Please read these Terms & Conditions carefully before applying to the Swarming Bee Small Business Growth Initiative. They explain how the initiative works, what is included, hosting arrangements, monthly payments, domain registration, renewals and the responsibilities of both Swarming Bee and successful applicants.
By submitting an application, you confirm that you have read, understood and agree to these Terms & Conditions should your application be accepted.
The Swarming Bee Small Business Growth Initiative has been created to support eligible small businesses, start-ups and community organisations by providing access to a professionally designed website without the significant upfront costs normally associated with a new website.
The initiative is intended to help businesses establish a credible online presence while contributing towards the ongoing costs of hosting, maintaining, securing and supporting their website through an affordable monthly managed hosting service.
These Terms & Conditions explain how the initiative operates, what is included, the responsibilities of both Swarming Bee and successful applicants, and the ongoing hosting arrangements. They are designed to ensure complete transparency before any work begins.
By submitting an application, you acknowledge that you have read and understood these Terms & Conditions. If your application is successful, these Terms & Conditions will form part of the agreement between you and Swarming Bee.
The Swarming Bee Small Business Growth Initiative has been created to support genuine small businesses, sole traders, start-ups, charities and community organisations that would benefit from a professionally designed website.
As places within the initiative are limited, every application is reviewed individually. Acceptance is based on project suitability, availability and our ability to deliver the service to the high standards expected by both Swarming Bee and our clients.
Successful applicants accepted onto the Swarming Bee Small Business Growth Initiative will receive a professionally designed website together with the essential services required to launch and maintain a secure online presence. Unless otherwise agreed in writing, the following is included as part of the initiative.
The Growth Initiative is designed to provide an excellent foundation for your online presence. Whilst the package includes everything most small businesses need to launch a professional website, certain services fall outside the scope of the initiative and may require a separate quotation if requested.
The website provided through the Swarming Bee Small Business Growth Initiative is supplied as part of a managed hosting and maintenance service. Whilst there is no upfront website design fee for successful applicants, a monthly hosting fee helps cover the ongoing costs of keeping your website secure, online and performing reliably.
A managed hosting and maintenance fee of £10 per calendar month applies from the date your website goes live.
Successful applicants will be asked to set up a simple monthly standing order before their website is launched. This ensures uninterrupted hosting and removes the need for annual renewal invoices.
The Growth Initiative includes an initial twelve-month commitment to the managed hosting and maintenance service. This commitment allows Swarming Bee to continue providing reliable hosting, security updates, website maintenance and technical support whilst helping to keep the initiative affordable for small businesses.
Once the initial twelve-month period has ended, your website will continue on a rolling monthly basis unless cancelled by either party in accordance with these Terms & Conditions.
There is no requirement to manually renew your hosting each year. Your monthly standing order will simply continue, helping to ensure your website remains online without interruption.
As part of the Swarming Bee Small Business Growth Initiative, one standard domain name is included with your website, subject to availability. A domain name is the web address that visitors use to access your website, for example yourbusiness.co.uk.
If your preferred domain name is already registered or unavailable, we will work with you to find the most suitable alternative. Whilst every effort will be made to secure your preferred choice, Swarming Bee cannot guarantee the availability of any particular domain name.
Following the initial twelve-month period, your domain name renewal will be invoiced separately each year. Renewal costs vary depending on the domain extension (for example, .co.uk or .com) and the registrar's current pricing at the time of renewal. Usually between £5 and £20 per year... Pricing will be transparent upon renewal date.
To deliver your website as efficiently as possible, we rely on applicants providing accurate information and responding promptly throughout the project. Whilst we'll guide you through the process and assist wherever possible, successful delivery is a collaborative effort between Swarming Bee and the client.
The quality and speed of your website project often depends upon how quickly content, approvals and requested information are supplied.
Where suitable content, branding or imagery is unavailable, Swarming Bee may provide a basic solution as part of the Growth Initiative. This may include basic logo creation, content refinement and the use of professional stock photography where appropriate.
Once an application has been accepted, Swarming Bee will work with you to gather the information required to begin your project. Whilst every effort is made to complete websites promptly, each project is unique and delivery timescales will vary depending on its complexity and how quickly information is supplied.
Most Growth Initiative websites are expected to be completed within two to six weeks. This timescale is intended as a guide only and should not be regarded as a guaranteed completion date.
Swarming Bee will keep you informed throughout your project and provide regular updates wherever possible. Our aim is always to deliver your website to a high standard rather than rushing the development process.
The Growth Initiative includes reasonable revisions during the website design and development process. These revisions are intended to help refine the agreed website layout, content and presentation before launch.
Once the project scope has been agreed, requests for major design changes, additional pages or functionality outside the original agreement may be quoted separately before any extra work is carried out.
Swarming Bee believes that every business should have confidence in the ownership of its online presence. This section explains which parts of your website belong to you, which remain the intellectual property of Swarming Bee, and how third-party software is licensed.
Once your website has been completed and your hosting agreement remains active, you retain ownership of your business content, whilst Swarming Bee retains ownership of its own development systems, design methodologies and reusable assets.
Your website may include open-source software, plugins or third-party services that are licensed separately by their respective developers. These remain subject to the licensing terms provided by those software providers.
Whilst we hope every project runs smoothly from start to finish, there may be occasions where either the client or Swarming Bee needs to cancel or suspend a project. This section explains how those situations are handled fairly and transparently.
We always encourage open communication. If an issue arises during your project or hosting agreement, we ask that you contact us as soon as possible so we can work together to find a suitable solution.
Where practical, Swarming Bee will always attempt to contact the client before suspending services. Our aim is to resolve issues amicably wherever possible and avoid unnecessary disruption to your business.
If a hosting agreement ends, website hosting, maintenance and associated services provided by Swarming Bee will also end. Any requests relating to website migration or transfer may be discussed separately and may be subject to additional charges where appropriate.
The Swarming Bee Small Business Growth Initiative has been created to help businesses grow whilst also allowing us to showcase the quality of our work. Unless otherwise agreed in writing, completed websites may be featured within our portfolio and marketing materials.
Showcasing completed projects helps prospective clients understand the quality, design standards and results we deliver. We always aim to present your business professionally and respectfully.
We will never knowingly publish confidential business information or sensitive commercial data. Any examples used will focus on the design, functionality and overall success of the project.
Swarming Bee takes great pride in delivering reliable, professionally designed websites and providing a high standard of customer service. Whilst every reasonable effort is made to ensure the accuracy, security and availability of our services, no website or online service can ever be guaranteed to operate without interruption or unforeseen technical issues.
By participating in the Growth Initiative, you acknowledge that certain aspects of website hosting and online services rely upon third-party providers and technologies that are outside the direct control of Swarming Bee.
Swarming Bee will always use reasonable skill, care and professional judgement when providing services. If an issue arises that is within our control, we'll work promptly to investigate and resolve it wherever reasonably possible.
Swarming Bee respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal information. Any information you provide when applying for the Small Business Growth Initiative or during your website project will be handled responsibly, securely and in accordance with applicable UK data protection legislation.
We only collect the information necessary to assess your application, develop your website, provide ongoing hosting and maintenance services, communicate with you regarding your project and meet our legal or contractual obligations.
For more detailed information about how we collect, process and protect your personal information, please refer to our Privacy Policy available on the Swarming Bee website.
Swarming Bee continually reviews and improves its services to ensure the Growth Initiative remains sustainable, transparent and beneficial for both applicants and existing clients. From time to time, it may be necessary to update these Terms & Conditions or make changes to the initiative itself.
Updates may reflect changes in legislation, technology, hosting services, pricing structures, security requirements or the way the Growth Initiative operates. Wherever possible, any changes will be communicated clearly and implemented fairly.
Any updates to these Terms & Conditions will be published on this page. Continued use of Swarming Bee's hosting and maintenance services following the publication of updated Terms may constitute acceptance of those changes where permitted by law.
We believe transparency builds trust. If anything within these Terms & Conditions is unclear, or you'd simply like to discuss the Small Business Growth Initiative before submitting your application, we'd be delighted to hear from you.
Our aim is to make professional websites accessible to ambitious small businesses, and we're always happy to answer any questions about the initiative, the application process or the services we provide.