1. Buy outright
If you choose to buy your website outright rather than lease it, payment is split into two instalments:
- 65% deposit, due on acceptance of your proposal, before design or build work begins.
- 35% balance, due on completion, before final handover and launch.
Once the balance is paid in full, the codebase, domain (where registered in your name), design assets and copy are yours outright, with no further build cost. An ongoing platform fee of £39/month + VAT applies to cover hosting, domain renewal, security and support — see Section 5 below.
2. Website lease
If you choose to lease instead, there is no upfront build cost. You pay a single monthly fee, which covers the design, build, hosting, domain, version control and ongoing support for your site. Your exact monthly fee depends on the plan and scope agreed at the start of your project.
3. Website lease — buyout guide
At any point during a lease, you can buy the site outright. This section sets out how that buyout is calculated.
3.1 What does "buying out" a lease mean?
When you lease a website from us, you get a fully bespoke, hand-coded site with no upfront build cost — you simply pay a monthly fee. That fee covers the design, build, hosting, domain, version control, and ongoing support.
Half of every monthly payment you make is automatically credited toward owning the site outright. The longer you lease, the more you've paid off — until the site is entirely yours, or you choose to clear the remaining balance early.
3.2 How the buyout price is calculated
Every lease has an agreed outright price — the same one-off price you'd pay if you bought the site outright from day one. 50% of each monthly payment is credited against that outright price. The other 50% covers the build, design and ongoing service — it isn't refundable and isn't credited.
Your buyout balance at any point = outright price − (50% × total of all payments made so far). Once your credits reach the full outright price, the site is yours automatically, with nothing further to pay beyond the ongoing platform fee. You can also buy out early at any time by paying whatever balance remains.
All prices ex. VAT. Your exact balance is confirmed in writing when you request it.
3.3 A worked example
Your monthly lease is £400, and the agreed outright price for your site is £6,000. Each month, £200 (50% of £400) is credited toward the buyout. After 12 months you've paid £4,800 in total, of which £2,400 has been credited — leaving a balance of £3,600. Keep leasing and that balance keeps shrinking every month; after 30 months (£6,000 of credits) the site is fully paid off and yours outright, with nothing further to pay. Want it sooner? Pay off the remaining balance at any time to buy out early.
After buyout, you only pay the £39/mo platform fee to keep the site live (hosting, domain, version control, security). More on that in Section 5.
3.4 What you receive at buyout
On the day we receive your buyout payment, we transfer:
- Full source code: The complete, hand-coded HTML/CSS/JS codebase — yours to host anywhere.
- Domain name: If the domain is registered in our name, we transfer it to your registrar of choice.
- Design assets: All Figma files, brand assets, images, and copy.
- Handover call: A 30-minute walkthrough so you (or your team) understand the project structure.
3.5 Custom plan clients
If you're on a custom/quoted plan, your outright price and monthly lease fee will be agreed in writing at the start of the project. The same 50%-credited buyout model applies unless otherwise stated in your individual contract.
3.6 How to request a buyout
Email us at accounts@softsell.digital with the subject line "Buyout Request". We'll confirm your current tier, issue an invoice, and process the handover within 5 working days of cleared payment.
4. The platform fee
Whether you buy outright or lease, an ongoing platform fee of £39/month + VAT applies once your site is live. This does not cover the build or design cost — it covers ongoing infrastructure: hosting & CDN, domain registration/renewal, SSL certificate, version control (Git), security monitoring, and technical support.
If you choose to move the site to your own hosting, a one-off £250 + VAT migration fee applies. This covers full documentation, a handover pack, and technical assistance transferring the codebase and domain to your new provider. The £39/mo platform fee stops from the month of migration.
5. General
This page sets out our standard payment terms for website pricing. It is provided for guidance and does not constitute a full contract — exact terms, including payment schedules, ownership transfer, and cancellation, are confirmed in writing for each project. Ownership of code, assets and the domain does not transfer until payment in full has been received and cleared. We reserve the right to update these terms; the most current version always applies. This page should be reviewed by a solicitor before being relied on as a binding contract.
Questions about pricing or payment? Email accounts@softsell.digital.