Terms of Service

01 Acceptance of Terms

These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern any project, package, or ongoing engagement between you ("Client," "you") and Ninth Cat ("Ninth Cat," "we," "us"). By submitting a project request, replying to a quote, sending a deposit, or otherwise asking us to begin work, you agree to be bound by these Terms.

If you're engaging Ninth Cat on behalf of a company or other organization, you confirm that you have the authority to accept these Terms on that organization's behalf, and "you" refers to both you and that organization.

02 About Ninth Cat

Ninth Cat is a web design and branding studio. We build logos, websites, and social media presences for small businesses and independent founders, custom to each client rather than assembled from pre-made templates. Our work spans brand identity, custom-built websites, social media setup and strategy, and ongoing maintenance, offered individually or bundled into a single fixed-price package as described on our website.

03 Who Can Use Our Services

To work with Ninth Cat, you must be at least 18 years old and able to enter into a binding agreement. You're responsible for providing accurate information about yourself and your business, including contact details, business name, and any content you supply for use in your branding or website.

04 Packages & Scope of Work

Our core service areas are Logo & Branding, Website, Social Media Marketing, and Maintenance. Each can be purchased on its own or combined into a bundled package, with the exact deliverables for your project outlined in your quote or order confirmation. Typical inclusions are:

• Logo & Branding — a custom logo with primary and icon versions, a color palette, typography selection, favicon, and a starter social media kit.
• Website — a custom-built site of up to five pages, fully mobile-responsive, with business email setup, domain and DNS configuration, basic SEO, and links to your social profiles.
• Social Media Marketing — profile setup, hashtag and keyword research, content pillar strategy, and launch-ready templates.
• Maintenance — recurring website and social media health checks, content updates, and bug fixes.

Work that falls outside the scope described in your quote, such as additional pages, e-commerce functionality, custom integrations, or extra rounds of revision, is treated as a separate request and may be quoted and billed independently.

05 Quotes, Pricing & Fixed-Price Agreements

We provide a quote after an initial conversation about your business and goals, typically through our website request form, email, or WhatsApp. Once you accept a quote, the price is fixed for the scope described in it. If you later ask for something beyond that scope, we'll let you know before doing the work whether it changes the price.

All prices are quoted in the currency shown at the time of your quote unless otherwise agreed in writing.

06 Our "Pay When You Love It" Model

Ninth Cat doesn't ask for payment upfront before you've seen any work. We begin designing based on the scope agreed in your quote, and share drafts for your feedback as the project progresses. For a single package, payment is due once you've reviewed your deliverables and are happy to move forward, and before final files, source assets, or a live website are handed over.

If you choose the full bundle, payment is split across phases rather than taken as one lump sum. The project is broken into phases that mirror the bundle itself, typically Logo & Branding, then Website, then Social Media Marketing, then Maintenance. Each phase is completed and shared with you first; once you've reviewed and approved that phase, payment for it is due before we begin the next one. You're never paying for a phase that hasn't been built and approved, and we're never building the next phase before the current one is settled.

This model relies on good faith from both sides. If a project is abandoned or feedback stops after substantial work has been completed, we reserve the right to invoice for the work delivered to that point, as described in Section 15.

07 Payment Methods

We accept payment through PayPal, card payments processed via Buy Me a Coffee, and popular UPI methods such as Google Pay and Paytm. For larger amounts, typically a full-bundle phase or a maintenance plan total, a direct bank or net transfer can be arranged instead.

Payment details for your chosen method are shared once a phase or project is ready to be invoiced. Work on the next phase, or handover of final deliverables, begins once payment has been confirmed as received.

08 Non-Payment & Asset Revocation

Each phase or project remains the property of Ninth Cat until the corresponding payment has been received in full, as described in Section 11 (Ownership & IP). If an invoice goes unpaid after a reasonable follow-up period, we reserve the right to treat the agreement as terminated for non-payment.

In that case, any logo files, website code, hosting, or domain connections built as part of the unpaid phase are revoked, a live website is taken down, and deliverables are withheld until payment is made. This applies specifically to non-payment; cancellations initiated by you are handled under Section 15.

09 Timeline & Your Responsibilities

Turnaround time depends on the package and how quickly we receive what we need from you, including logos, photos, business details, written copy, and timely feedback on drafts. Delays in providing these will delay your delivery date by a similar amount.

We'll give you an estimated timeline when your quote is confirmed. It's an estimate, not a guarantee, since creative and technical work can occasionally take longer than expected.

10 Revisions & Change Requests

Each package includes a reasonable number of revision rounds, communicated to you as part of your quote, so you can refine the direction of your logo, site, or social presence before final delivery. Revisions should be requested within a reasonable window after we deliver a draft.

Requests that go beyond the agreed scope, such as a full redesign after a direction has already been approved, or new pages added after the build has started, may be treated as additional work and quoted separately.

11 Ownership & Intellectual Property

Until a project is paid for in full, all drafts, concepts, and in-progress files remain the property of Ninth Cat. Once payment is complete, you receive ownership of the final, approved deliverables, your logo files, website, and any content created specifically for your project, for use in operating your business.

Ninth Cat retains the right to showcase completed work in our portfolio, website, and social media, unless you request confidentiality in writing before the project begins. Any third-party assets used in your project, such as licensed stock photography or fonts, remain subject to their own license terms and may not be reused outside your project without separate licensing.

12 Domains, Hosting & Third-Party Accounts

If you already own a domain, we'll connect it to your new website as part of your package. If you don't, we'll register one on your behalf, and the domain's purchase cost is charged separately from your package price. Domain pricing isn't fixed, it depends on the specific domain name and extension you choose (for example, .com versus .art or a premium name), so the exact cost is confirmed with you before purchase.

Domains are billed annually. We'll let you know ahead of each renewal so you can choose to continue with it through us or take over the renewal yourself; either way, the domain belongs to you, not Ninth Cat.

Where a package includes domain registration, business email, or hosting setup, we configure these using accounts that belong to you, or that are transferred into your name on completion. You're responsible for any ongoing renewal fees for your domain, hosting, or business email accounts beyond what's covered in your package or an active maintenance plan.

We're not responsible for outages, policy changes, or pricing changes made by third-party providers such as domain registrars, hosting companies, or email providers, though we'll do what we reasonably can to help you navigate them.

13 Maintenance & Ongoing Support

Our maintenance plan is a recurring service covering monthly website and social media health checks, audience targeting guidance, content updates, and fixes for bugs or glitches as they come up. It renews on the billing cycle agreed when you sign up and can be cancelled at any time with notice; cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period.

Without an active maintenance plan, you're responsible for keeping your website's hosting, domain, and any third-party plugins or platforms up to date and secure.

14 Communication & Response Times

We communicate primarily over email, WhatsApp, Discord, and Instagram. We aim to respond to project-related messages within a few business days. For active projects, the fastest way to keep things moving is to reply promptly to drafts and questions so we can stay on schedule.

15 Cancellation, Refunds & Termination

You can cancel a project before any design or development work has started, in which case no payment is owed. Once work has begun, payment covers the work already completed and is not refundable, though we'll always let you know what's been delivered.

Ninth Cat reserves the right to pause or end an engagement if payment is overdue, if a project goes unanswered for an extended period, or if a request violates Section 14 (Acceptable Use). In any of these cases, you'll receive whatever work has been completed up to that point.

16 Acceptable Use

We won't take on, or will discontinue, projects that ask us to create branding, websites, or content that are illegal, fraudulent, deliberately misleading, hateful, or infringe on someone else's trademark, copyright, or likeness. This includes sites built to impersonate another business or to misrepresent who you are to your customers.

17 Confidentiality

Business details you share with us during a project, such as financials, internal plans, or unreleased products, are kept confidential and used only for the purpose of delivering your project. A mutual non-disclosure agreement is available on request before a project begins if you need one in place.

18 Third-Party Services & Integrations

Parts of our work rely on third-party platforms, including form and email delivery services, domain registrars, hosting providers, and social platforms such as Instagram, Discord, and WhatsApp. Your use of these platforms is subject to their own terms of service, and Ninth Cat isn't responsible for changes, downtime, or policy decisions made by these providers.

19 Disclaimers & Limitation of Liability

Ninth Cat provides design and development services on an "as is" basis. While we build with care and attention to best practice, we don't guarantee specific business outcomes, such as sales, traffic, or search engine rankings, that may result from your branding or website.

To the fullest extent permitted by law, Ninth Cat's total liability for any claim arising from our services is limited to the amount you paid us for the project in question in the twelve months prior to the claim, and we're not liable for indirect, incidental, or consequential damages.

20 Indemnification

You agree to indemnify Ninth Cat against claims, losses, or damages arising from content or materials you supply for use in your project, including text, images, logos, or trademarks, if that material infringes on the rights of a third party.

21 Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time as our services evolve. When we do, we'll update the "Effective" date at the top of this page. Continuing to use our services after changes are posted means you accept the updated Terms; for active projects, the Terms in place when your quote was accepted will continue to apply to that project.