Terms of Service & Services Agreement

1 Scope of Work & Project Specifications

Every project begins with a clearly defined scope of work documented in our written proposal, email correspondence, invoice milestone breakdown, or project specification sheet. We deliver work strictly aligned with these agreed specifications, which typically encompass design prototypes, page templates, custom theme code, plugin setup, responsiveness, and performance optimizations.

Any feature, page, integration, or structural modification requested after the project scope has been confirmed is considered a Scope Change. Such changes—including third-party software additions, unexpected API integrations, custom checkout modifications, or design overhauls—will be billed as paid enhancements with a revised timeline provided before work begins.

2 Client Responsibilities & Materials

To ensure on-time delivery and clean development, you agree to provide all required project assets promptly. This includes website copy, branding guidelines, high-resolution logos, product media, hosting server credentials, and domain DNS access.

If necessary project assets or server access credentials are delayed, the project milestone dates will be extended proportionally without liability to the Developer.

3 Milestone Reviews & Approvals

Projects proceed through distinct phases (e.g., Wireframe → Design → Development → Staging QA → Deployment). At the conclusion of each milestone, we will present deliverables for your explicit review and sign-off.

Once an item or milestone is formally approved (via email or message confirmation), subsequent requests to alter that approved layout or architecture will be treated as new billable requests.

Deemed Acceptance: If deliverables are submitted for review and no constructive feedback, change request, or communication is received from the Client within ten (10) consecutive business days, the milestone will be deemed accepted, and we reserve the right to bill for that stage or close the milestone.

4 Payment Terms & Schedules

Unless otherwise agreed in a written estimate or contract:

• Advance Deposit: A minimum advance deposit (typically 50% for standard builds, or the first agreed milestone fee) is required before any development, design, or staging configuration commences.
• Final Milestone: The remaining balance (50%) is due upon final staging demonstration, prior to live server deployment, database migration, or credential handover.
• Third-Party Expenses: The Client is solely responsible for direct costs of external services, including domain registration, hosting subscriptions, premium WordPress theme or plugin licenses, paid APIs, and payment gateway merchant charges.

Invoices are payable upon receipt. If an invoice remains unpaid past the due date, ongoing work may be temporarily paused until the outstanding balance is cleared.

Conditions for Refund Consideration

A refund request may be reviewed only under the following specific circumstances:

• The Client provides written notice of cancellation before any research, architecture, design, or development work has commenced.
• An unexpected, insurmountable technical limitation on our end completely prevents the agreed project from being executed, and a viable alternative cannot be agreed upon.
• The delivered work materially and fundamentally deviates from the written scope of work, and the Developer is unable or unwilling to correct the verified deficiencies within two rounds of revisions.

Refund Deduction Slabs

Refunds are calculated on the labor fees paid based on the actual percentage of work completed and allocated at the time formal written cancellation is received:

Refund Request Process

To request an evaluation for a refund, you must submit a formal written request explaining the rationale to info@aakashpradhan.com. We will audit the project repository, evaluate completed milestones, determine eligibility within five (5) business days, and process any approved refund via the original payment method within seven (7) business days.

7 Project Cancellation & Dormancy

Either party may cancel a project with written notice. Upon cancellation by the Client, work will cease immediately and eligible refunds (if any) will be settled according to the deduction slabs above.

Right of Termination by Developer: We reserve the right to terminate this Agreement immediately without refund if the Client repeatedly breaches payment terms, engages in abusive communication, or becomes completely unresponsive for thirty (30) consecutive calendar days without prior written notification.

8 Delivery, Testing & Final Handover

Upon completion of development, the website will be deployed to a private staging server for Client testing. The Client agrees to conduct reasonable user testing and provide any bug reports within a designated seven (7) to fourteen (14) day review period.

Live server deployment, domain DNS point-over, and administrative credentials handover take place promptly upon receipt of the final settlement payment. We provide complimentary post-launch bug fixing for fourteen (14) calendar days following deployment to address any functional bugs directly within the original scope.

9 Ownership & Intellectual Property

Client Ownership: Upon complete settlement of all agreed invoice fees, the Client receives 100% full ownership of the bespoke website design, custom stylesheet/template files, unique graphic assets, and custom code authored specifically for the project.

Open-Source Frameworks: Underlying software components (including WordPress core, WooCommerce, Elementor, and open-source plugins) remain licensed under their respective GNU General Public License (GPL) or open-source licenses.

Portfolio Showcase: Unless an explicit Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) with proprietary restrictions is signed prior to project commencement, the Developer retains the perpetual right to display project screenshots, URLs, performance statistics, and case study overviews on our portfolio website (Aakash Pradhan), social channels, and technical articles.

10 Confidentiality & Privacy

Both parties agree to hold all non-public commercial information, proprietary business strategies, source code credentials, and client customer records in strict confidence. We will never sell, rent, or disclose your private business data to third-party marketing entities.

11 Limitations of Liability & Warranties

All services are delivered using industry best practices, secure coding guidelines, and clean modern architecture. However, because internet software operates in an evolving environment of external dependencies, we cannot warrant that websites will operate completely uninterrupted, bug-free, or invulnerable to malicious attacks forever.

We are not liable for losses, downtime, or business interruptions arising from:

• Third-party web hosting server crashes, hardware failures, or DNS propagation issues.
• Security vulnerabilities or breaking updates introduced by third-party plugin or theme authors.
• Client-side unauthorized code modifications, installed plugins, or deleted database tables.
• Brute-force attacks, malware, or server intrusions occurring after final handover.
• Fluctuations in search engine rankings, ad conversion rates, or sales volume.

Liability Cap: In all circumstances, the Developer's total cumulative liability for any claims, damages, or disputes arising out of this Agreement shall not exceed the total fees actually paid by the Client to the Developer for the specific project in question.

12 Governing Law & Dispute Resolution

In the event of any disagreement or dispute, both parties commit to making good-faith efforts to resolve the matter through direct, collaborative discussion. If direct resolution cannot be achieved, the parties agree to seek informal mediation before initiating formal legal proceedings.

This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of India. Any legal disputes arising under this Agreement shall fall under the exclusive jurisdiction of the competent courts in the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir, India.