Terms of Service

These Terms of Service ("Terms") constitute a binding agreement between M81 Studio ("M81 Studio," "we," "us") and the individual or entity engaging our services ("Client," "you"). By paying a setup fee, accessing the Client Portal, or otherwise engaging M81 Studio, Client agrees to be bound by these Terms in their entirety. If you do not agree, do not proceed with any engagement.

1. Services

M81 Studio offers two distinct development tracks:

The applicable track is determined during the onboarding questionnaire and confirmed in the Client Portal before development begins.

2. Scope & Boundaries

To maintain project quality and timeline predictability, the following boundaries apply to every engagement:

• a.Media Boundary. M81 Studio does not accept raw video file uploads. All video content must be provided as YouTube or Vimeo links. Raw video files submitted through the portal will not be processed.
• b.Asset Handling. M81 Studio accepts images and brand assets in any common format — including PNG, JPG, HEIC, RAW, TIFF, WebP, GIF, BMP, and PDF. All uploaded files are automatically converted to optimized, web-ready formats through the Client Portal. Client does not need to pre-process or format assets before submission.
• c.Custom Integration Boundary. Within the standard monthly plans, all contact and lead capture forms use standard Web3Forms integration, and custom CRM integrations, Zapier automations, HubSpot connectors, and third-party marketing platform integrations are outside scope. Custom integrations, web applications, and larger-scope builds are available as a separately scoped and quoted engagement.
• d.Source File Boundary. M81 Studio does not provide Figma files, Adobe Creative Suite source files, or any other design tool project files. Deliverables consist exclusively of production-ready code and deployed websites, unless otherwise agreed upon in writing for enterprise or custom-scope engagements.
• e.Product Variant Limit (E-Commerce). Each product listing includes up to three (3) basic variants (e.g., size, color). Additional variant configurations beyond three per product are outside standard scope and subject to additional fees.
• f.Inventory Boundary (E-Commerce). M81 Studio performs initial product catalog setup only. Ongoing inventory management, stock level updates, and product additions after launch are Client's sole responsibility.
• g.Copywriting Boundary. M81 Studio writes all website copy — including page headlines, body text, service descriptions, and calls to action — as part of the standard build. If Client requires specific wording, pre-approved messaging, or compliance-regulated language (legal, medical, financial), Client must provide that copy before the content deadline. Otherwise, M81 Studio takes full creative ownership of all website copy.
• h.Modern Browser Boundary. All websites are built for and tested on the latest stable versions of Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Edge. M81 Studio does not guarantee compatibility with Internet Explorer, legacy browser versions, or non-standard rendering engines.

3. Development Timeline

The standard development timeline is one to two (1–2) weeks from the date M81 Studio receives 100% of required content from Client via the Client Portal. The timeline does not begin until:

• The setup fee has been received;
• All content, assets, and brand materials have been submitted in full through the Client Portal; and
• The scope agreement within the Client Portal has been acknowledged.

Incomplete submissions, delayed feedback, or scope changes initiated by Client may extend the timeline. M81 Studio is not responsible for delays caused by Client inaction.

4. Revisions and Changes

Changes are included in the monthly plan. There is no per-change fee and no cap on how many changes you send. Changes are worked one at a time: once a change is submitted it stays in the queue until it is live, and the next one can be sent after that.

During the build, the site is revised until it is right. Once it is live, content and design changes to your pages stay covered for as long as the plan is active, whether that is a new photo, a rewritten paragraph, a seasonal offer, or a different layout.

Two boundaries apply, and both are set by the plan rather than by counting requests:

One change at a time. There is no monthly allowance and nothing expires. What there is instead is a queue one deep: send a change, it gets done, then send the next one. Ask for as many as you like over the life of the plan, in the order that matters to you.

Requests can be sent by text, by email, or through the Client Portal. The portal shows what is currently in the queue and keeps a record of what was asked and when, which is worth using for anything larger, though it is not required.

5. Content Bottleneck Policy

Client has a fourteen-day (14-day) content submission window from the date the Client Portal workspace becomes active. During this window, Client must submit all required content, assets, and brand materials through the portal.

If content is not submitted within fourteen (14) days, M81 Studio reserves the right to pause the project. If the project remains paused for thirty (30) consecutive days due to incomplete content, the project leaves the active queue. It restarts when the content arrives, at the next available slot.

M81 Studio is not responsible for timeline delays caused by Client's failure to submit content within the designated window.

6. Review & Launch

When the staging site is ready, the question at review is whether anything is broken, not whether everything is perfect. Broken means a page that does not load, a button or form that does not work, a layout that fails on phone or desktop, wrong business information, or a spelling error. Anything in that list is fixed before launch, and there is no limit on how many rounds that takes.

Preferences are a separate matter, and they are not held against launch. A different colour, a rewritten paragraph, a section in a new order, a photo swapped out: all of that is included in the plan under Section 4, and it is worked the same way after launch as before it. Waiting for a site to be perfect before it earns anything is the most expensive part of most web projects, and the plan is built so that it does not have to be.

If fourteen (14) days pass with nothing reported as broken, the site is treated as ready and goes live. It can be changed the day after, and every day after that, for as long as the plan runs. The monthly subscription begins when the site goes live, since that is the point at which there is something to host and keep running.

7. Communication Policy

Communication runs asynchronously by default. Feedback, change requests, files, questions, and status updates all travel the same way, and nothing in the process requires a meeting.

• Text, email, and the Client Portal all reach me, and all three count as project communication. Use whichever is convenient.
• Anything that needs to be referred back to later, such as an approval or a change in scope, is confirmed in the portal so both sides have the same record of it.
• No meetings are required at any stage and most clients never ask for one. A call is welcome when something genuinely calls for a conversation.
• Standing meetings, recurring calls, and extended live support sit outside the plans and can be arranged separately.

8. Payments

Projects follow a setup-plus-subscription structure:

• One-Time Setup Fee — Due before development begins. The setup fee is non-refundable once work has started and secures Client's position in the development queue. The amount is confirmed in the Client Portal before development begins.
• Monthly Subscription — A recurring monthly fee that begins when the website goes live and continues month-to-month. It covers hosting, ongoing management, and the included changes described in Section 4. A first month may be waived as part of a promotional offer at M81 Studio's discretion.

Project Abandonment. If Client abandons the project before launch (including non-payment of the setup fee), M81 Studio retains the setup fee and all code, designs, and assets produced during the engagement.

9. Hosting & Monthly Subscription

M81 Studio websites are provided as a fully managed monthly service. The monthly subscription is a core part of the engagement, not an optional add-on.

The subscription is billed monthly and may be cancelled at any time with fourteen (14) days' written notice before the next billing cycle (see Section 16). If the subscription is cancelled, hosting and management end and the website is taken offline, unless the Client has purchased the source code outright (see Section 13).

Price Adjustments. The monthly rate is set at signup and does not change casually. M81 Studio may adjust the monthly rate only where underlying infrastructure costs change (for example, hosting or platform providers such as Vercel or Shopify raising their prices), and will provide at least thirty (30) days' written notice before any new rate takes effect. The Client may cancel under Section 16 before the new rate applies, and billing periods already paid for are never affected.

10. Data Isolation

Client websites are fully isolated from M81 Studio's internal infrastructure. Specifically:

• Client sites never connect to, read from, or write to M81 Studio's internal database or systems.
• M81 Studio sets up contact form delivery as part of the build. Form submissions are delivered straight to the Client's own email — M81 Studio does not store or retain them.
• Any payment or checkout functionality runs through the Client's own Stripe or Shopify Payments account, which M81 Studio helps the Client set up and connect. All funds are paid directly to the Client; M81 Studio never handles Client revenue.

This keeps the Client in full ownership and control of their data, form submissions, and payment processing at all times, while M81 Studio handles the technical setup. A Client who prefers to supply their own keys or accounts may do so.

11. DNS & Email Boundary

M81 Studio will configure DNS records strictly for website routing purposes — specifically A-Records and/or CNAME records pointing to the hosting provider (Vercel or Shopify).

M81 Studio will never modify, create, or manage MX records, SPF records, DKIM records, or any other email-related DNS entries. Client is solely responsible for their own email hosting, email deliverability, and all email-related DNS configuration (Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, etc.).

Any email service disruption resulting from DNS changes made during domain delegation is Client's responsibility to resolve with their email hosting provider.

12. Post-Launch Warranty

M81 Studio provides a fourteen-day (14-day) post-launch warranty beginning on the date the website is deployed to the live production domain. During this period, M81 Studio will fix structural bugs at no additional cost.

Covered: Broken layouts, non-functional buttons or links, responsive display failures, and code errors that prevent the site from operating as demonstrated during staging approval.

Not Covered: Design changes, new feature requests, content updates, copy revisions, issues caused by Client modifications to the codebase, third-party service outages, or any changes to the site made outside of M81 Studio's control.

13. Intellectual Property & Liability

Intellectual property rights are allocated as follows:

• Client Owns: The Client's domain name, brand assets, logo, written content, and any product data provided by or created for the Client. These remain the Client's property at all times.
• M81 Studio Retains: The website's source code and build, along with all proprietary frameworks, internal tools, the Client Portal platform, admin systems, and reusable code libraries. While the website is on the monthly subscription, the Client licenses its use; ownership of the source code does not transfer.
• Buyout Option: The Client may purchase the website's source code outright at any time for a one-time fee (quoted on request). Upon payment, the repository is transferred to the Client's own GitHub account and the Client may host it independently.

"As Is" Liability. All websites are delivered "as is" upon final approval. M81 Studio makes no warranties, express or implied, regarding merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or uninterrupted operation beyond the warranty period defined in Section 12.

Third-Party Failures. M81 Studio bears no liability for failures, outages, API changes, pricing changes, or discontinuation of third-party services including but not limited to Vercel, Shopify, Stripe, Web3Forms, Google Fonts, Uploadcare, or any other external dependency.

14. Content Indemnification

Client represents and warrants that all content, images, trademarks, logos, copy, and media submitted to M81 Studio are either owned by Client or properly licensed for the intended use.

Client agrees to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless M81 Studio from any claims, damages, losses, liabilities, and expenses (including reasonable attorney's fees) arising out of or related to any allegation that content provided by Client infringes upon the intellectual property rights, copyrights, trademarks, or other proprietary rights of any third party.

15. ADA & GDPR Compliance

M81 Studio builds websites using semantic HTML, responsive design, and modern development best practices. However, M81 Studio does not guarantee compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), or any other accessibility or data privacy regulation.

It is Client's sole responsibility to hire qualified legal counsel and/or accessibility consultants to audit the website for regulatory compliance as required by Client's industry, jurisdiction, or customer base.

16. Termination & Cancellation

Either party may terminate the engagement under the following conditions:

17. Training Boundary

Because M81 Studio fully hosts and manages the site, there is nothing the Client needs to learn to run it day to day. A short Loom walkthrough is included at launch, and questions can be submitted anytime through the Client Portal. Extended live training, formal tutorials, or ongoing one-on-one coaching fall outside standard scope — but M81 Studio is always reachable for a quick question.

18. SEO Disclaimer

Every M81 Studio website includes a technical SEO foundation: semantic HTML structure, proper heading hierarchy, meta tags, Open Graph tags, JSON-LD structured data, sitemap.xml, robots.txt, mobile responsiveness, and fast page load performance.

M81 Studio does not provide ongoing monthly SEO services, blog content creation, backlink building, keyword research campaigns, Google Ads management, or any form of continuous search engine marketing. If Client requires ongoing SEO services, Client must engage a separate SEO specialist or agency.

19. No Developer Access During Hosting

For the avoidance of doubt: while a website is on the M81 Studio monthly subscription, Client does not receive access to the source code repository, deployment dashboard, or any development infrastructure.

If Client grants a third-party developer access to the GitHub repository or Vercel project, or if unauthorized code changes are detected, M81 Studio reserves the right to immediately revoke hosting services and end the subscription.

Client may purchase a full code transfer at any time (the buyout option in Section 13), at which point the repository will be transferred to Client's own GitHub account.

20. Shopify Theme Integrity

For Shopify projects, M81 Studio delivers a custom-built theme optimized for Client's specific needs. After launch:

• Damage, conflicts, or visual regressions caused by third-party Shopify apps installed by Client or Client's agents are not covered by the monthly subscription or post-launch warranty.
• Repairs necessitated by third-party app interference will be billed at M81 Studio's emergency hourly rate, quoted on a case-by-case basis.
• Direct edits to theme code by anyone other than M81 Studio void any active warranty or subscription coverage for the affected components.

Client is strongly advised to consult M81 Studio before installing any third-party Shopify app that injects code into the theme.

21. Governing Law

These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of California, United States, without regard to its conflict of law provisions.

Any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms or the services provided by M81 Studio shall be resolved exclusively in the state or federal courts located in Los Angeles County, California. Both parties consent to the personal jurisdiction of such courts.