Terms & Conditions

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.

At any point during the lease, you can buy the site outright. This means you pay a one-off buyout fee and the website becomes entirely yours — code, assets, domain, everything. We hand it over with no strings attached.

The buyout price is based on how long you've been leasing. The longer you've been a customer, the lower the buyout — because we've already recouped more of the original build cost.

3.2 How the buyout price is calculated

The buyout price = your monthly fee × a multiplier. The multiplier decreases over time as set out in the table below. This structure protects us early on (when the site is essentially pre-paid for), and rewards clients who stay longer with a lower buyout.

All prices ex. VAT. Your exact buyout is confirmed in writing when you request it.

3.3 A worked example

Your monthly fee is £350 and you've been leasing for 18 months. You're in the 13–24 month band, so the multiplier is 12×. Buyout price: £350 × 12 = £4,200 + VAT — paid once, and the site is yours. The formula works the same regardless of your plan — just multiply your monthly fee by the figure in the table above for your current lease period.

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 buyout price will be agreed in writing at the start of the project and set out in your individual contract. The same tier structure applies unless otherwise stated.

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.