General Terms & Conditions

1. Definitions
In these General Terms & Conditions, the following definitions apply:
Szabo Web Developer & Designer, operated by Ildiko Szabo
Client: any natural or legal person entering into an agreement with Szabo Web Developer & Designer
Agreement: the agreement consisting of these General Terms & Conditions, confirmed by the Client’s initial 50% payment as defined in Clause 6
Services: all services provided by Szabo Web Developer & Designer, including but not limited to website strategy, design, development, animation, video, consulting, hosting, and maintenance
Deliverables: all work products created by Szabo Web Developer & Designer under the Agreement
2. Applicability
These General Terms & Conditions apply to all offers, proposals, agreements, and Services provided by Szabo Web Developer & Designer.
Deviations are only valid if explicitly agreed in writing.
The Client’s own terms and conditions are expressly rejected unless agreed otherwise in writing.
3. Formation of the Agreement
An Agreement is concluded when the Client pays the initial 50% upfront payment as defined in Clause 6. By making this payment, the Client acknowledges full acceptance of these General Terms & Conditions.
4. Scope of Services
The scope of Services is defined in the accepted proposal or offer.
Any Services outside the agreed scope constitute additional work and may be charged separately.
Szabo Web Developer & Designer may make reasonable improvements that do not materially affect the agreed outcome.
5. Client Responsibilities
The Client must provide all required content, feedback, and approvals in a timely manner.
Delays caused by the Client may result in timeline extensions, rescheduling, or additional costs.
The Client guarantees that all supplied materials do not infringe third-party rights.
6. Project Phases & Payments
Unless agreed otherwise in writing, payments are structured as follows:
50% upfront before project commencement — this payment constitutes formation of the Agreement
50% before the website goes live or Deliverables are handed over
Szabo Web Developer & Designer may suspend Services immediately if payments are not received on time.
Szabo Web Developer & Designer’ delivery timelines and obligations are automatically suspended for the duration of any payment delay.
Final delivery, launch, or handover will not occur until full payment has been received.
In the event of late payment, statutory commercial interest (wettelijke handelsrente) applies automatically as per Dutch law (artikel 6:119a BW), without prior notice being required.
7. Client Inactivity & Project Abandonment
If the Client fails to provide required feedback, content, or approvals for 14 consecutive days, the project will be considered paused.
If inactivity continues for 30 consecutive days, Szabo Web Developer & Designer may terminate the Agreement.
In such cases:
all completed work remains payable
all paid amounts are non-refundable
the project is considered closed
8. Changes in Project Direction
Any material change in project direction, business model, branding, structure, or objectives after project commencement constitutes a change of scope.
Szabo Web Developer & Designer reserves the right to revise timelines, adjust pricing, or issue a new proposal.
Work will not continue until the revised scope is approved in writing.
In the event of a scope change that requires restarting or significantly reworking previously completed phases, all work completed up to the point of the scope change remains fully payable. Szabo Web Developer & Designer will issue a revised proposal for the remaining work, which must be approved and invoiced separately before work resumes.
9. Revisions & Feedback
Revision rounds are limited to what is defined in the accepted proposal.
Additional revisions may be charged separately.
Feedback must be consolidated; fragmented feedback may result in delays.
10. Refunds & Cancellation
Due to the custom nature of the Services, payments are non-refundable once work has commenced, unless agreed otherwise in writing. If the Client cancels before work has commenced, the upfront payment is non-refundable as a cancellation fee to cover reservation of capacity and administrative costs. If the Client cancels after work has commenced, the project is divided into four equal phases, each representing 25% of the total project value:
Phase 1 — Strategy & Wireframing
Phase 2 — Design
Phase 3 — Development
Phase 4 — Finalization
Once a phase has commenced, that phase is considered fully payable. The Client will be invoiced for all completed and active phases at the time of cancellation. Any outstanding balance beyond what has already been paid remains due.
Dissatisfaction with creative or strategic decisions does not constitute grounds for a refund, provided Szabo Web Developer & Designer has delivered within the agreed scope.
11. Intellectual Property, Ownership, Payment Enforcement & Handover
11.1 Ownership and Retention of Rights
All intellectual property rights, including but not limited to designs, concepts, source files, code, content structures, and Deliverables, remain the exclusive property of Szabo Web Developer & Designer until all financial obligations under the Agreement have been fulfilled in full.
11.2 No Implied License
Until full payment has been received, the Client is granted no license, ownership, or right of use, whether explicit or implied, unless expressly agreed in writing.
11.3 Temporary Access and Previews
Any access provided to previews, staging environments, test servers, or live environments prior to full payment is strictly temporary and does not constitute delivery, acceptance, or transfer of ownership or usage rights.
11.4 Right to Suspend or Disable
In the event of non-payment, Szabo Web Developer & Designer reserves the right to suspend access, disable functionality, or take the website or Deliverables offline, without being liable for damages or losses incurred by the Client.
11.5 Client Consent
The Client explicitly agrees that such suspension, restriction, or takedown due to non-payment does not constitute a breach of contract or wrongful interference.
11.6 Handover
Handover is defined as the formal transfer of Deliverables, access credentials, or usage rights after full payment has been received.
No handover shall be deemed to have occurred prior to this moment, regardless of project status or visibility.
11.7 Ownership After Payment
Upon full payment and handover, ownership of the Deliverables transfers to the Client. Szabo Web Developer & Designer retains the right to showcase the work for portfolio and marketing purposes unless agreed otherwise in writing.
12. Hosting & Maintenance (if applicable)
Hosting and maintenance services are subject to a separate service description or subscription.
Szabo Web Developer & Designer is not liable for third-party hosting outages, platform updates, or force majeure events.
Maintenance does not include major redesigns or functional changes unless agreed separately.
13. Liability
Szabo Web Developer & Designer’ liability is limited to the total amount paid under the relevant Agreement.
Szabo Web Developer & Designer is not liable for indirect or consequential damages, including loss of revenue, data, or business opportunities.
The Client remains responsible for legal compliance of website content.
14. Confidentiality
Both parties shall treat all non-public information obtained during the execution of the Agreement as confidential for the duration of the Agreement and for a period of 2 years after its termination, unless disclosure is legally required.
This includes but is not limited to business strategies, pricing, client data, and project details shared during the collaboration.
15. Force Majeure
Szabo Web Developer & Designer is not liable for delays or failures caused by circumstances beyond reasonable control.
16. Governing Law, Dispute Resolution & Jurisdiction
These General Terms & Conditions are governed by Dutch law.
In the event of a dispute, both parties agree to first attempt to resolve the matter through mediation via a recognized Dutch mediation institute (such as MfN — Mediatorsfederatie Nederland) before submitting the dispute to the competent court in the Netherlands. If mediation fails or either party refuses to participate, the dispute shall be submitted to the competent court in the Netherlands.