraries, processes and know-how that existed before your project or that we use across clients. Where these form part of your website or materials, you have a permanent licence to use them as part of that website or materials.
11.3 Your own content, data, logos and materials remain yours at all times.
11.4 Unless you ask us not to, we may show the work we have done for you in our portfolio and marketing. We will never share your confidential information or data in doing so.
11.5 Third-party items such as stock images, fonts, plugins and themes are licensed on their own providers' terms.
12.1 Each Ongoing Service runs for the Minimum Term and then continues on a monthly rolling basis until either of us gives notice.
12.2 After the Minimum Term, either of us can end an Ongoing Service by giving 30 days' written notice.
12.3 If you end an Ongoing Service before the end of the Minimum Term, you will pay the fees for the remainder of the Minimum Term, unless we agree otherwise in writing.
12.4 If a Project Service is cancelled before completion, you will pay a reasonable sum for the work carried out up to the date of cancellation.
12.5 Handover: when the Contract ends and all invoices are paid, we will hand over your website files, logins, accounts and any materials you own within 10 working days. Work we have completed on your website, including SEO work, stays in place.
12.6 Either of us may end the Contract immediately by written notice if the other:
12.6.1 seriously breaches the Contract and does not put it right within 14 days of being asked to; or
12.6.2 becomes insolvent, enters into an arrangement with its creditors, has a receiver, administrator or liquidator appointed, or a winding up order or resolution is made (other than for a solvent restructure).
12.7 We may end the Contract by written notice if any invoice remains unpaid for more than 30 days after its due date, or if you have not provided information or access we need for more than 30 days after we have asked for it in writing.
12.8 Ending the Contract does not affect any rights either of us already had. Clauses 4 (payment), 11 (ownership), 13 (liability), 14 (data protection) and 15 (confidentiality) continue after the Contract ends.
13.1 Nothing in these terms limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or for anything else that cannot be limited by law.
13.2 We are not liable for any indirect or consequential loss, or for loss of profit, revenue, business, goodwill or data.
13.3 Our total liability to you under or in connection with the Contract is limited to the fees you have paid us in the 12 months before the event giving rise to the claim.
13.4 You agree to indemnify us against losses, costs and reasonable legal fees arising from:
13.4.1 any claim that content or materials you supplied infringe someone else's rights or are unlawful, defamatory or misleading; and
13.4.2 work carried out on your written instructions that infringes someone else's rights.
13.5 Timescales in the Order are our best estimate and we will work hard to meet them. We are not liable for delays caused by you, by third parties outside our control, or by events under clause 17.
14.1 Where we process personal data on your behalf (for example, enquiries from your website, customer lists or analytics data), you are the controller and we are the processor under UK data protection law, including the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.
14.2 We will:
14.2.1 process personal data only on your documented instructions and for the purpose of delivering the services;
14.2.2 make sure our staff and contractors who access it are bound by confidentiality;
14.2.3 keep it secure using appropriate technical and organisational measures;
14.2.4 only use sub-processors (such as hosting, email and software providers) who are bound by equivalent data protection obligations, and tell you about them on request;
14.2.5 help you respond to requests from individuals exercising their data rights, and tell you without undue delay if we become aware of a personal data breach;
14.2.6 delete or return the personal data at the end of the Contract, unless the law requires us to keep it; and
14.2.7 make available the information you reasonably need to show compliance.
14.3 You are responsible for having a lawful basis for the personal data you share with us, and for your own privacy policy and cookie consent.
14.4 Our own use of your contact details is covered by our privacy policy at https://sme.marketing/privacy-policy/.
15.1 Each of us will keep confidential any information about the other's business that is not public, and use it only for the purpose of the Contract. This does not apply to information that is already public, that the receiving party already had, or that must be disclosed by law.
16.1 You may not transfer the Contract to anyone else without our written consent, which we will not unreasonably refuse.
16.2 We may use trusted subcontractors and partners to deliver parts of the services. We remain responsible for their work.
16.3 We may transfer the Contract to another company as part of a sale or reorganisation of our business, and will tell you in writing if we do.
16.4 During the Contract and for 6 months after it ends, neither of us will directly employ or engage any member of the other's staff who worked on the services without the other's written consent.
17.1 Neither of us is liable for failing to perform the Contract because of events beyond reasonable control, including fire, flood, storm or other natural disaster, war, civil unrest, terrorism, government action, pandemic, strikes, or failure of power, internet or telephone services. If such an event lasts more than 30 days, either of us may end the affected service by written notice.
18.1 If you are unhappy with any part of our service, please tell your account manager. We will acknowledge your complaint within 2 working days and aim to resolve it within 14 days.
19.1 Notices under the Contract must be in writing and may be sent by email to the address each of us has given for the account.
19.2 The Contract is the whole agreement between us about its subject and replaces any earlier discussions, except anything set out in the Order.
19.3 If any part of these terms is found to be invalid or unenforceable, the rest remains in force, and the affected part applies with the minimum change needed to make it valid.
19.4 No one who is not a party to the Contract has any right to enforce it under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999.
19.5 The Contract is governed by the law of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction.
Last updated: 1 November 2026
