Legal

Terms of use

The rules for using this website, and how payments, cancellations and refunds work. Plain and short.

Last updated: 29 October 2026

Who we are

northwakestudio.com is run by Northwake Studio, a trading name of Irene Erasmus, sole proprietor, South Africa. Full details are under Legal information below. By using this website you agree to these terms. If you don’t agree, please don’t use the site.

Any project or subscription is also covered by a written proposal and client agreement. If they differ from these terms, the signed agreement applies.

The content on this site

The site gives general information about our services, not professional advice. Prices, packages and timings are a guide. The scope, price and agreed launch date for a project are confirmed only in a written proposal. We may change or remove content at any time. FMC, shown in our work, is our founder’s own venture.

The free SEO check

The free SEO check is an automated snapshot. It sends the address you enter to Google’s PageSpeed Insights service and shows the scores returned at that moment.

  • It isn’t professional advice, an audit or a guarantee of rankings, traffic or results.
  • Scores can change between checks and depend on Google’s tools, which we don’t control.
  • Only check websites you own or have permission to test.
  • We limit use (currently 10 checks an hour per visitor) and may change or withdraw the tool at any time.

The full SEO & GEO report is a personal review based on what we actually checked. It is a recommendation, not a guarantee.

Intellectual property

The text, design, Northwake name and logo, graphics, the B2B website guide and other materials belong to us or our licensors (see Credits). You may view, print and download them for your own business use. Please don’t copy, republish, sell or adapt them without written permission. Client names, logos and work belong to their owners.

Acceptable use

Please don’t use the site or the SEO check unlawfully or to harm others; try to break, overload, scrape or get around our security or limits; or send spam, malware or false information through our forms. We may block access if these terms are broken.

Links to other sites

We link to other websites for convenience. We don’t control them and aren’t responsible for their content or privacy practices.

Prices and payment

Northwake Studio is not registered for VAT, so no VAT is charged and our prices exclude VAT. Prices on our Pricing page are a guide; the final price and payment schedule are set out in your proposal. Prices are in US dollars (USD). Payment is by EFT bank transfer against our invoice, and an international payment option is available on request. Extra work outside the agreed scope is charged at an hourly rate we quote in writing before that work starts.

Cancellations and refunds

Projects

  • Deposit: most projects start once a deposit of 50% of the project fee is paid. The deposit secures your start date and agreed launch date, and covers planning and early work.
  • Cancelling before work starts: if you cancel in writing before kickoff, we refund the deposit less any costs we have already reasonably incurred for you (such as purchased licences or booked suppliers), which we will show you.
  • Cancelling after work starts: you pay for the work done up to the date you cancel, based on the agreed stages, plus any costs incurred. Any part of the deposit above that is refunded; any shortfall is invoiced.
  • Completed work: once a stage is approved or delivered, its fee is not refundable. If something we delivered doesn’t match the agreed scope, tell us and we will fix it at no cost.
  • Work you cancel stays yours to the extent paid for: you receive the files and rights for the work you have paid for.

Monthly plans

Monthly plans (such as Accelerate) run month to month with no minimum term. You can cancel at any time with one month’s written notice; the plan ends one month after we receive it, and that final month is billed as normal. Fees for a month that has started are not refundable, and unused hours don’t carry over or get refunded.

If we cancel

If we have to cancel a project, we will refund anything you have paid for work not yet done.

Your consumer rights

Nothing here limits rights you have under the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 or other law that can’t be excluded. The CPA mainly protects individuals and smaller businesses (annual turnover or assets below R2 million). Where it applies, you may cancel a fixed-term agreement with 20 business days’ written notice, subject to a reasonable cancellation charge.

Cooling-off (ECT Act, section 44): if you are a consumer (an individual) buying from us online, you may cancel without reason or penalty within 7 days of concluding the agreement, and we will refund you within 30 days, less any direct cost of returning items. Under section 42 this doesn’t apply to services that have begun, with your agreement, before the 7 days end. Business clients don’t have this cooling-off right.

No warranty

The site and the free SEO check are provided “as is” and “as available”. As far as the law allows, we don’t promise they will always be available, error-free or virus-free.

Limitation of liability

As far as the law allows, we are not liable for any loss or damage (including lost profit, data or business, or indirect or consequential loss) from using or relying on this website or the free SEO check, which is free of charge. This does not limit liability for gross negligence, fraud or wilful misconduct, or any rights under the Consumer Protection Act or other law that can’t be limited. Liability for paid work is set out in your client agreement.

Privacy

See our Privacy notice and Cookie notice.

Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of South Africa, and disputes fall under the jurisdiction of the courts of Gauteng (Pretoria), South Africa, without affecting mandatory consumer rights where you live.

Changes

We may update these terms. The date at the top shows the latest version.

Required by section 43 of the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002.

  • Name and legal status: Irene Erasmus, sole proprietor, trading as Northwake Studio
  • Physical address and address for service of legal documents: 665 Raasblaar Street, Roodeplaat, Pretoria, 0035, South Africa
  • Phone: +27 62 519 0324
  • Email: hello@northwakestudio.com
  • Website: northwakestudio.com
  • Registration number: not applicable (sole proprietor)
  • VAT: not VAT registered
  • Professional bodies and codes of conduct: None
  • Services and prices: see Services and Pricing; final scope, price, payment terms and agreed launch date are set out in each written proposal
  • Delivery: work is delivered electronically by the agreed launch date in your proposal
  • Records: proposals, agreements and invoices are emailed to you as PDFs you can save and print
  • Cancellations and refunds: see above
  • Payment security: EFT bank transfer direct to our bank account, or an international payment option on request; we don’t take card details on this site
  • Privacy: see our Privacy notice
  • Alternative dispute resolution: None