Terms of Service

1. Who we are

Sidewalk ("we", "us", "our") builds and hosts websites for small businesses. When you subscribe, we design, build, host, and maintain a website for your business for as long as your subscription is active. These terms govern that relationship. By signing up or using the service, you agree to them.

2. The service

We produce a website based on the intake information you submit, host it at a Sidewalk subdomain (or a custom domain you connect), and apply edits you request through the dashboard. What is included at each tier is described on our pricing page and is subject to change on advance notice.

Scope of the initial build. Your first draft is a one-pass custom design produced from your intake. We do not iteratively redesign the first draft; once delivered, further changes are made through the ongoing edit workflow (copy, images, layout, new pages) included in your subscription. A full rebuild from a fresh intake is available on Pro (quarterly, on the calendar) or as a one-time add-on on any plan. We reserve the right to decline requests that would amount to an unpaid re-do of the initial build.

Third-party services performed on your behalf (Google Business Profile and similar). Plans that include Google Business Profile setup (currently Growth and Pro) or other third-party listing services authorize us to act as your designated agent with those services. You grant us permission to create, claim, edit, verify, and manage your Google Business Profile listing and any similar third-party business listing on your behalf, using information you provide and content we produce from your intake. Final ownership of the listing remains with you; we operate it as your manager. You remain responsible for the accuracy of the information you supply and for any representations made on those listings. You can revoke this authorization at any time by cancelling the subscription or emailing help@sidewalksites.org, at which point we will transfer primary ownership back to you and remove our manager access.

3. Your account and content

You are responsible for the accuracy of the information you provide, for keeping your login credentials secure, and for the content we publish on your behalf. You warrant that any text, images, logos, or other materials you submit are yours to use, or that you have the rights to use them. You grant us a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to reproduce, display, host, and process that content for the purpose of operating your website and providing the service.

Aggregated data. You also grant us the right to use business information you submit (such as industry, location, service categories, pricing structures, and operational details) in aggregated or de-identified form for product improvement, market research, and the creation of aggregate datasets. These uses will not identify you or your business by name, contact information, or account credentials. This license survives cancellation of your account with respect to any aggregated or de-identified data already produced.

4. Billing and cancellation

Subscriptions are billed monthly in advance through Stripe. Payment is due on the subscription date. If payment fails, we may suspend the site after notice. You may cancel at any time from your billing dashboard. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period. Your site goes offline after cancellation. We do not issue pro-rata refunds for partial months.

If you wish to keep the website code and host it yourself after cancellation, a one-time export fee may apply as published on the pricing page.

5. Acceptable use

You agree not to use the service to publish content that is illegal, infringing, defamatory, harassing, or otherwise harmful. We may refuse or remove content that violates these rules, with notice where reasonable. Repeated or severe violations are grounds for immediate suspension without refund.

6. Availability and limits

We aim for high uptime but we do not guarantee a specific service level. We may schedule maintenance or take the service down for short periods. We are not liable for losses caused by downtime, third-party outages, or events beyond our reasonable control.

7. Intellectual property

The Sidewalk brand, platform, tooling, and proprietary code remain ours. The finished website we deliver, including its original text and design, is licensed to you for the duration of your subscription. On cancellation, the license ends unless you pay the export fee to retain rights to the produced code.

8. Warranties

The service is provided "as is." We do not warrant that the service will be uninterrupted, error-free, or fit for any particular business outcome. To the maximum extent permitted by law, we disclaim all implied warranties.

9. Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, our aggregate liability to you for any claim arising out of or related to the service is limited to the amount you paid us in the twelve months preceding the claim. We are not liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages.

10. Annual billing and refunds

If you purchase an annual subscription, you will be billed in advance for the full twelve month period. If you cancel before the end of the billing period, you will receive a pro rata refund for the remaining full, unused months. Partial months are not refunded. Refunds will be issued to the original payment method within fourteen (14) business days of cancellation. Any discounts applied to the annual plan will be recalculated at cancellation, and the refund amount will be based on the number of months used at the applicable monthly rate.

11. Copyright and DMCA

We respect intellectual property rights. If you believe content hosted on our service infringes your copyright, send a written notice to help@sidewalksites.org containing: (a) identification of the copyrighted work, (b) the URL where the allegedly infringing material appears, (c) your contact information, (d) a statement of good faith belief the use is unauthorized, and (e) a statement under penalty of perjury that your notice is accurate and you are the copyright owner or authorized to act on their behalf. Upon receipt of a valid notice, we will remove or disable access to the material and notify the user. Repeat infringers will have their accounts terminated.

12. Dispute resolution

Before filing any formal proceeding, you agree to contact us at help@sidewalksites.org and attempt to resolve the dispute informally for at least thirty (30) days. If we cannot resolve the dispute informally, you and Sidewalk agree to resolve any claim through final and binding arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association under its Consumer Arbitration Rules. Either party may bring an individual action in small claims court if the claim qualifies. All disputes will be conducted on an individual basis, not as a class or representative action.

13. Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of the State of Iowa, without regard to conflict of law provisions. Any claim or cause of action arising out of or related to the service must be filed within one (1) year after such claim arose.

14. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms. If we make material changes, we will notify you by email or through the dashboard. Continued use after the notice means you accept the updated terms.

15. Contact

Questions about these terms: reach us at help@sidewalksites.org.