Why we put our guarantees in writing, and what they cover
The commitments we have actually written down and where they stand, what is not a guarantee, and why a written promise with a remedy changes behaviour.
The short answer
A guarantee is worth exactly what is written down with a definition, a measure and a remedy. That is the standard this article asks you to apply to any supplier, so it is only fair to apply it to ourselves first, in public. Our terms of service commit to seven things you can point a clause at, three of which carry a remedy, one commitment lives on a service page rather than in the agreement, and a few things a reader might assume are guaranteed are still not written anywhere and are therefore not guarantees. The list below says which is which. We deliberately do not guarantee rankings, traffic, sales or the behaviour of third parties, because nobody controls them.
In the agreement, with a clause you can point at
| Commitment | Where | What it actually says |
|---|---|---|
| Access to work already in production | Clause 8 | Deliverables in production, and your access to the domain, DNS, hosting, repository and analytics, are never withheld and are transferred on request regardless of any dispute |
| A response time per plan | Clause 13 | One response time per maintenance plan, with the support hours it applies in. No severity levels and no service credits |
| Quality at delivery | Clause 14 | Named performance and accessibility values, measured in a lab run on the delivered site before launch. Explicitly not warranted after launch, because content, third-party scripts and later hosting changes move them |
| Data export | Clause 11 | Export is facilitated regardless of payment status, in line with the right to data portability |
| Transfer of access, with a remedy | Clause 21(a) | On written request, whether or not the agreement has ended, the DNS zone, hosting project, repository and analytics property move into your accounts and our administrative role on your domain ends. Our own actions within five business days; waiting periods at a registrar or platform fall outside that and are named in writing |
| Defects after delivery, with a remedy | Clause 21(b) | Six months after acceptance, a defect in what we built is fixed at no charge. A defect means the deliverables do not do what the accepted quote describes |
| The delivery standard met, with a remedy | Clause 21(c) | Where the values in clause 14 apply, we work at no charge until they are met at delivery, and at the delivery of any significant change we make |
To that, clause 10 adds an acceptance period of ten to fifteen business days in which you review and can reject the work in writing before it counts as approved. It is not called a guarantee, and it is the most useful one on this page.
Stated, but on a page rather than in the agreement
Two things are listed as features of a maintenance plan on our maintenance and support page rather than set out in the terms: a monthly status report, and on the entry plan bug fixes up to two hours a month. Both are commitments we make and things we do. Neither is a clause. That distinction is the whole point of this article, so it belongs here rather than in a footnote: a page can be edited, a clause has to be renegotiated. What a good monthly report should contain is a separate article on this site; it is our view of the standard, not an extra promise.
Not written down, and therefore not a guarantee
| What a reader might assume | The actual position |
|---|---|
| Severity levels with response and resolution targets | Not in the terms. Clause 13 has one response time per plan, with the hours it applies in, and no severity levels |
| A credit when a commitment is missed | Deliberately not there. The remedies in clause 21 are work: a transfer completed, a defect fixed, values met. A credit turns a missed commitment into a discount, which costs more and helps you less |
| Data under a processor agreement, deleted at exit on request | Not in the terms. Clause 11 covers export, not deletion |
The first and the third are reasonable things to want, and they are on this list because they are not written down; an unwritten commitment is not a guarantee no matter who says it. The second is a choice rather than a gap. If you need any of them, ask for it in the agreement before signing, from us or from anyone else.
Why writing them down changes behaviour
- It disciplines us: a commitment that can be checked is one we build to meet, with monitoring, a written escalation route and a pipeline that makes the thresholds true.
- It informs you: you know what to expect and when to raise something.
- It survives people: the person who made the promise may leave; the clause does not.
- It sets the tone: a relationship that starts with checkable commitments continues with checkable reports.
- It filters suppliers: one unwilling to write commitments down is telling you something before the contract.
How to use this
Read the terms before signing; they are part of the proposal, and the clause numbers above are where to start. Use the acceptance period, because it is the strongest right in the document and it expires. Raise anything missed at the time and in writing. And when comparing suppliers, ask each of them the same question: which of these is in the agreement, and which is on a web page? The answer is the real offer, and it is usually shorter than the brochure.
What this means for you
Ask for guarantees in writing, each with a definition, a measure and, where it matters to you, a remedy: access and transfer, defects, response, launch quality, reporting and exit. Ask what the remedy is, and whether it is work or money; work gets the thing finished. Expect an honest list of what is not guaranteed. Then check the agreement for clause numbers rather than the brochure for adjectives. A supplier who shows you both lists is offering accountability; one who offers satisfaction is offering a word.
Frequently asked questions
Why do guarantees need to be written if the partner is trustworthy?
Because trust is what a written guarantee produces, not what it replaces. A commitment with a definition, a measure and a remedy can be checked, which is what makes it trustworthy. A verbal assurance of quality cannot be checked, and it evaporates when people change. It also protects the supplier: a written commitment sets the edge of what was promised, so nobody argues later about what was meant.
What is the remedy if one of these is missed?
Three of them carry a remedy, and the remedy is work rather than money: a transfer completed within five business days, a defect fixed at no charge for six months after acceptance, and work continued at no charge until the delivery standard is met. A credit would turn a missed commitment into a discount, which is the most expensive form and the least useful to you. There are no service credits, and if you need one, ask for it before signing rather than after.
Why not guarantee results like rankings?
Because we do not control search engines, competitors, markets or your product, and a guarantee of something outside anyone's control is either a marketing phrase or a trap in the small print. We commit to the foundations that make results possible and report the results honestly. Anyone guaranteeing a ranking is guaranteeing something they cannot deliver.