Terms & Conditions

Last updated: April 02, 2026

To ensure that we produce the best quality work and get you that perfect result, please take note of the following terms and conditions which apply to all products and services provided by us, Hotspot Digital (Pty) Ltd:

Take Note

Certain sections of these terms and conditions have been underlined to draw your attention to them because they may:

limit our risk or liability;
means that you assume risk or liability;
means that you indemnify us;
be an acknowledgement of any fact by you.

Project Acceptance

Before the start of a project, you will be provided with a quotation setting out the scope of the work to be performed, an indicative timeline for its performance, and our charges for the work.

A copy of the quotation is to be signed, dated and returned to us to indicate your acceptance, along with proof of your first stage payment.

The quotation is valid for 30 days.

Payment

On acceptance of the quotation, you will be sent an electronic invoice for up to 70% of the quoted charges, unless otherwise agreed upon. This amount is non-refundable, and we will only start working on your project once we have received it.

Upon completion of the project, you will be sent a final electronic invoice for the remaining amount, plus any charges for any additional work performed by us. We will not release any work to you or go live with your website until we have received this final stage payment.

All payments are to be made by the due date of the electronic invoice via EFT or cash deposit into a bank account nominated by us. We do not accept cash or cheques, unless prior arrangement has been made.

All amounts not paid within 14 days of the date of the electronic invoice could incur interest at a rate of Prime plus 2% from the due date until the date of payment. In addition, we will be entitled to remove any of our work from any computer systems and/or suspend any services provided by us without notice to you, until all outstanding amounts have been paid in full. Such removal or suspension does not relieve you from making payment of the outstanding amounts.

All invoices include VAT at the applicable rate.

All services provided and work completed by Hotspot Digital will be invoiced.

Please note that our charges do not cover the release of our copyrighted design source files. You can purchase these source files at an additional cost.

Additional Work

Should you, during the project, request us to perform any work which falls outside the scope of the original quotation, you will be provided with an additional quotation setting out the scope of the additional work to be performed, an indicative timeline within which the additional work will be performed and our charges for the additional work to be performed.

A copy of the quotation is to be signed, dated and returned to us to indicate your acceptance, along with proof of your first stage payment.

The quotation is valid for 30 days.

Third-Party Services and Charges

We acknowledge that you may require the use of third-party service providers, for example, online payment processing services or additional website functionality. We will ensure that the required third party products or services are integrated into the project (if outlined and agreed to before the project commencing), but we cannot be held responsible for any issues which you may experience with the third party service provider, the products or services provided by the third-party service provider, or any problems created by the third-party products or services about our work.

To the fullest extent permissible in law, we will not be liable for, and you hereby indemnify us against, any claims, losses, damages, liability and/or costs of any kind arising out of, or in connection with, any products or services provided by the third-party service provider.

Our quotations, unless specified, exclude all third-party charges. You will be responsible for paying any third-party charges, over and above our charges.

Project Timelines

An indicative timeline within which the work will be performed will be set out in the quotation. This timeline gives you an indication of when we will finish the project, but it is not binding on us.

The timeline will start running as soon as we have received the first stage payment, and is dependent on:

third-party service providers performing timeously;
You are providing us with the necessary content in a timely manner.

Content Collection

You must provide us with all relevant information and content (written and imagery) before the start of the project. We may also request additional information and content from you during the project.

Written content must be provided to us in an editable format (i.e. either Word or Excel). Please ensure that you have checked all your content before handing it to us. Unless our quotation includes copywriting services, we will not be liable for any grammar, spelling or other content errors.

Imagery content must be provided to us via Dropbox or flash drive, and must be labelled and categorised correctly. Any images provided to us must be of good quality and size, and suitable for the use it is intended for. Unless our quotation includes imagery processing services, we will not be liable for any image quality issues.

You must ensure that all content provided to us:

does not infringe any law;
does not infringe any third party’s right, including any intellectual property rights;
does not incite racial hatred or acts of terrorism;
is not obscene, indecent, pornographic, offensive, defamatory or threatening.

We retain the right not to include in our work any content which we deem not to comply with the guidelines set out above. In addition, should we use any of your content in our work, and later discover that it does not comply with the guidelines set out above, we will be entitled to remove it from our work.

To the fullest extent permissible in law, you hereby indemnify us against any claims, losses, damages, liability and/or costs of any kind arising out of, or in connection with, you providing us with content that does not comply with the guidelines set out above.

All intellectual property rights in and to any content provided by you will remain with you, but you hereby permit us to use the content in respect of the project.

Reverts

Each project is allocated 3 reverts. This means that you will be entitled to request that 3 sets of reasonable changes be made at no additional cost before the project is finalised.

All requests for changes must be in writing and fall within the scope of the original quotation. Any additional changes requested, over and above the 3 allocated reverts, will be charged for at our standard hourly rate.

Should no additional requests for changes be made, we will consider the project complete once the 3 reverts have been utilised. Should you not make use of the 3 reverts within 5 working days of a request by us to do so, we will consider the project complete.

Any changes or updates requested after the project has been completed will be charged at our standard hourly rate.

Project Changes

We will not be responsible for any unauthorised changes made by you or any third parties to our work, either during the project or after the project has been completed. To the fullest extent permissible in law, we will not be liable for, and you hereby indemnify us against, any claims, losses, damages, liability and/or costs of any kind arising out of, or in connection with, any such changes.

Meetings

Should you be unable to attend a meeting which has been scheduled with us, you must give us at least 24 hours’ notice.

Websites

Please ignore these provisions if your project is not a website project.

Development

You must provide us with all necessary access to computer systems and other locations, as required by us, to complete the website project, including the necessary read/write permissions, usernames and passwords.

ECommerce

If you are setting up an e-commerce website, we offer a basic and limited administrative support service to help facilitate the e-commerce/merchant application. We cannot guarantee the time frame within which the application will be processed or whether it will be granted at all. You will be responsiblfor payingay the cost of the application, over and above our charges.

Hosting

We offer hosting services through an outsourced virtual server. While we run regular back-ups of websites that we host, and will endeavour to provide continuous service, we are unable to control the outsourced virtual server, and as such, we are not able to guarantee continuous service and cannot accept liability for loss of service or business, whatever the cause.

Our websites are developed to certain software standards, determined by our development environment on the day of release. These standards are in place to ensure the stability of the hosting platform.

The following server software specifications are recommended:

Option A – LAMP Stack (Xneelo Managed Hosting):

Linux Debian OS running Apache 2.4 (LAMP stack)
PHP 8.2 or newer with configurable PHP settings
MariaDB 10.11
SSD storage with RAID data integrity
Free SSL certificates via Let’s Encrypt
Daily backups are retained for 14 days
Data centres in South Africa (Cape Town) and Germany
99.9% network uptime guarantee
FTP access and phpMyAdmin for database management
Optional Cloudbric WAF for advanced security

Option B – LEMP Stack (WPMU DEV Managed Hosting):

Linux Server OS running Nginx (LEMP stack), optimised for WordPress.
Dedicated VPS with dedicated IP address, CPU, RAM and NVMe SSD storage per site.
PHP v8 with object caching (Memcached) and FastCGI static server caching.
Free SSL certificates via Let’s Encrypt.
Web Application Firewall (WAF) with XML-RPC blocking.
Automated daily backups with near-instant restore.
SFTP/SSH access, WP-CLI, Git, Composer and NPM support.
One-click staging environments with sync to live.
Choice of 30 global data centres, including Johannesburg, South Africa.
99% uptime guarantee.

The specific hosting plan, resources and data centre location will be determined based on your project requirements and will be outlined in your quotation.

Technical Support

Unless agreed to in a separate monthly contract, our hosting services do not include IT, email or website maintenance support. Should these services be required, a quotation will be supplied.

Billing

You will be billed monthly / annually for our hosting service.

If your email accounts are set up with Google Workspace through Hotspot Digital, you will be billed monthly as per the current Dollar-Rand exchange on the date of Google Workspace electronic invoice submission to us.

Cancellation Policy

Cancellation of our hosting services may be done by giving 30 days’ written notice, provided that you do not have outstanding fees with us.

On handover of any website files and hosting details, the responsibility for set-ups and redeployment of the website to its full working capacity will be your responsibility or that of your new service provider.

Website Domains

If you require us to register a website domain on your behalf, this will be done under our company name and profile for administrative purposes. The domain belongs to you and can be transferred to you if required, provided that you do not owe us any money.

Please note that we cannot guarantee the availability of a domain name.

Cancellation of a domain may be done by giving 30 days’ written notice, provided that you do not have outstanding fees with us.

Plugin Licences

We may develop and provide custom plugins, extensions, or software tools as part of your project or as standalone products. Where such plugins require a licence to operate, the following terms apply:

Plugin licences are offered on either a monthly or annual billing cycle, as specified in your quotation or service agreement.
Licence fees must be paid in advance and on time for the plugin to remain active and functional. Failure to pay licence fees by the due date may result in the plugin being deactivated without notice.
Licence fees cover the right to use the plugin on the agreed website(s) or platform(s) only. You may not redistribute, sublicense, resell, or transfer the plugin to any third party without our prior written consent.
We will endeavour to maintain and update licensed plugins to ensure compatibility with current software environments. However, we do not guarantee uninterrupted operation or compatibility with third-party software, themes, or platform updates beyond our control.
The plugin and all associated source code, intellectual property, and proprietary technology remain the property of Hotspot Digital (Pty) Ltd. The licence grants you a non-exclusive right to use the plugin and does not transfer ownership.
We reserve the right to adjust licence fees with 30 days’ written notice. Continued use of the plugin after the fee adjustment takes effect constitutes acceptance of the revised fees.

Plugin Licence Cancellation

Cancellation of a plugin licence may be done by giving 30 days’ written notice, provided that you do not have outstanding fees with us.

Licence fees remain payable for the full duration of the notice period, regardless of whether you continue to use the plugin during that time.

Upon the effective date of cancellation, the plugin will be deactivated and may be removed from your website or platform. We will not be responsible for any loss of functionality, data, or service disruption resulting from the deactivation of a cancelled plugin licence.

Intellectual Property

Unless otherwise agreed by us in writing:

all intellectual property rights in and to any work produced by us will remain with us, and we hereby grant you a non-exclusive licence to use such intellectual property rights solely in respect of the project and not for any other purpose;
Our work may not be modified, replicated, mimicked, reused, or redistributed in any way or form without our prior written consent.

*This includes all open/source files for active and completed projects.

Design Credits

You hereby agree to allow us to:

place a credit on all work produced by us, which credits the development of the work to us;
advertise projects completed for you.

Personal Information

You hereby acknowledge that any personal information supplied to us is provided voluntarily, and should you choose not to provide such information, it may not be possible for us to perform the work you requested.

You hereby consent to us processing your personal information for the purposes of performing the work you requested. We will provide sufficient technical security and organisational measures to protect the information against accidental or unlawful destruction or accidental loss, alteration, unauthorised disclosure or access.

You hereby confirm that all content supplied to Hotspot Digital has been legally collated ethically in terms of the POPI Act guidelines.

No Warranties

To the fullest extent permissible in law, we do not provide any warranties of any kind, express or implied, in respect of any products or services provided by us.

General Limitation of Liability

While we endeavour to produce the best quality work, to the fullest extent permissible in law, we will not be liable for any claims, losses, damages, liability and/or costs of any kind arising out of, or in connection with, any products or services provided by us, unless caused by our gross negligence or wilful act or omission.

Without detracting from the generality of the limitation of liability set out above, it is specifically stated that we will not be liable for any claims, losses, damages, liability and/or costs of any kind arising out of, or in connection with:

any post made by us on your behalf on any social media platform;
changes in technology, third-party threats or any other advancements or software deprecation that may materialise post project completion;
software corruption based on security breaches, software incompatibilities due to lack of maintenance or unforeseen changes in third-party software, unless a prior written agreement was reached with us to provide maintenance services to you.

General Indemnity

To the fullest extent permissible in law, you hereby indemnify us against any claims, losses, damages, liability and/or costs of any kind arising out of, or in connection with, any products or services provided by us.

Without detracting from the generality of the limitation of liability set out above, it is specifically stated that you indemnify us against any claims, losses, damages, liability and/or costs of any kind arising out of, or in connection with, any post made by us on your behalf on any social media platform.

Circumstances Outside Our Control

We will not be liable for any breach of these terms and conditions, a delay in performing, or failure to perform, if such breach, delay or failure results from events, circumstances or causes which fall outside our reasonable control.

Breach

Should you breach any of these terms and conditions, and we are forced to employ the services of an attorney, advocate or tracing agent to take legal action against you, then you will be liable for all our costs incurred in this regard.

Termination and Cancellation

The following cancellation and termination provisions apply to each of our service categories. All cancellations must be provided in writing and are subject to there being no outstanding fees owed to us. Cancellation will be effective from the date that we receive written notice, unless otherwise stated below.

Ad hoc Projects

You may request us to cease all work on the project by giving us 3 days’ written notice, which notice will be effective from the date that we receive it.

Should you terminate our services before completion of the project, you will be sent an electronic invoice for all the work performed up to the date on which we received the termination notice.

In addition to any other rights which we may have under law or these terms and conditions, we may terminate the project by giving you written notice if you have breached these terms and conditions and remain in breach for a period of 3 working days after we have notified you of the breach.

Should we terminate the project, you will be sent an electronic invoice for all the work performed up to the date on which we terminate the project.

Retainers

You may request us to cease all retainer work with us by giving us 90 days’ written notice, which notice will be effective from the date that we receive it, and provided that all accounts are in order.

Hosting

Cancellation of our hosting services may be done by giving 30 days’ written notice, provided that you do not have outstanding fees with us.

We will not be responsible for any loss of data, downtime, or service disruption after the effective date of cancellation.

Domains

Cancellation of a domain may be done by giving 30 days’ written notice, provided that you do not have outstanding fees with us.

Upon cancellation, the domain transfer will be facilitated, provided all outstanding fees have been settled. If a domain is not renewed or transferred within the notice period, it may expire and become available for registration by third parties. We will not be held responsible for any loss of a domain name in such circumstances.

Google Ads Management

Cancellation of our Google Ads management services may be done by giving 30 days’ written notice, provided that you do not have outstanding fees with us.

Upon cancellation, any tracking systems, scripts, or tools implemented by us may be removed. Campaign management access granted to us will be revoked, and the account will be handed back to you in its current state.

We will not be responsible for any campaign performance, ad spend, or results after the effective date of cancellation.

Social Media Management

Cancellation of our social media management services may be done by giving 30 days’ written notice, provided that you do not have outstanding fees with us.

Upon cancellation, any scheduled content that has not yet been published may be removed from scheduling tools at our discretion. We will remove ourselves as administrators or editors from your social media accounts within a reasonable timeframe.

We will not be responsible for any social media account performance, content, or engagement after the effective date of cancellation.

Plugin Licences

Cancellation of a plugin licence may be done by giving 30 days’ written notice, provided that you do not have outstanding fees with us.

Licence fees remain payable for the full duration of the notice period, regardless of whether you continue to use the plugin during that time.

General Termination Rights

In addition to the service-specific provisions above, we reserve the right to terminate or suspend any service immediately upon written notice if:

You are in material breach of these terms and conditions and fail to remedy the breach within 3 working days of being notified;
You fail to make payment of any outstanding amounts within 14 days of the due date;
You engage in conduct that, in our reasonable opinion, is harmful to our business, reputation, or the integrity of the services provided.

In the event of termination by us, you will be sent an electronic invoice for all work performed and services rendered up to the date of termination.

Google Ads Management

Our mission is to maximise your online advertising ROI through expert Google Ads management. A successful partnership is built on mutual respect, clear communication, and collaborative efforts. To achieve the best possible results, we have outlined guidelines tailored to our work together in managing your Google Ads campaigns.

Please review the key guidelines below. These are essential for maintaining performance and a successful working relationship.

Key Guidelines Summary

We maintain exclusive management control of your Google Ads account, and we are responsible for performance.
No third parties may create or manage campaigns, and all changes must go through our team.
Campaign strategy must remain aligned to ensure consistent optimisation and results.
Each Google Ads account is limited to one website or business.
Accurate tracking is required for campaigns to run and optimise effectively.
Unauthorised changes may result in campaigns being paused, tracking being removed, or services being terminated.

1. Professional and Respectful Communication

Open Dialogue: We encourage honest and transparent communication. Please share any questions or concerns about your campaigns promptly.
Mutual Respect: Let’s maintain a professional tone in all interactions. Respectful communication fosters a positive and productive environment.
Timely Responses: Quick responses to emails, calls or chat messages help us make timely adjustments to your campaigns when needed.

2. Collaboration on Campaign Strategies

Trusting Our Expertise: Our team is composed of senior-level professionals with extensive experience in Google Ads management. We utilise industry best practices and data-driven strategies to maximise your results, and we kindly ask that you consider our recommendations carefully.
Valuable Feedback: Your insights into your business and industry are crucial. Please share your feedback so we can tailor campaigns to your specific needs.
Unified Direction: Once we’ve agreed on campaign strategies, supporting the plan allows us to execute effectively and measure results accurately.

3. Changes to Google Ads Campaigns

Avoid Unauthorised Changes: Making changes to campaigns without our knowledge can lead to suboptimal performance and data inconsistencies.
Change Requests: If you feel adjustments are necessary, please discuss them with us so we can ensure they align with your goals and strategy.
Exclusive Campaign Management: We maintain exclusive management control over all Google Ads campaigns under our service. No third party may create, edit, or manage campaigns while we are actively responsible for the account.

Unauthorised Changes: Any external changes, including the creation of new campaigns or edits to existing campaigns by third parties, are considered a breach of these guidelines. This includes freelancers, internal staff, other agencies, or any individual granted access without alignment.

No Co-Management: We do not support co-managed Google Ads accounts under any circumstances.

Breach and Enforcement: If unauthorised changes occur, campaign management may be paused immediately, tracking systems may be removed, and services may be terminated with notice. Continued breaches will result in termination. We cannot be held accountable for performance where multiple parties are managing the account.

Account Structure: Each Google Ads account managed by us is limited to one domain or one business entity only. Running multiple websites, domains, or businesses within a single account is not supported as it impacts campaign structure, tracking accuracy, reporting clarity, and optimisation.
Separate Accounts Required: Where additional domains, websites, or businesses are to be advertised, separate Google Ads accounts and separate management plans are required.

4. Implementation of Recommendations

Applying Our Advice: Our recommendations are based on in-depth analysis and industry expertise. Collaborating on their implementation helps achieve the best results.
Landing Pages and Website Updates: Updates to your website or landing pages often improve ad performance. Your cooperation in implementing these updates is appreciated.
Conversion Tracking: Accurate tracking is essential. We will need access to your website or builder platform to configure events such as form submissions, calls and WhatsApp interactions.
Tracking Systems: Any tracking systems, scripts, or tools implemented by us, including lead tracking and offline conversion tracking, remain part of the managed service and may be removed if services are paused or terminated.
Pre-Launch Tracking Requirements: Full tracking must be in place before campaigns are launched to ensure accurate optimisation. This includes Google Tag Manager installed, website access, working conversion events and, where relevant, offline conversion tracking. Campaigns cannot be launched until these requirements are completed, unless you choose to proceed without full tracking and confirm in writing that performance data may be incomplete and lead quality optimisation may be limited.

5. Patience with Optimisation Process

Understanding the Learning Phase: Google Ads campaigns may require a learning period to optimise fully. Patience during this phase is crucial.
Data-Driven Adjustments: We rely on data to make informed decisions. Allowing campaigns to run as planned provides the necessary data for optimisation.
Avoid Frequent Changes: Constant alterations can reset the learning phase. Trusting the process helps in achieving consistent results.

6. Conflict Resolution

Addressing Issues Promptly: If concerns arise about campaign performance or our services, please bring them to our attention promptly so they can be addressed constructively.
Constructive Feedback: Open and constructive feedback helps us improve and serve you better.
Resolution: We are committed to resolving issues collaboratively to ensure a smooth and effective working relationship.

Breach of Guidelines: Failure to adhere to these guidelines, including unauthorised campaign changes or third-party management, may result in immediate pausing of campaigns, removal of tracking systems, and termination of services with notice.

7. Ownership and Intellectual Property

Full Account Ownership: You retain full ownership of your Google Ads account, including all campaigns, data, and settings.
Intellectual Property Rights: Any creative assets, ad copies, or strategies developed specifically for your campaigns are your intellectual property.
Data Security: We handle your business information and campaign data with the utmost confidentiality. For your security, you access your Google Ads account through your own Google account login, meaning we do not know or store your personal passwords.

8. Mutual Success

Shared Goals: Our success is linked to yours. By working together, we aim to exceed your advertising objectives.
Regular Reporting: We will provide detailed reports on campaign performance at agreed intervals.
Continuous Improvement: We are committed to refining strategies for better results. Your cooperation is essential in this ongoing process.

Performance Accountability: Our ability to achieve results depends on maintaining a controlled campaign environment. Where multiple parties are managing the account, performance data becomes unreliable, and we are not responsible for performance outcomes.

9. Google Ads Billing and Ad Spend

Our management fees and your Google Ads advertising spend are separate charges. Our management fee covers campaign setup, optimisation, reporting and ongoing management. Your advertising spend (the amount charged by Google for clicks and impressions) is billed directly by Google to your payment method on file within your Google Ads account.

We do not collect or process your Google Ads advertising spend. You are solely responsible for maintaining a valid payment method within your Google Ads account and for settling any amounts owed directly to Google.

Our management fees will be invoiced separately in accordance with the payment terms set out elsewhere in these terms and conditions.

Social Media Management

The following terms and conditions apply specifically to social media management services provided by us. These terms are in addition to and should be read together with the general terms and conditions set out above.

1. Scope of Services

Our social media management services may include, but are not limited to, the following:

content creation, curation and scheduling across agreed social media platforms;
community management and engagement (responding to comments, messages and mentions);
social media strategy development and implementation;
reporting and analytics;
paid social media advertising management (where agreed upon separately).

The specific services, platforms, posting frequency and deliverables will be outlined in your quotation or service agreement.

2. Platform Access and Account Ownership

You must provide us with the necessary access to your social media accounts, including administrator or editor permissions as required, to perform the agreed services.

You retain full ownership of all social media accounts managed by us. We will never change account passwords, transfer ownership, or restrict your access to your own accounts.

You are responsible for maintaining secure login credentials and enabling two-factor authentication where available. We will not be held responsible for any security breaches arising from compromised credentials that are not within our control.

3. Content Creation and Approval

We will create content in line with your brand guidelines, tone of voice, and any specific requirements agreed upon at the start of the engagement.

Unless otherwise agreed, content will be submitted to you for approval before publishing. You are responsible for reviewing and approving content within 2 working days of submission. If approval is not received within this timeframe, we reserve the right to publish the content as submitted or delay posting until approval is received.

You are responsible for ensuring that any content, imagery, or information provided by you for use on social media does not infringe any law, third-party rights, or intellectual property rights. The content guidelines set out in the Content Collection section of these terms and conditions apply equally to social media content.

4. Posting Schedule and Frequency

The posting schedule and frequency will be agreed upon in your quotation or service agreement. We will endeavour to adhere to the agreed schedule, but reserve the right to adjust posting times for optimal engagement.

We may recommend pausing or adjusting scheduled content in response to current events, public sentiment, or other circumstances that may affect the reception of your content. We will communicate any such adjustments to you promptly.

5. Engagement and Community Management

Where community management is included in your service plan, we will respond to comments, messages, and mentions in a professional and timely manner, consistent with your brand voice.

We will escalate any enquiries, complaints, or sensitive matters that require your direct input or specialist knowledge. You agree to provide timely responses to escalated matters.

We reserve the right to hide, delete, or report comments or messages that are abusive, spam, or otherwise inappropriate, in our reasonable discretion.

6. No Guarantees on Results

Social media platforms are governed by their own algorithms, policies, and terms of service, which are subject to change at any time and without notice. We do not guarantee any specific results, including but not limited to:

follower growth or engagement rates;
reach, impressions, or viral content;
leads, sales, or conversions generated through social media;
the continued availability or functionality of any social media platform or feature.

We will use our professional expertise and best efforts to optimise your social media presence, but results are influenced by factors beyond our control.

7. Platform Terms and Compliance

We will manage your social media accounts in compliance with the terms of service, community guidelines, and advertising policies of each respective platform.

We will not be liable for any account restrictions, suspensions, or penalties imposed by social media platforms, including but not limited to those resulting from content provided or approved by you, changes to platform policies, or historical account activity predating our management.

You agree to cooperate with us in resolving any compliance issues that may arise during our management of your accounts.

8. Paid Social Media Advertising

Where paid social media advertising is included in your service plan, the following applies:

Our management fees and your advertising spend are separate charges.
Advertising spend is either billed directly by the platform to your payment method or invoiced by us as a pass-through cost, as agreed in your quotation.
We do not guarantee any specific return on advertising spend.
We will provide reporting on advertising performance at agreed intervals.
Any advertising budgets communicated by you will be treated as guidelines. Actual spend may vary slightly due to platform billing practices.

9. Social Media Intellectual Property

Unless otherwise agreed by us in writing, all intellectual property rights in and to any content created by us for your social media accounts (including but not limited to graphics, copy, video content, and strategies) will be governed by the Intellectual Property section of these terms and conditions.

Any stock imagery, licensed fonts, music, or other third-party assets used in social media content may be subject to separate licensing terms. We will endeavour to use royalty-free or appropriately licensed assets, but you acknowledge that certain assets may not be transferable upon termination.

10. Social Media Reporting

We will provide social media performance reports at intervals agreed upon in your quotation or service agreement. Reports may include metrics such as follower growth, engagement rates, reach, impressions, and content performance.

Reporting is based on data provided by the social media platforms, a nd we are not responsible for any inaccuracies in platform-provided data.

Whole Agreement

This is the whole agreement between you and us, and no amendment, deletion,n or addition will be valid unless it is in writing and agreed to by both of us.

These terms and conditions replace any other discussions, agreements and/or understandings between you and us regarding the subject matter of these terms and conditions.

Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy

Please refer to our Privacy Policy and Cookies Policy. You agree that they constitute part of these terms. You must read our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy before you use the Service.

Contact Us

If you have any questions about these Terms, please email uaton support@hotspot.digital

Terms & Conditions

Last updated: April 02, 2026

Take Note

Certain sections of these terms and conditions have been underlined to draw your attention to them because they may:

limit our risk or liability;
mean that you assume risk or liability;
mean that you indemnify us;
be an acknowledgement of any fact by you.

Project Acceptance

Before the start of a project, you will be provided with a quotation setting out the scope of the work to be performed, an indicative timeline within which the work will be performed and our charges for the work to be performed.

A copy of the quotation is to be signed, dated and returned to us to indicate your acceptance, along with proof of your first stage payment.

The quotation is valid for 30 days.

Payment

Upon completion of the project, you will be sent a final electronic invoice for the remaining amount, plus any charges for any additional work performed by us. We will not release any work to you, or go live with your website until we have received this final stage payment.

All invoices include VAT at the applicable rate.

All services provided and work completed by Hotspot Digital will be invoiced.

Please note that our charges do not cover the release of our copyright design source files. You can purchase these source files at an additional cost.

Additional Work

A copy of the quotation is to be signed, dated and returned to us to indicate your acceptance, along with proof of your first stage payment.

The quotation is valid for 30 days.

Third-Party Services and Charges

Our quotations, unless specified, exclude all third party charges. You will be responsible to pay any third-party charges, over and above our charges.

Project Timelines

An indicative timeline within which the work will be performed will be set out in the quotation. This timeline gives you an indication of when we will finish the project, but it is not binding on us.

The timeline will start running as soon as we have received the first stage payment, and is dependent on:

third-party service providers performing timeously;
you providing us with the necessary content in a timely manner.

Content Collection

Imagery content must be provided to us via Dropbox, flash drive, and must be labelled and categorised correctly. Any images provided to us must be of good quality and size and suitable for the use it is intended. Unless our quotation includes imagery processing services, we will not be liable for any image quality issues.

You must ensure that all content provided to us:

does not infringe any law;
does not infringe any third party’s right, including any intellectual property rights;
does not incite racial hatred or acts of terrorism;
is not obscene, indecent, pornographic, offensive, defamatory or threatening.

We retain the right to not include in our work any content which we deem to not comply with the guidelines set out above. In addition, should we use any of your content in our work, and later discover that it does not comply with the guidelines set out above, we will be entitled to remove it from our work.

All intellectual property rights in and to any content provided by you will remain with you, but you hereby permit us to use the content in respect of the project.

Reverts

Each project is allocated 3 reverts. This means that you will be entitled to request that 3 sets of reasonable changes be made at no additional cost before the project is finalised.

Any changes or updates requested after the project has been completed will be charged at our standard hourly rate.

Project Changes

Meetings

Should you be unable to attend a meeting which has been scheduled with us, you must give us at least 24 hours’ notice.

Websites

Please ignore these provisions if your project is not a website project.

Development

ECommerce

If you are setting up an eCommerce website, we offer a basic and limited administrative support service to help facilitate the eCommerce/merchant application. We cannot guarantee the time frame within which the application will be processed or whether it will be granted at all. You will be responsible to pay the cost of the application, over and above our charges.

Hosting

The following server software specifications are recommended:

Option A – LAMP Stack:

Linux Server OS running a version of Apache that supports PHP v8 and MariaDB 10.5 or newer.

Option B – LEMP Stack (WPMU DEV Managed Hosting):

Linux Server OS running Nginx (LEMP stack), optimised for WordPress.
Dedicated VPS with dedicated IP address, CPU, RAM and NVMe SSD storage per site.
PHP v8 with object caching (Memcached) and FastCGI static server caching.
Free SSL certificates via Let’s Encrypt.
Web Application Firewall (WAF) with XML-RPC blocking.
Automated daily backups with near-instant restore.
SFTP/SSH access, WP-CLI, Git, Composer and NPM support.
One-click staging environments with sync to live.
Choice of 30 global data centres, including Johannesburg, South Africa.
99% uptime guarantee.

The specific hosting plan, resources and data centre location will be determined based on your project requirements and will be outlined in your quotation.

Technical Support

Unless agreed to in a separate monthly contract, our hosting services do not include IT, email or website maintenance support. Should these services be required, a quotation will be supplied.

Billing

You will be billed monthly / annually for our hosting service.

Cancellation Policy

Cancellation of our hosting services may be done by giving 30 days’ written notice, provided that you do not have outstanding fees with us.

Website Domains

Please note that we cannot guarantee the availability of a domain name.

Cancellation of a domain may be done by giving 30 days’ written notice, provided that you do not have outstanding fees with us.

Plugin Licences

We may develop and provide custom plugins, extensions, or software tools as part of your project or as standalone products. Where such plugins require a licence to operate, the following terms apply:

Plugin licences are offered on either a monthly or annual billing cycle, as specified in your quotation or service agreement.
Licence fees must be paid in advance and on time for the plugin to remain active and functional. Failure to pay licence fees by the due date may result in the plugin being deactivated without notice.
Licence fees cover the right to use the plugin on the agreed website(s) or platform(s) only. You may not redistribute, sublicense, resell, or transfer the plugin to any third party without our prior written consent.
We will endeavour to maintain and update licensed plugins to ensure compatibility with current software environments. However, we do not guarantee uninterrupted operation or compatibility with third-party software, themes, or platform updates beyond our control.
The plugin and all associated source code, intellectual property, and proprietary technology remain the property of Hotspot Digital (Pty) Ltd. The licence grants you a non-exclusive right to use the plugin and does not transfer ownership.
We reserve the right to adjust licence fees with 30 days’ written notice. Continued use of the plugin after the fee adjustment takes effect constitutes acceptance of the revised fees.

Plugin Licence Cancellation

Cancellation of a plugin licence may be done by giving 30 days’ written notice, provided that you do not have outstanding fees with us.

Licence fees remain payable for the full duration of the notice period, regardless of whether you continue to use the plugin during that time.

Intellectual Property

Unless otherwise agreed by us in writing:

all intellectual property rights in and to any work produced by us will remain with us, and we hereby grant you a non-exclusive licence to use such intellectual property rights solely in respect of the project and not for any other purpose;
our work may not be modified, replicated, mimicked, re-used or redistributed in any way or form without our prior written consent.

*This includes all open/source files for active and completed projects.

Design Credits

You hereby agree to allow us to:

place a credit on all work produced by us, which credits the development of the work to us;
advertise projects completed for you.

Personal Information

You hereby acknowledge that any personal information supplied to us is provided voluntarily and should you choose not to provide such information, it may not be possible for us to perform the work you requested.

You hereby confirm that all content supplied to Hotspot Digital has been legally collated in an ethical manner in terms of the POPI Act guidelines.

No Warranties

To the fullest extent permissible in law, we do not provide any warranties of any kind, express or implied, in respect of any products or services provided by us.

General Limitation of Liability

any post made by us on your behalf on any social media platform;
changes in technology, third party threats or any other advancements or software deprecation that may materialise post project completion;
software corruption based on security breaches, software incompatibilities due to lack of maintenance or unforeseen changes in third party software, unless a prior written agreement was reached with us to provide maintenance services to you.

General Indemnity

Circumstances Outside Our Control

Breach

Termination and Cancellation

Ad hoc Projects

You may request us to cease all work on the project by giving us 3 days’ written notice, which notice will be effective from the date that we received it.

Should you terminate our services before completion of the project, you will be sent an electronic invoice for all the work performed up to the date on which we received the termination notice.

In addition to any other rights which we may have under law or these terms and conditions, we may terminate the project by giving you written notice, if you have breached these terms and conditions and remain in breach for a period of 3 working days after we have notified you of the breach.

Should we terminate the project, you will be sent an electronic invoice for all the work performed up to the date on which we terminated the project.

Retainers

You may request us to cease all retainer work with us by giving us 90 days’ written notice, which notice will be effective from the date that we received it, and provided that all accounts are in order.

Hosting

Cancellation of our hosting services may be done by giving 30 days’ written notice, provided that you do not have outstanding fees with us.

We will not be responsible for any loss of data, downtime, or service disruption after the effective date of cancellation.

Domains

Cancellation of a domain may be done by giving 30 days’ written notice, provided that you do not have outstanding fees with us.

Upon cancellation, domain transfer will be facilitated provided all outstanding fees have been settled. If a domain is not renewed or transferred within the notice period, it may expire and become available for registration by third parties. We will not be held responsible for any loss of a domain name in such circumstances.

Google Ads Management

Cancellation of our Google Ads management services may be done by giving 30 days’ written notice, provided that you do not have outstanding fees with us.

We will not be responsible for any campaign performance, ad spend, or results after the effective date of cancellation.

Social Media Management

Cancellation of our social media management services may be done by giving 30 days’ written notice, provided that you do not have outstanding fees with us.

We will not be responsible for any social media account performance, content, or engagement after the effective date of cancellation.

Plugin Licences

Cancellation of a plugin licence may be done by giving 30 days’ written notice, provided that you do not have outstanding fees with us.

Licence fees remain payable for the full duration of the notice period, regardless of whether you continue to use the plugin during that time.

General Termination Rights

In addition to the service-specific provisions above, we reserve the right to terminate or suspend any service immediately upon written notice if:

you are in material breach of these terms and conditions and fail to remedy the breach within 3 working days of being notified;
you fail to make payment of any outstanding amounts within 14 days of the due date;
you engage in conduct that, in our reasonable opinion, is harmful to our business, reputation, or the integrity of the services provided.

In the event of termination by us, you will be sent an electronic invoice for all work performed and services rendered up to the date of termination.

Google Ads Management

Please review the key guidelines below. These are essential for maintaining performance and a successful working relationship.

Key Guidelines Summary

We maintain exclusive management control of your Google Ads account while we are responsible for performance.
No third parties may create or manage campaigns, and all changes must go through our team.
Campaign strategy must remain aligned to ensure consistent optimisation and results.
Each Google Ads account is limited to one website or business.
Accurate tracking is required for campaigns to run and optimise effectively.
Unauthorised changes may result in campaigns being paused, tracking removed, or services terminated.

1. Professional and Respectful Communication

Open Dialogue: We encourage honest and transparent communication. Please share any questions or concerns about your campaigns promptly.
Mutual Respect: Let’s maintain a professional tone in all interactions. Respectful communication fosters a positive and productive environment.
Timely Responses: Quick responses to emails, calls or chat messages help us make timely adjustments to your campaigns when needed.

2. Collaboration on Campaign Strategies

Trusting Our Expertise: Our team is composed of senior-level professionals with extensive experience in Google Ads management. We utilise industry best practices and data-driven strategies to maximise your results, and we kindly ask that you consider our recommendations carefully.
Valuable Feedback: Your insights into your business and industry are crucial. Please share your feedback so we can tailor campaigns to your specific needs.
Unified Direction: Once we’ve agreed on campaign strategies, supporting the plan allows us to execute effectively and measure results accurately.

3. Changes to Google Ads Campaigns

Avoid Unauthorised Changes: Making changes to campaigns without our knowledge can lead to suboptimal performance and data inconsistencies.
Change Requests: If you feel adjustments are necessary, please discuss them with us so we can ensure they align with your goals and strategy.
Exclusive Campaign Management: We maintain exclusive management control over all Google Ads campaigns under our service. No third party may create, edit, or manage campaigns while we are actively responsible for the account.

No Co-Management: We do not support co-managed Google Ads accounts under any circumstances.

Account Structure: Each Google Ads account managed by us is limited to one domain or one business entity only. Running multiple websites, domains, or businesses within a single account is not supported as it impacts campaign structure, tracking accuracy, reporting clarity, and optimisation.
Separate Accounts Required: Where additional domains, websites, or businesses are to be advertised, separate Google Ads accounts and separate management plans are required.

4. Implementation of Recommendations

Applying Our Advice: Our recommendations are based on in-depth analysis and industry expertise. Collaborating on their implementation helps achieve the best results.
Landing Pages and Website Updates: Updates to your website or landing pages often improve ad performance. Your cooperation in implementing these updates is appreciated.
Conversion Tracking: Accurate tracking is essential. We will need access to your website or builder platform to configure events such as form submissions, calls and WhatsApp interactions.
Tracking Systems: Any tracking systems, scripts, or tools implemented by us, including lead tracking and offline conversion tracking, remain part of the managed service and may be removed if services are paused or terminated.
Pre-Launch Tracking Requirements: Full tracking must be in place before campaigns are launched to ensure accurate optimisation. This includes Google Tag Manager installed, website access, working conversion events and, where relevant, offline conversion tracking. Campaigns cannot be launched until these requirements are completed, unless you choose to proceed without full tracking and confirm in writing that performance data may be incomplete and lead quality optimisation may be limited.

5. Patience with Optimisation Process

Understanding the Learning Phase: Google Ads campaigns may require a learning period to optimise fully. Patience during this phase is crucial.
Data-Driven Adjustments: We rely on data to make informed decisions. Allowing campaigns to run as planned provides the necessary data for optimisation.
Avoid Frequent Changes: Constant alterations can reset the learning phase. Trusting the process helps in achieving consistent results.

6. Conflict Resolution

Addressing Issues Promptly: If concerns arise about campaign performance or our services, please bring them to our attention promptly so they can be addressed constructively.
Constructive Feedback: Open and constructive feedback helps us improve and serve you better.
Resolution: We are committed to resolving issues collaboratively to ensure a smooth and effective working relationship.

7. Ownership and Intellectual Property

Full Account Ownership: You retain full ownership of your Google Ads account, including all campaigns, data, and settings.
Intellectual Property Rights: Any creative assets, ad copies, or strategies developed specifically for your campaigns are your intellectual property.
Data Security: We handle your business information and campaign data with the utmost confidentiality. For your security, you access your Google Ads account through your own Google account login, meaning we do not know or store your personal passwords.

8. Mutual Success

Shared Goals: Our success is linked to yours. By working together, we aim to exceed your advertising objectives.
Regular Reporting: We will provide detailed reports on campaign performance at agreed intervals.
Continuous Improvement: We are committed to refining strategies for better results. Your cooperation is essential in this ongoing process.

Performance Accountability: Our ability to achieve results depends on maintaining a controlled campaign environment. Where multiple parties are managing the account, performance data becomes unreliable and we are not responsible for performance outcomes.

9. Google Ads Billing and Ad Spend

Our management fees will be invoiced separately in accordance with the payment terms set out elsewhere in these terms and conditions.

Social Media Management

1. Scope of Services

Our social media management services may include, but are not limited to, the following:

content creation, curation and scheduling across agreed social media platforms;
community management and engagement (responding to comments, messages and mentions);
social media strategy development and implementation;
reporting and analytics;
paid social media advertising management (where agreed upon separately).

The specific services, platforms, posting frequency and deliverables will be outlined in your quotation or service agreement.

2. Platform Access and Account Ownership

You must provide us with the necessary access to your social media accounts, including administrator or editor permissions as required, to perform the agreed services.

You retain full ownership of all social media accounts managed by us. We will never change account passwords, transfer ownership, or restrict your access to your own accounts.

3. Content Creation and Approval

We will create content in line with your brand guidelines, tone of voice, and any specific requirements agreed upon at the start of the engagement.

Unless otherwise agreed, content will be submitted to you for approval prior to publishing. You are responsible for reviewing and approving content within 2 working days of submission. If approval is not received within this timeframe, we reserve the right to publish the content as submitted or delay posting until approval is received.

4. Posting Schedule and Frequency

5. Engagement and Community Management

Where community management is included in your service plan, we will respond to comments, messages, and mentions in a professional and timely manner, consistent with your brand voice.

We will escalate any enquiries, complaints, or sensitive matters that require your direct input or specialist knowledge. You agree to provide timely responses to escalated matters.

We reserve the right to hide, delete, or report comments or messages that are abusive, spam, or otherwise inappropriate, in our reasonable discretion.

6. No Guarantees on Results

follower growth or engagement rates;
reach, impressions, or viral content;
leads, sales, or conversions generated through social media;
the continued availability or functionality of any social media platform or feature.

We will use our professional expertise and best efforts to optimise your social media presence, but results are influenced by factors beyond our control.

7. Platform Terms and Compliance

We will manage your social media accounts in compliance with the terms of service, community guidelines, and advertising policies of each respective platform.

You agree to cooperate with us in resolving any compliance issues that may arise during our management of your accounts.

8. Paid Social Media Advertising

Where paid social media advertising is included in your service plan, the following applies:

Our management fees and your advertising spend are separate charges.
Advertising spend is either billed directly by the platform to your payment method, or invoiced by us as a pass-through cost, as agreed in your quotation.
We do not guarantee any specific return on advertising spend.
We will provide reporting on advertising performance at agreed intervals.
Any advertising budgets communicated by you will be treated as guidelines. Actual spend may vary slightly due to platform billing practices.

9. Social Media Intellectual Property

10. Social Media Reporting

Reporting is based on data provided by the social media platforms and we are not responsible for any inaccuracies in platform-provided data.

Whole Agreement

This is the whole agreement between you and us and no amendment, deletion or addition will be valid unless it is in writing and agreed to by both of us.

These terms and conditions replace any other discussions, agreements and/or understandings between you and us regarding the subject matter of these terms and conditions.

Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy

Please refer to our Privacy Policy and Cookies Policy. You agree that they constitute part of these terms. You must read our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy before you use the Service.

Contact Us

If you have any questions about these Terms, please email us on support@hotspot.digital