Terms

1. Who we are

These terms govern the Mahala Websites service. "Mahala", "we" and "us" mean Mahala Websites, a South African website build and hosting service. Contact: info@mahalawebsite.co.za and 074 837 5701. Website: https://mahalawebsite.co.za. We do not publish a street address on this site.

2. The deal

We build a website for R0 upfront. You then pay R950 per month for a licence to use the hosted site. The monthly fee covers hosting, maintenance, a monthly ranking report, and SEO/GEO/AEO updates. This is not a purchase of the website files, the CMS, the copy, the design, or the domain.

3. Process

The process is one meeting, one questionnaire, one revision on the first draft, then go-live on the monthly retainer. We do not promise 24-hour delivery. If you walk away before launch, the site is not published.

4. One revision

The free build includes one revision on the first draft only. Further rounds, extra pages, or scope changes after that revision are outside the free build and may be quoted separately.

5. Ownership

Mahala Websites owns the website and the domain. That includes design, code, copy, and the CMS. R950 a month is a licence to use a hosted site while the licence is paid and in force.

A custom domain you already owned stays yours. You point DNS at us while you are on retainer. Domains we register stay with Mahala unless a handover is agreed in writing.

6. Cancellation after go-live

After go-live, either party may end the licence on 30 days' written notice to info@mahalawebsite.co.za. When the notice period ends, hosting stops and the site comes down. Custom domains you already owned stay yours (you unpoint DNS). The website stays with Mahala.

7. Handover

A paid handover of site files or of a domain we registered is available on request. We will quote a one-off handover. There is no published handover price on this site.

8. Rankings

We do not guarantee first-page or #1 rankings. We promise the work: a monthly ranking report, and we keep the site current for search engines, generative engines, and answer engines. Results depend on the market, the query, and factors we do not control.

9. Fees

The monthly licence is billed in South African rand in advance. Fees already earned for a current billing period are not refunded merely because you use the site less, or because you cancel mid-cycle after the notice period starts. Unpaid invoices may result in suspension and then take-down.

10. Your material

You confirm you have the right to give us logos, photos, copy and other material, and that using them on the site will not infringe someone else's rights. You keep ownership of material you already owned. We need a licence to host and display it while the site is live.

11. Acceptable use

We may refuse or take down a site that is unlawful, misleading, or outside a reasonable small-business brochure/site scope. We may refuse an instruction that we reasonably believe is unsafe or unlawful.

12. Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, we are not liable for lost profit, lost traffic, or ranking outcomes. Our total aggregate liability arising from the licence is limited to the fees you paid us in the three months before the claim. Nothing excludes liability that South African law does not allow us to exclude.

13. Privacy

Personal information is handled under the privacy policy.

14. Law

South African law governs these terms. Complaints: email info@mahalawebsite.co.za. We aim to acknowledge within one business day.