Terms & Conditions

These Terms and Conditions (the "Terms") form the legal agreement between you (the "Client", "you" or "your") and Ridgeline Studio (the "Studio", "we", "us" or "our") in relation to any and all services we provide, including but not limited to quoting, design, development, deployment, hosting, ongoing maintenance and general consultation. They apply whether the engagement is a single fixed-scope project, a small revision, or an ongoing monthly subscription.

By requesting a quote, engaging us to perform work, submitting content or payment, or continuing to use any site or service we host on your behalf, you confirm that you have read, understood and agreed to these Terms in the form in which they appear on this page at the time of the interaction. If any part of these Terms is unclear, you agree to raise it with us in writing before work begins so that we can address it up front rather than after delivery.

These Terms exist to protect both parties, to keep expectations clear, and to make sure that every engagement runs smoothly from the first email to the final launch and beyond. Nothing in these Terms is intended to override rights you have that cannot be excluded under applicable Australian consumer law.

You accept these Terms by taking any action that indicates agreement, including submitting our project brief form, approving a written quote or estimate, paying a deposit or invoice, providing content or credentials so that work can begin, or continuing to use a hosting or maintenance subscription past its renewal date.

Acceptance applies to the version of these Terms in force at the time of acceptance. Where we materially update these Terms, we will publish the updated version on this page with a revised "last updated" date, and continued use of our services after that date constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.

If you do not agree with these Terms, or with any subsequent change, you must stop using our services and, if you have an active subscription, request cancellation in accordance with Section 26. Continued use after disagreement is treated as acceptance.

The following definitions apply throughout these Terms. Where a term is capitalised in these Terms but not defined here, it takes its ordinary meaning in the context of Australian web design and development services.

• "Project" means any specific piece of design, development, integration or tooling work that we agree to deliver under a written quote or scope document.
• "Deliverables" means the final files, source code, designs, copy, configuration and assets produced by us for a Project.
• "Hosting" means the ongoing service described in Section 23, including infrastructure, monitoring and routine maintenance.
• "Client Content" means any text, images, video, data, logos, branding, credentials or other materials you provide to us for use in the Project.
• "Quote" means the written pricing and scope document we send prior to commencing a Project.
• "Launch" means the point at which the Deliverables are made publicly accessible or handed over to you.

These definitions apply in the singular and the plural, and any reference to a statute, regulation or law includes any amendment or replacement of it.

Ridgeline Studio provides custom web design, front-end and full-stack development, integration, deployment, and post-launch hosting and maintenance services. Typical engagements include marketing landing pages, multi-page business sites, single-page applications, dashboards, portals, internal workflow tools, and small integrations with third-party systems such as payments, email, CRM or analytics providers.

The exact scope of any engagement is defined in the applicable Quote. Anything not expressly listed in the Quote is out of scope and, if requested during the Project, will be handled under Section 11 as additional work.

We do not provide legal, financial, tax, accounting, security auditing, penetration testing or other regulated professional advice. Where such advice is relevant to your Project, you are responsible for engaging appropriately qualified professionals separately.

Design and development work is performed in accordance with the specification agreed in the Quote, using modern, maintainable technologies chosen by us based on the requirements of the Project. Where the Quote does not specify a particular framework, hosting provider, CMS or integration, we will make a reasonable technical decision on your behalf.

Our development output is intended to render correctly on current versions of the major evergreen browsers (Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari) on standard desktop and mobile viewports. Support for legacy browsers, unusual devices, or non-standard rendering environments is not included unless explicitly listed in the Quote.

Any features, pages, integrations, animations, accessibility standards, SEO strategies, translations or content sources that are not listed in the Quote are considered out of scope. If you require any of these, please raise them before the Quote is accepted so they can be priced accurately.

After a Project has launched, ongoing hosting and maintenance are available as an optional monthly subscription. This subscription is described in detail in Sections 23 to 26 and is offered as a convenience so that you do not need to manage infrastructure yourself.

Hosting is provisioned on reputable third-party infrastructure providers selected by us. We reserve the right to migrate hosted sites between providers from time to time in order to maintain reliability, performance, security or cost efficiency, provided that any such migration does not materially reduce the level of service.

Maintenance covers small, routine changes and technical upkeep. It is not intended to replace larger design or development engagements, which continue to be handled as separate Projects.

Project requests are typically submitted through our project brief form or by direct email. To provide an accurate Quote we may ask follow-up questions in writing or arrange a short consultation call to clarify goals, requirements, audience, timeline, budget and constraints.

Consultation is offered without obligation and does not, on its own, create a binding engagement. A binding engagement only exists once a written Quote has been issued and accepted in accordance with Sections 8 and 9.

We may decline to quote for any Project at our sole discretion, including where the requested work is outside our capability, where the timeline is unrealistic, or where we believe the work is not a good fit for the Studio.

Quotes are fixed-price and valid for 30 days from the date of issue unless stated otherwise in writing. After 30 days we may re-issue an updated Quote reflecting any changes in scope, technology, third-party pricing or our availability.

Every Quote is prepared based on the information available to us at the time. You are responsible for providing accurate, complete information about the Project when requesting a Quote. If material facts change or come to light later (for example, additional pages, new integrations, or content in significantly greater volume than described), we may issue a revised Quote or treat the change under Section 11 as additional work.

Estimates that are explicitly labelled as "rough", "indicative" or "ballpark" are not fixed-price offers and are provided only to help you plan. Such estimates do not create any obligation on either party until a formal Quote is issued and accepted.

Project pricing typically ranges from $100 to $1,500 AUD depending on scope, complexity, technical difficulty, integrations required and timeline. All pricing is quoted in Australian Dollars (AUD) and, unless expressly stated otherwise, is exclusive of GST and of any third-party costs such as domain registration, paid API subscriptions, stock media, premium fonts, transactional email providers, or paid hosting tiers above the standard included in the hosting subscription.

Where third-party costs are required to deliver the Project, you may either pay those third parties directly (preferred) or reimburse us at cost. Any markup, coordination fee or account-management fee for handling third-party services on your behalf will be disclosed in the Quote.

Prices for future work, additional Projects, or renewed subscriptions are not guaranteed and may change over time. Once you have accepted a specific Quote, the price for that Project is locked for the duration of that engagement.

The accepted Quote is the definitive record of what is included in the Project. If a feature, page, integration or requirement is not listed in the Quote, it is not included. This applies even if the feature has been discussed casually in email or in a call, unless the Quote has been updated in writing to include it.

You are responsible for reviewing the Quote carefully before accepting it and for raising any missing items before work begins. Once accepted, the scope becomes the baseline against which all work, revisions, delivery and payment are measured.

Where a requirement is ambiguous, we will use our reasonable professional judgement to interpret it in a way that is consistent with the overall goals of the Project. If you disagree with the interpretation, you may treat the change as additional work under Section 11.

Requests to add features, redesign approved work, change technology decisions after implementation, or otherwise expand the agreed scope are treated as additional work. Additional work is quoted separately before it begins, with a clear description of the change, its cost, and its expected impact on the overall timeline.

We reserve the right to adjust the delivery date of the original Project to accommodate additional work, including where the additional work introduces dependencies, requires re-testing of existing features, or affects the design system.

Small clarifications and minor tweaks that do not materially change the scope are generally absorbed at our discretion. What counts as "minor" is decided in good faith by us based on the effort required and the nature of the change.

To keep the Project on schedule you are responsible for providing an accurate brief, responding to questions and reviews in a timely manner, supplying any content, imagery, credentials or branding required, and making decisions when asked. We cannot commit to any timeline that depends on Client input unless that input is provided in a reasonable time frame.

You are also responsible for making sure that any content, imagery or data you give us is lawful to use, correctly licensed, accurate and appropriate for public display. See Section 13 for further detail.

Where the Project involves integrations with third-party services (such as payments, email, analytics or CRM providers), you are responsible for holding the accounts required to use those services and for accepting the terms of those providers directly.

You warrant to us that all Client Content supplied for use in the Project is either owned by you, licensed to you on terms that permit use in the Project, or otherwise lawfully able to be used and published for the intended purpose.

You further warrant that Client Content is not defamatory, misleading, discriminatory, obscene, in breach of privacy laws, or in breach of any other applicable law or regulation. We reserve the right to refuse to publish or include any Client Content that we consider to be in breach of this warranty, without liability.

Where Client Content is provided late or in a form that is not usable (for example, low-resolution images, incomplete copy, or files in unsupported formats), we may pause work, require re-supply, or treat the additional handling as work under Section 11.

Design typically progresses from an initial exploration of references, wireframes or moodboards through to a high-fidelity direction that reflects the tone, positioning and functional needs of the Project. Depending on the size of the engagement, the design phase may be very lightweight (a single direction refined in one round) or more extensive (multiple directions and rounds).

At each stage we will share previews so that you can review the visual direction, layout and behaviour before implementation begins. Once you approve a design direction, we will treat that direction as locked and use it as the basis for development.

Design revisions requested after the direction has been approved and implemented are treated as additional work under Section 11, unless the change is a small refinement that does not materially rework the design.

Development is carried out using modern, maintainable code. We favour widely used, well-supported frameworks and libraries, sensible defaults for accessibility and performance, and clean project structure so that future work (by us or by anyone else) is straightforward.

Progress is shared via preview links so that you can review functionality as it is built rather than only at the end. We may also share short written updates summarising what has been completed, what is next, and any decisions that require your input.

Where the Project relies on external services that are unavailable, rate limited, or change unexpectedly, we will do our best to work around the issue, but we are not responsible for delays caused by such third-party behaviour.

Every Project follows a three-stage workflow. In the Quote stage, we agree scope, price and timeline in writing. In the Build stage, we design and develop the Deliverables and share them with you for review. In the Launch stage, we test, refine and ship the final product, then support you through go-live and any immediate post-launch adjustments included in the scope.

Movement between stages is triggered by your written approval. We will not begin the Build stage without a signed or emailed acceptance of the Quote, and we will not Launch without your explicit sign-off on the final review.

If a Project is paused between stages for more than 30 days due to a lack of Client response, we may treat the Project as inactive under Section 20 and reschedule remaining work based on our then-current availability.

Approvals must be provided in writing, either by email or through an agreed messaging channel. Verbal approvals given during calls do not take effect until they are confirmed in writing by you.

Feedback should be specific, actionable and consolidated. Where multiple stakeholders are involved on your side, you agree to nominate a single primary contact who is responsible for collating feedback and delivering it as a single coherent response.

Work that has been marked as approved is considered final at that stage. Further changes to previously approved work may be treated as additional revision rounds under Section 18 or as additional work under Section 11.

Every Project includes a reasonable number of revision rounds, which will be specified in the Quote. A "round" of revisions is a single consolidated set of feedback delivered in writing after reviewing the latest preview.

Revisions beyond the number included in the Quote, or requests that significantly rework previously approved deliverables, are billed at our standard hourly rate or quoted as additional work under Section 11.

Requests that are inconsistent with each other, that reverse previously approved decisions, or that require reworking underlying architecture are particularly likely to fall outside the included revision rounds. We will flag this in writing before performing such work.

Timelines are estimated in good faith based on the scope agreed in the Quote, our then-current workload, and the assumption that you will respond to questions, reviews and approvals within a reasonable time (typically within five business days).

Delays caused by late feedback, missing Client Content, unavailable third parties, changes in scope, or events beyond our reasonable control (see Section 50) may extend the delivery date. Where a delay is caused primarily by you, we are not liable for any resulting inconvenience or loss.

Where we are the source of a delay, we will communicate it in writing as soon as we become aware, along with a revised delivery date and, where possible, steps we are taking to make up time.

Our primary communication channel is email. Where a Project uses another channel (for example, a shared workspace or messaging tool), that channel will be identified in writing at the start of the engagement and email will be used as a fallback and for anything requiring formal approval.

You agree to respond to Project-related messages within a reasonable time so that work can continue. Where no response is received within 14 days of a message requiring input, we may pause the Project and treat it as inactive.

After hours, weekends and Australian public holidays are outside our normal working times. Messages received during those periods will generally be answered on the next business day.

Unless otherwise agreed in writing, a 50% non-refundable deposit is required before work begins on any Project, and the remaining balance is due before Launch. For smaller Projects we may require the full amount before work begins.

Invoices are issued in AUD and are payable within seven days of the invoice date. Accepted payment methods will be listed on the invoice and may include direct bank transfer or a supported online payment provider.

Payments are considered received only when they clear into our account. You are responsible for any bank fees, currency conversion fees or payment processor fees associated with your chosen payment method.

If an invoice is not paid by its due date, we may pause all in-progress work, withhold Deliverables, and (for hosted sites) suspend or take offline the affected service after written notice.

We reserve the right to charge reasonable recovery costs on overdue amounts, including but not limited to administrative fees, debt collection costs and legal fees where recovery action is required.

Repeated late payment may result in us declining to take on further work, requiring full payment in advance for future engagements, or terminating any active subscription in accordance with Section 29.

Once a Project has launched, ongoing hosting and maintenance are available for a flat fee of $15 AUD per month. This fee is billed monthly in advance from the launch date and covers the services described in Sections 24 and 25, subject to the exclusions and limitations set out in these Terms.

The subscription is optional but strongly recommended, particularly for sites that need to remain online, receive traffic, integrate with third-party services, or accept form submissions. If you decline the subscription, you are responsible for arranging your own hosting and for all associated operational responsibilities.

We may adjust the subscription fee from time to time to reflect changes in infrastructure pricing or scope of included services. Any change to the fee will be communicated in writing at least 30 days in advance and will apply from the next billing period after the notice period ends.

Hosting includes provisioning the site on a reputable third-party infrastructure provider, configuring standard HTTPS, applying sensible security defaults, monitoring general availability, and keeping the site online subject to Section 42.

Hosting does not include unlimited feature work, major redesigns, migration to bespoke or restricted infrastructure of your choosing, custom compliance work, dedicated 24/7 monitoring, formal service level agreements, or DDoS mitigation beyond what is provided by the underlying infrastructure provider.

Where the hosting requirements of your site materially change (for example, because traffic grows substantially, because you add a heavy new integration, or because you introduce new compliance requirements), we may quote an updated hosting plan or move you to a different tier.

Maintenance covers minor content updates, dependency and security updates for the site's underlying stack, small bug fixes, and monitoring of general availability. Time included is intended for small, routine work rather than new features.

Larger changes, new pages, new integrations, new sections, redesigns and performance overhauls are treated as new Projects and quoted separately. Where you are unsure whether a request falls under maintenance or a new Project, we will tell you in writing before doing the work.

We may batch minor maintenance requests and apply them in a scheduled window to minimise disruption. Urgent issues affecting site availability are prioritised and addressed as soon as reasonably possible during business hours.

You may cancel the hosting subscription at any time by giving 14 days' written notice. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period following the notice period, and fees already paid for the current period are non-refundable.

On cancellation, the site will be taken offline unless a handover has been arranged in accordance with Section 27. We are not responsible for any loss of traffic, revenue or reputation associated with a site being taken offline after cancellation.

We may cancel the subscription with written notice where you have materially breached these Terms, where invoices are significantly overdue, or where the site is being used in breach of Sections 39 or 40.

On written request, we will provide a reasonable handover so that you or a third party can host the Deliverables elsewhere. Handover typically includes a copy of the source code, a build or deployment reference, and a list of any third-party services required to run the site.

Basic handover of a modest static or standard framework-based site is included at no additional cost within 30 days of cancellation. Handover assistance beyond that (such as bespoke deployment scripts, extended email support during migration, or hands-on work with a new provider) is billed at our standard hourly rate.

We do not warrant that any third party will be willing or able to host or maintain the Deliverables, and we accept no responsibility for the quality of work performed by any third party after handover.

Deposits are non-refundable once work has commenced. This reflects the reserved time, planning and setup effort involved in beginning a Project.

Hosting fees are non-refundable for the current billing period. If you cancel part way through a month, the site remains available for the remainder of the period unless the subscription has been terminated for breach.

Other refund requests are considered on a case-by-case basis at our sole discretion, taking into account the nature of the request, the amount of work already completed, and the circumstances leading to the request. Any refund is provided as a goodwill gesture and does not constitute an admission of liability.

Either party may terminate a Project for material breach of these Terms that is not remedied within 14 days of written notice specifying the breach. On termination for breach by you, all outstanding invoices and any work completed up to the termination date become immediately payable.

We may also terminate an engagement where continuing the Project would require us to act unlawfully, dishonestly, or in a way that we reasonably believe would harm our reputation, other clients, or third parties.

On termination, we will provide you with copies of any Deliverables completed and paid for, subject to Sections 31 to 33. Any rights or licences that have not yet vested (for example, because full payment has not been made) do not transfer.

All pre-existing tools, libraries, templates, frameworks, snippets, patterns and know-how brought to the Project by us remain our property. Nothing in these Terms transfers ownership of that pre-existing IP to you.

Rights in the custom Deliverables produced specifically for your Project transfer to you on receipt of full payment, subject to Sections 33, 34 and 35 and to any third-party licences that continue to govern components incorporated into the Deliverables.

You grant us a non-exclusive, worldwide licence to use, host, reproduce and display Client Content and the Deliverables to the extent necessary to perform our services, including hosting and marketing under Section 38.

On receipt of full payment for a Project, you own the final delivered website, including its custom copy, structure, layouts and bespoke visual design as delivered by us.

Ownership does not extend to third-party components (such as open source libraries, fonts, imagery under stock licences, or paid SaaS services), which remain governed by their respective licences and terms.

Ownership is subject to your continued compliance with these Terms. Breach of these Terms may result in the loss of hosting, but does not by itself reverse ownership of paid-for Deliverables.

On receipt of full payment, you own the custom source code we have written specifically for your Project. We will provide a copy of that source code on request as part of the handover under Section 27.

We retain a perpetual, non-exclusive right to reuse generic components, patterns, techniques and know-how developed during our work, including in other Projects for other clients, provided that we do not disclose any of your confidential information or Client Content.

Source code for internal tools that we use to run our business, such as our own project management, quoting, deployment or hosting tooling, is not part of any Deliverable and is not transferred, even if it is used to serve your Project.

The Deliverables may incorporate third-party software, libraries, frameworks, fonts, imagery or services. Each of these is subject to its own licence terms, which govern how you may use, copy, modify or distribute that component.

Ownership of third-party components remains with their respective owners. Your rights to use those components are the rights granted under the applicable licence and are not expanded by these Terms.

Where a paid third-party service or paid asset is required to run the site, you are responsible for maintaining an appropriate subscription or licence for that component.

We frequently use open source components as part of our stack because they are well maintained, widely audited and cost-effective. You agree to comply with the applicable open source licences attached to any such components included in the Deliverables.

Common obligations under open source licences include retaining copyright and licence notices, and, in some cases, making corresponding source code available if you redistribute the software. We can point you to the relevant notices on request.

We do not warrant the availability, security or continued maintenance of any open source component. Where a component becomes unmaintained, insecure or otherwise unsuitable, replacing it is treated as new work under Section 11.

Where possible, domains, paid APIs, email providers, analytics accounts, payment processor accounts and other third-party service accounts should be registered in your name so that you retain full ownership and control.

You are responsible for renewing and paying for those services directly. If a domain expires or a third-party account is suspended due to non-payment on your side, we are not responsible for any resulting downtime, loss of data or loss of revenue.

Where you ask us to hold or manage third-party accounts on your behalf, we may agree at our discretion. Any such arrangement will be documented in writing and may attract an additional management fee.

We handle Client data only to the extent needed to deliver the Project and related services. Personal information is handled in line with applicable Australian privacy laws, including the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) where it applies to us or to you.

You are the operator responsible for any personal information collected via the site (for example, through contact forms, checkouts or account creation). You are responsible for maintaining an appropriate privacy policy on the site and for ensuring that data collection complies with all applicable laws.

We may access Client data during development, testing, monitoring and support. Where we do, we treat that data as confidential in accordance with Section 37 and use it only for the purpose of delivering our services.

Each party will keep the other's non-public information confidential and use it only for the purpose of the Project or these Terms. Confidential information includes business plans, financial information, product roadmaps, user data, credentials, pricing and any other information that a reasonable person would treat as confidential.

Confidentiality obligations do not apply to information that is publicly available (other than through a breach of these Terms), that was already known to the receiving party without a confidentiality obligation, or that is required to be disclosed by law or by a competent authority.

Confidentiality obligations survive termination of any Project or subscription for a period of three years, or for any longer period required by law.

Unless you tell us otherwise in writing before Launch, we may reference the Project in our portfolio and marketing materials. This includes displaying screenshots of the delivered site, describing the type of work performed, publishing case studies, and mentioning your business name and industry.

We will not disclose confidential information as part of portfolio or marketing use. Where you require additional restrictions (for example, no use of your logo, or a delay of a defined period before the case study is published), please raise this in writing before the Quote is accepted so that it can be documented.

You may also be asked, but are not required, to provide a short testimonial or reference for the Studio.

You agree to use our services, and any site or infrastructure we host on your behalf, only for lawful purposes and in a way that does not infringe the rights of others, breach any applicable law or regulation, or damage, overload, impair or compromise any system or network.

Acceptable use includes using the site for its intended business purpose, maintaining reasonable security hygiene on your own accounts, and complying with any additional acceptable use policies of the underlying infrastructure providers.

Breach of this Section may result in immediate suspension of hosting under Section 22 and, in serious cases, termination of the engagement under Section 29.

Without limiting Section 39, you must not use our services to distribute malware, spyware or ransomware; to send unsolicited bulk messages or spam; to host content that is illegal, exploitative, harassing, discriminatory or seriously offensive; to run phishing or fraud schemes; or to attempt to breach the security of any system, whether ours or a third party's.

You must not use our services in a way that violates the terms of any third party (for example, a payment processor or email provider) in a manner that risks the availability of our systems or those of other clients.

Where prohibited activity is detected, we may act immediately without notice to protect our systems and other clients. Where practical, we will notify you promptly after the fact.

We apply reasonable, industry-standard security practices to the sites and infrastructure we host, including HTTPS, standard configuration hardening and routine dependency updates as part of maintenance.

You are responsible for the security of your own accounts and credentials, including any admin logins we provide to you. This includes using strong, unique passwords, protecting recovery methods (such as email accounts), enabling multi-factor authentication where offered, and not sharing credentials with unauthorised people.

Where a security incident is caused by compromise of your credentials, misuse of Client-controlled features, or Client Content, you are responsible for the consequences of that incident. Where a security incident originates with our systems, we will investigate, take reasonable remedial action, and notify you in accordance with any applicable laws.

We aim for high availability of hosted sites, but we do not guarantee uninterrupted service and we do not offer a formal service level agreement unless one is separately agreed in writing.

Planned maintenance, deployments, provider outages, DNS issues, DDoS attacks, bugs in third-party dependencies, and other events outside our reasonable control may cause downtime. Where planned maintenance is expected to be disruptive, we will give reasonable prior notice.

We are not liable for loss of revenue, opportunity or goodwill arising from downtime. If prolonged, repeated downtime materially reduces the value of the hosting subscription, we may propose a credit at our discretion.

We rely on third-party providers for infrastructure, email, analytics, payments and similar services. The terms of those providers, and the availability of their services, are outside our control.

Where a third-party provider changes its terms, pricing, features or availability in a way that affects your site or subscription, we will notify you and, where necessary, propose changes to your site or subscription to address the impact.

We are not liable for the acts or omissions of third-party providers, but we will make reasonable efforts to work around issues on your behalf.

Websites and applications we build may include links to, or embed content from, external services (such as videos, maps, chat widgets, analytics scripts, or third-party form providers). We are not responsible for the content, policies, availability or security of any external service.

Where an external service ceases to operate, changes its API, or introduces new restrictions, updating or replacing the integration is treated as new work under Section 11.

You are responsible for reviewing and accepting the terms of any external service used in connection with your site.

To the maximum extent permitted by law, services are provided "as is" and "as available", without warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, including without limitation any implied warranty of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement.

Nothing in this Section limits any rights you have under applicable Australian consumer law that cannot be excluded, restricted or modified by agreement.

Where liability cannot be excluded but can be limited, our liability is limited, at our option, to the resupply of the affected services or the cost of having those services resupplied.

To the maximum extent permitted by law, our total aggregate liability arising out of or in connection with these Terms or the services (whether in contract, tort including negligence, statute or otherwise) is limited to the total fees actually paid by you to us in the three (3) months immediately preceding the event giving rise to the claim.

We are not liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, punitive or exemplary loss or damage, or for any loss of profit, revenue, data, business opportunity, goodwill or anticipated savings, whether or not we were advised of the possibility of such loss.

Each provision limiting liability in these Terms is separate and severable and applies notwithstanding any failure of essential purpose of any limited remedy.

We do not guarantee any specific business outcome from your site, including without limitation any particular level of traffic, search engine ranking, conversion rate, revenue, engagement, brand recognition or return on investment.

Business results depend on many factors outside our control, including your market, product, pricing, marketing, competition, timing and the quality of the underlying offering.

Where we provide suggestions on positioning, copy, structure or marketing, we do so as informed input rather than as a professional marketing, business or financial recommendation.

You agree to indemnify, defend and hold us harmless from and against any claims, losses, liabilities, damages, costs and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising from or related to Client Content, your use of the site, your breach of these Terms, your breach of any applicable law, or your breach of any third-party right.

We will provide you with reasonable notice of any claim to which the indemnity applies and reasonable cooperation in the defence of that claim, at your cost.

You may not settle any indemnified claim in a way that imposes any obligation, liability or admission on us without our prior written consent.

Neither party is liable for any delay or failure to perform obligations under these Terms (other than payment obligations) that is caused by events beyond that party's reasonable control, including natural disasters, extreme weather, fire, flood, pandemics, war, terrorism, civil disturbance, strikes, government action, changes to law, and material outages of internet or third-party services.

The affected party will give prompt written notice of the force majeure event and will use reasonable efforts to minimise its impact and resume performance as soon as reasonably possible.

If a force majeure event continues for more than 60 days, either party may terminate the affected Project or subscription by written notice, without liability for any resulting delay or termination.

The parties will attempt in good faith to resolve any dispute arising out of or in connection with these Terms by direct discussion between senior representatives of each party before commencing any formal proceedings.

If a dispute cannot be resolved by discussion within 30 days of it being raised in writing, the parties may agree to mediation before an accredited mediator, with the costs of the mediator shared equally.

Nothing in this Section prevents either party from seeking urgent injunctive or equitable relief from a competent court where necessary to protect its rights.

These Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws in force in Australia. Where a specific state or territory law applies to a matter under these Terms, the parties agree that the laws of the relevant Australian state or territory apply as appropriate.

The parties submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the Australian courts in respect of any dispute arising out of or in connection with these Terms.

The application of any international sale of goods conventions, or other laws that could result in a different governing law, is excluded to the fullest extent permitted.

We may update these Terms from time to time to reflect changes in our services, technology, law or business practice. The updated version will be posted on this page with a new "last updated" date, and the changes take effect from the date the updated Terms are posted.

Where a change materially affects your rights or obligations under an active subscription, we will use reasonable efforts to notify you in advance. Your continued use of our services after the effective date of the change constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.

If you do not agree with an updated version, you may cancel your subscription in accordance with Section 26. Cancellation does not affect any obligation arising before the cancellation takes effect.

If any provision of these Terms is found by a court or other competent authority to be invalid, unenforceable or illegal, that provision will be modified to the minimum extent necessary to make it valid and enforceable while preserving its original intent as closely as possible.

Where a provision cannot be modified in that way, it will be severed from these Terms, and the remaining provisions will continue in full force and effect.

The failure of either party to enforce a right or provision of these Terms is not a waiver of that right or provision and does not prevent later enforcement.

These Terms, together with any accepted Quote, signed statement of work or other written agreement between the parties, constitute the entire agreement between the parties in relation to their subject matter and supersede any prior discussions, representations, proposals or agreements, whether written or oral.

In the event of an inconsistency between these Terms and a signed statement of work or other written agreement, the specific written agreement prevails to the extent of the inconsistency for that particular engagement.

No variation of these Terms is effective unless made in writing and signed or acknowledged in writing by both parties.

Questions about these Terms, or requests relating to your Project, subscription or Client data, can be sent to hello@ridgeline.studio. We aim to respond within one business day.

For matters that require formal notice under these Terms, please mark the subject line clearly (for example, "Notice of Cancellation" or "Notice of Breach") so that we can prioritise and respond appropriately.

For urgent hosting or availability issues on a site we host, please include the affected domain and a brief description of the issue in the first email so that we can begin investigating without waiting for further information.