Terms of Service
Last updated: 2026-10-12
These Terms of Service govern the engagement of website creation, maintenance and hosting services, and online presence management, provided by Rúben Moderno through rubenmoderno.xyz. By commissioning a quote or engaging a service, the Client accepts these Terms. The Portuguese version prevails.
1. Service provider
Rúben Moderno, sole trader, tax number 238403670, registered at Rua do Arneiro 117, 3105-121 Ilha, Pombal. Contact: hello@rubenmoderno.xyz. Activity: website creation and, when contracted, publishing, hosting and maintenance, and management of the Client's Google profile, social media and ads.
2. Scope
The provider builds custom websites and, depending on the plan, provides recurring hosting, maintenance, domain and email management, and management of the Client's online presence. There are five plans. Independente is the website alone; each plan with a monthly fee includes everything in the monthly plan before it: (a) Independente: the site is static, with no owner dashboard and no database, and has no monthly fee. The domain, hosting and email sit in the Client's own accounts (clause 9). After delivery, every change is made by the provider and billed at €75/hour (clause 7); (b) Essencial: a dashboard where the Client changes opening hours, products, address and social links; domain and hosting handled by the provider; email on the Client's domain that only receives (forwarding); backups; site monitoring; email support, answered within 2 business days; (c) Visível: management of the business's Google profile, with 4 posts a month and replies to reviews; a monthly report with the site's visit numbers; 1 content change request a month (clause 8); a mailbox on the Client's domain that sends and receives; phone support too, only for questions and problems with the site (clause 11); (d) Crescimento: management of Instagram and Facebook, with 12 posts a month and replies to comments; the monthly report adds a written analysis with recommendations; (e) Presença Completa: a strategy session, with the site's copy written from scratch; ads management, with setup included — Google Analytics 4, Meta pixel and tracking of contacts (clicks on WhatsApp, phone and directions); a quarterly 1-hour meeting; a direct phone line — change requests are still made by email (clause 8). The plan includes what this clause and the accepted quote describe; anything else is quoted separately. The prices in force are those in the quote. The Google profile, social media and ad accounts belong to the Client and stay in the Client's name. The provider works in them through a manager access the Client grants, without asking for passwords, and the Client may withdraw it at any time. Ads management is included in Presença Completa and can be contracted separately. The ad budget — what is paid to Meta and Google to show the ads — is the Client's: it is not included in any of the provider's prices and is paid by the Client directly to the platforms. The provider does not guarantee ad results: no clicks, visits, contacts or sales are guaranteed.
3. Prices and VAT
All prices are in euros. Prices do not include VAT. While the provider is under the VAT exemption regime (article 53 of the Portuguese VAT Code), no VAT is added. If the provider ceases to be covered by that regime, VAT at the legal rate in force is added to amounts invoiced from that date, including the monthly and annual fees of ongoing plans. The provider notifies the Client in writing as soon as the change occurs, and a Client who does not accept it may leave the plan at the end of the period already paid, even before the minimum term is met. Each quote states the date until which the prices in it hold; after that date they may be revised. Setup fees are one-off. The plan is paid while it is active, always in advance, monthly or, where the quote so states, yearly: each payment covers the period that starts on the day it is charged. In these Terms, what is said of monthly fees also applies to the annual fee, unless clause 8 provides otherwise. An invoice-receipt is issued for each payment.
4. Payment terms and late payment
Website creation is paid in two instalments: 50% on commission, to start the work, and the remaining 50% on delivery, before publishing. Accepted methods: MB Way and bank transfer; other methods, namely card and Multibanco reference, may be made available, and the methods in force are stated in the quote. Online payment, by card or another method offered on the payment link, is processed by Stripe; the provider never sees or stores card details. On plans with a monthly fee, the month following delivery is included in the price of the website: the first monthly fee, or the first year on annual payment, is charged one month after delivery, and each payment covers, in advance, the month or year that starts on the day it is charged. A client who takes only the plan, for a website they already have, pays the same monthly fee without the website creation, and the first charge is made when the service starts, with no month included. That month goes with the building of the website: a Client who comes back with the website already built pays for the plan from the day they come back. If a monthly fee goes unpaid, the provider follows the steps below — always the same ones, counted from the day the payment failed or, where payment is made against an invoice that goes unsettled, from the end of the period it covers — or, if that period is longer than a month, from one month after it starts: (a) on day 1, notice that the payment did not go through; the service carries on unchanged, without prejudice to clause 9 as regards renewal of the domain; (b) on day 15, personal contact, by phone or message; (c) on day 30, changes to the site, support and — on plans that include it — the monthly report are put on hold; the site stays online and working, without prejudice to clause 9 as regards renewal of the domain; (d) on day 60, written notice stating the exact date on which the site goes offline, what is held at the Client's disposal from that date and the deadline to request it; (e) on day 90, the site is no longer hosted by the provider and goes offline. None of these steps is automatic: each one requires a decision by the provider and may be postponed. Settling the account at any point before day 90 restores the service the same day. On the day the site goes offline, the source code and the content are held at the Client's disposal, at no charge and regardless of any monthly fees owed, and are handed over if the Client requests them within 90 days of that date, under clause 9. Transferring the repository depends on the Client naming the account it goes to. After that period, the provider is no longer bound to keep the source code and the content. Personal data the site has collected on the Client's behalf, wherever it is held, is returned to the Client if requested within the same period and deleted at its end, save where retention is required by law (clause 13.1). The domain belongs to the Client and is never withheld: the transfer authorisation code is provided on request, likewise regardless of any outstanding payment. While the plan remains unpaid, the provider does not renew the domain, under clause 9. Amounts owed remain due after the site is taken offline.
5. Client responsibilities and warranties
The Client agrees to provide the required content, photos, access and information in good time. Timelines depend on the delivery of this content. By supplying material for publication, the Client warrants that: (a) the texts, photographs, videos, music, menus, catalogues and price lists are their own work or that they hold written permission from whoever created them, including from the photographer where the material was produced by a third party; (b) people recognisable in the images — staff, customers or third parties — have consented to their likeness being published on the website; (c) the published information, in particular prices, opening hours, address, licences, terms of sale and, in food service, allergens, is true and up to date, and it is the Client's duty to notify the provider of any change; (d) they hold the licences and registrations required for their activity, including registration with the Portuguese electronic complaints book; (e) the material supplied is not unlawful, does not infringe third-party rights such as trade marks, and is not misleading as to what the business offers. The provider does not verify ownership of rights or the accuracy of the information supplied, and publishes in good faith what the Client provides. The Client is responsible for the content they supply and shall indemnify the provider against any loss, fine or cost of defence arising from a breach of the warranties in this clause, save to the extent the loss results from the provider's own fault.
6. Timelines and delivery
The mockup is presented at no cost and with no obligation. One requested through the website form is sent by email within 3 business days; one the Provider makes on their own initiative carries no guaranteed deadline. The full website is ready within 10 days, counted from the moment both conditions are met: the first payment (50%) and the Client's submission of the business information form. If they happen on different dates, the deadline runs from the later one. Publishing to the Client's domain usually happens 1–3 business days after approval. Time the Provider spends waiting for the Client's list of changes does not count towards the 10 days. Timelines are estimates and may vary with Client feedback, scope changes or force majeure.
7. Revisions and scope changes
Each project includes 3 revision rounds, carried out while the website is being built: they start from the mockup and end when the website is approved, before publishing. A round is a single batched list of changes, applied and returned for review. Rounds not used by approval do not carry over. Additional rounds and minor changes are billed at €75/hour, except for the monthly content request included from Visível upwards (clause 8). On Independente, which has no dashboard, any change after delivery, including opening hours and prices, is made by the provider and billed at €75/hour. Pages, features or scope not in the original quote (e.g. online shop, booking system, loyalty programme, AI agents) are quoted separately and only carried out after approval.
8. Maintenance and hosting plans
Recurring plans renew automatically at the end of each paid period: every month on monthly payment, every year on annual payment. The plans with a monthly fee — Essencial, Visível, Crescimento and Presença Completa — carry a minimum term, in return for the work and the domain the plan includes: on monthly payment, three paid monthly fees, counted from the first charge; on annual payment, the first year. The month following delivery, included in the price of the website (clause 4), is not part of that term and does not waive it: if the Client cancels during that month, the plan continues until the end of the minimum term, which is charged. On monthly payment, the accepted quote may set a different minimum term, or none, and what it states applies. Once the minimum term has ended, on monthly payment, the Client may cancel at any time, with no penalty and without notice, effective at the end of the paid period. On annual payment, each year is paid in advance. The Client may ask at any time for the plan not to renew, without notice; the plan stays active until the end of the paid year, and the amount paid is not refunded, in whole or in part, without prejudice to the right of withdrawal in clause 10. Renewal is at the price of the year that is ending, unless the provider announces a new price at least 30 days in advance; a Client who does not accept it may, up to the renewal date, ask for the plan not to renew, at no cost. The online shop is quoted separately. Where the accepted quote includes monthly management of the shop, that fee belongs to the shop: on annual payment it is paid yearly, together with the plan, and it has no minimum term. The Client may drop the shop at any time, without notice, and the plan continues. The shop stays active until the end of the period already paid — the month or, on annual payment, the year — and the amount paid is not refunded, in whole or in part, without prejudice to the right of withdrawal in clause 10. The shop only exists alongside a plan with a monthly fee: if the plan ends, the shop ends with it. Dropping the shop does not delete it: it is switched off. From the end of the paid period, the site no longer takes orders or payments, and the products stay visible as a catalogue, with the WhatsApp button the site has on every plan. The shop's code stays on the site, switched off, and is part of the source code: when the site is no longer hosted by the provider, it goes with the rest of the source code. If the Client wants the shop back, it is switched on again with no new build, which is not paid for again; the shop management fee is paid again from the day it is switched back on. The order history contains personal data of the Client's customers, collected by the site on the Client's behalf: it is handed over to the Client on request and, when the site is no longer hosted by the provider, follows the rules for the rest of that personal data (clause 13.1). From Visível upwards, the plan includes 1 content change request a month, also on annual payment. A request is one email message, so that it is on record, with the content changes the Client wants — text, photos, prices, opening hours, a new product or service — applied in one go. Design changes (colours, typefaces, section layout) and new pages or features are not included. A request not used in a month does not carry over to the next. Anything beyond that is billed at €75/hour. On Essencial, the Client changes in the dashboard whatever the dashboard allows; other changes are billed at €75/hour. When the plan ends, the site is no longer hosted by the provider; the code remains the Client's property and may be hosted elsewhere. The source code and the content are handed over if the Client requests them within 90 days of the end of the plan; after that period, the provider is no longer bound to keep them. Personal data the site has collected on the Client's behalf is returned to the Client if requested within the same period and deleted at its end, save where retention is required by law (clause 13.1).
8.1. Approval of posts
In plans that include posts on the Client's Google profile or social media (Visível and above, clause 2), posts are approved by the Client as follows: (a) by the 25th of each month, the provider sends the Client the posting plan for the following month, as a link that opens on a mobile phone; (b) the Client has 3 working days from sending to approve the plan or ask for changes; (c) each monthly plan includes 1 round of changes, as defined in clause 7; (d) during the first two months of the plan, nothing is posted without the Client's express approval; (e) from the third month, if the Client does not reply within the period in point (b), the provider posts only the neutral posts — opening hours, news, products and behind the scenes of the business. Posts dealing with prices or promotions, with sensitive topics, or mentioning people are only published with the Client's express approval; (f) the Client may at any time ask to return to the rule in point (d), and from that request onwards nothing is posted without their express approval.
9. Ownership and source code
On Independente, the domain is bought by the Client, in the Client's name and in a registrar account of their own, and hosting also sits in an account of their own. The Client gives the provider the access needed to publish the site, or a manager role, and renewing the domain is the Client's responsibility. On the plans with a monthly fee, the domain is registered in the Client's name from the start, with the provider handling the registration and paying the registrar, and that cost is covered by the plan for as long as the contract lasts. The provider paying the registrar does not make the provider the holder: the registration always carries the Client's name and tax number. If, for the Client's convenience or because it cannot be registered in the Client's name at that moment, the domain ends up registered in the provider's name, the provider holds it on the Client's behalf: it is not used for any other purpose, not transferred to third parties, and is transferred to the Client at no additional cost beyond the registrar's fees, within 15 days of a written request — during the contract or at its end. Where the Client is the registrant but the domain sits in a registrar account of the provider's, the Client may at any time require it be moved to an account of their own or to another registrar, and the provider hands over the authorisation code and whatever else is needed, without making it conditional on unrelated outstanding payments. Where the domain is in the Client's own care, renewal is the Client's responsibility. Where it is in the provider's care, the provider renews it only while there is a plan that includes domain management, and after receiving the payment under that plan that covers the date on which the domain expires. Without such a plan — because there never was one, or because it has ended, been cancelled or gone unpaid — renewal is the Client's responsibility: the provider neither carries it out nor charges for it separately. If the payment covering that date has not yet been received, or if on that date there is no plan that includes domain management, the provider notifies the Client at least 30 days before that date. If the payment is not made, or there is no such plan, the provider does not renew the domain and gives the Client, with the notice or on request, the transfer authorisation code, so that the Client can transfer and renew it themselves; any resulting expiry is not attributable to the provider. After full payment of the project, the source code is delivered to the Client (GitHub repository) — and likewise, even where monthly fees remain unpaid, if the Client requests it within 90 days of the day the site goes offline, under clause 4(e). Client-supplied content remains the Client's property. Third-party software, fonts or images remain subject to their licences.
10. Right of withdrawal (consumers)
If the Client is a consumer, they generally have 14 days to withdraw from a distance contract under Portuguese DL 24/2014. As this is a manifestly personalised, made-to-measure service, the article 17 exception applies: by commissioning and requesting immediate start, the consumer expressly consents to that start and acknowledges losing the right of withdrawal once the service is fully performed. If exercised before completion, the consumer pays for the work already carried out.
11. Warranty and support
The provider fixes errors attributable to it. No commercial results, Google rankings, traffic, sales, or results from ads or social media posts are guaranteed. Hosting availability depends on infrastructure providers (e.g. Cloudflare, Vercel). From Essencial upwards, the provider takes backups, monitors the site and provides email support, answered within 2 business days. From Visível upwards, support is also given by WhatsApp and, on Presença Completa, by phone too, only for questions and problems with the site, with no fixed hours; change requests are always made by email, so that they are on record (clause 8). Independente has none of this: hosting is the Client's, and it is for the Client to keep a copy of their content.
12. Limitation of liability
The provider is not liable for indirect damages, data loss caused by third parties, cyber-attacks or third-party service outages. Save for wilful misconduct or gross negligence, the provider's total liability to the Client, whatever the cause, is limited to the amount paid by the Client in the 12 months before the event giving rise to it. No limitation in these Terms removes the mandatory rights of a consumer Client.
13. Data protection
Processing of the Client's own personal data is governed by the Privacy Policy, an integral part of these Terms. The Client may complain to the Portuguese DPA (CNPD — cnpd.pt).
13.1. Processing on the Client's behalf (GDPR art. 28)
Where the website includes forms — reservations, bookings, quote requests, reviews — or audience measurement (visit statistics), the data of the Client's visitors is processed on the Client's behalf. The Client is the controller; the Provider acts as processor, and this clause constitutes the written contract required by GDPR art. 28(3). Subject matter and duration: hosting, operation and audience measurement of the website, for the term of the contract, and keeping the data until the end of the period in (h). Nature and purpose: collecting, storing and forwarding to the Client the requests submitted by visitors, and producing aggregate website usage statistics for the Client. Type of data: for forms, name, email, phone, requested date/time and any free text the visitor writes; for statistics, the page visited, date and time, referring site, country, device type, browser and operating system — with no cookies, nothing written to the visitor's device and no retention of the IP address, which is used transiently to derive the country and then discarded. Data subjects: the business's customers and prospective customers. The Provider undertakes to: (a) process the data only on the Client's documented instructions, including these Terms; (b) ensure that persons with access are bound by confidentiality; (c) apply the technical and organisational measures of art. 32, notably encryption in transit, access control and storage limitation; (d) not engage a sub-processor without authorisation — the infrastructure providers listed in the Privacy Policy being hereby authorised, with prior notice of any change and a right of objection for the Client; (e) assist the Client in responding to data subject rights requests; (f) assist the Client in complying with arts. 32 to 36; (g) notify the Client without undue delay, and never later than 48 hours, upon becoming aware of a personal data breach; (h) at the end of the contract, or on the day the site goes offline under clause 4(e), return to the Client the data the Client requests within 90 days of that date, and delete all of it, wherever it is held, at the end of that period, save where retention is required by law; (i) make available the information needed to demonstrate compliance with these obligations and allow for audits. Audience measurement: statistics are collected by an Umami instance operated by the Provider on its own server, are never combined across different clients' websites, do not feed advertising or visitor profiles and are not shared with third parties. As they involve no storage on the visitor's device and no identification of the visitor, they do not require prior consent; the Client may nonetheless ask for them to be switched off at any time. The data is retained for the term of the contract and, at its end, exported to the Client in an open format if the Client requests it within the period in (h), and deleted from the Provider's server at the end of that period. Where the site has Google Analytics 4 or the Meta pixel, as it does with ads management, they run in the Client's own accounts and under the Client's responsibility: the Provider installs and configures them. Unlike the visit statistics, they use cookies: so the site carries a cookie notice and only switches them on once the visitor accepts. The applicable consent and data transfer rules become Google's and Meta's, which the Client must reflect in their website's privacy policy. When managing the Google profile, social media and ads, the Provider sees third-party data, such as reviews, comments, messages and ad audiences. It processes that data on the Client's behalf, within the Client's accounts and under this clause, and does not copy it out of them. The Provider does not use visitor data for its own purposes, does not sell or transfer it to third parties, and does not use it to contact those visitors.
13.2. Legal texts on the Client's website
The provider writes a draft of the privacy policy and terms of use for the Client's website from the information the Client supplies about their activity. Those texts are always a draft, written by a web development professional, and do not constitute legal advice: the provider does not practise law and is no substitute for a lawyer. The controller of the data collected through the website is the Client, the texts are published in the Client's name, and it is for the Client to validate them — with their own legal support if needed — before publication and whenever their activity changes. The Client is responsible for the content of those texts.
14. Complaints book
This business has an electronic complaints book. You can submit a complaint at https://www.livroreclamacoes.pt.
15. Dispute resolution
For consumer disputes, the consumer may use CNIACC — Centro Nacional de Informação e Arbitragem de Conflitos de Consumo (cniacc.pt), an alternative dispute resolution entity. More information at consumidor.gov.pt. Portuguese law applies; a consumer may bring proceedings before the court of their domicile.
16. Changes to these Terms
The provider may update these Terms. The applicable version is the one in force at the date of commission. The Portuguese version of these Terms prevails over any translation.