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Refund Policy

Version 2 · Effective 2026-08-15

Work is quoted as a fixed price and agreed in writing before it begins, normally half on acceptance and half on launch. This page covers what happens to that money if a project stops, or if what we delivered is not what was agreed. Where it conflicts with a signed Master Services Agreement ("MSA"), the signed agreement controls.

1. Builds and Custom Work

This covers everything we quote: a website build, and larger work such as custom software, an application with user accounts, or an integration with a system you already run.

Deposits

Where a deposit is agreed, it is non-refundable once work begins. It reserves the schedule and covers the discovery that starts immediately. If we cancel before starting, or cannot deliver through our own fault with nothing yet delivered, we refund it.

Delivered work

Work that has been delivered and accepted is not refundable. If something we built does not do what the written scope said it would, the remedy is that we fix it — see the warranty below.

Stopping partway

If you end a project mid-build, you owe for work performed to that point at the rate in the agreement, less any deposit already paid. You do not owe for work not yet done.

What you keep if we stop

Whatever has been finished and paid for is yours to keep, and is handed over. The domain is registered in your name from the start, so it stays yours regardless.

Either of us can stop

You can end the project at any point, on the terms above. We may also decline to continue — if the work turns out to be far larger than described, if we cannot reach you, or if we are asked for something we are not willing to build — in which case we invoice only for work performed and refund the balance of any deposit.

30-day warranty

For 30 days after launch we fix, at no charge, bugs in functionality that was in the agreed scope, browser and mobile issues, and security problems in code we wrote. The warranty is a free-fix commitment, not a refund. It does not cover changes you or a third party make after launch, or new features you think of later.

2. The Domain Name

The domain is paid by you, directly to a registrar, in your name. We never take that money, so we cannot refund it. Registrars set their own refund rules, which are usually strict once a domain is registered.

If we register a domain on your behalf as a convenience, we bill it at cost and it is non-refundable once purchased, for the same reason.

3. Hosting and Care Plans

Hosting for the sites we build costs $0 at the sizes we work with, in an account in your name. We do not resell it, so there is nothing to refund and nothing to cancel.

A care plan is optional, month to month, and cancellable with 30 days' notice and no penalty. Months already served are not refundable, and the hours it includes do not carry over.

4. How to Raise a Billing Concern

If you have been charged for something and believe you should not have been:

  1. Email billing@thesitenerds.com with the invoice number, what you were charged for, and why it looks wrong
  2. We respond within 5 business days
  3. Approved refunds are issued by the original payment method within 10 business days of approval
  4. If we decline, we explain why in writing

Chargebacks. Please talk to us before filing a card chargeback. It is a small business and a conversation is almost always faster.

5. Disputes

If we cannot agree, the dispute-resolution and governing-law terms in your signed MSA apply, or our Terms of Service where there is no signed agreement. For most people that means New York law and Erie County, NY venue.

6. Updates

We may update this policy. The "Effective" date at the top reflects the latest version. Material changes affecting active clients will be communicated by email at least 14 days before taking effect. The policy in force at the time of your payment is the one that applies to that payment.

7. Contact

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