Terms & Policies.

1.1 Agreement. By creating an account, purchasing a plan, or using any service provided by equallyoked. ("we", "us", "our"), including Yoke Builder, you ("you", "the client") agree to be bound by these Terms of Service. If you do not agree, do not use our services.

1.2 Services. We provide website building tools (Yoke Builder), custom website development, domain registration assistance, hosting, email hosting, newsletter delivery, and related digital services.

1.3 Eligibility. You must be at least 18 years of age and capable of entering into legally binding contracts under South African law to use our services.

1.4 Account responsibility. You are responsible for maintaining the security of your account credentials. You are liable for all activity that occurs under your account.

1.5 Payment. Subscription fees are billed monthly in South African Rand (ZAR). Payment is required to activate your account and access hosting services. Failed payments may result in service suspension after a 7-day grace period.

1.6 Service availability. We aim for high uptime but do not guarantee uninterrupted service. Scheduled maintenance may occur and we will endeavour to provide reasonable advance notice.

1.7 Modifications. We may update these terms at any time. Material changes will be communicated via email. Continued use of the service after notification constitutes acceptance.

1.8 Governing law. These terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of South Africa, and any dispute shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the South African courts.

2.1 Data we collect. We collect: your name, email, phone number (optional), payment information (processed by PayFast — we do not store card details), website content you create, and anonymous analytics (device ID, page views, referrer).

2.2 How we use your data. Your data is used to: provide and improve our services, process payments, communicate service updates, send transactional emails (account confirmations, ticket updates), and, if opted in, deliver newsletters.

2.3 Data sharing. We do not sell or share your personal data with third parties, except: (a) payment processors (PayFast) to complete transactions; (b) as required by South African law or court order.

2.4 Data retention. Account data is retained for the duration of your account. Upon account closure, personal data is deleted within 90 days, except where retention is required by law (e.g., financial records for 5 years per SARS requirements).

2.5 Cookies & tracking. We use a random anonymous device ID stored in your browser's localStorage to count unique visitors. No personal information, no IP addresses, no third-party cookies. You can clear this by clearing your browser storage.

2.6 Your rights (POPIA). Under the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA), you have the right to: access your personal information, request correction, request deletion, object to processing, and lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator. Contact us at info@equallyoked.co.za to exercise any of these rights.

2.7 Security. We use SSL encryption on all pages, hashed password storage (bcrypt), and secure database connections. No system is 100% secure, but we take commercially reasonable steps to protect your data.

You may not use our services to:

• Host, promote, or distribute illegal content under South African law
• Distribute malware, phishing pages, or spam
• Infringe on the intellectual property rights of others
• Engage in harassment, hate speech, or incitement to violence
• Host pornographic or sexually explicit material
• Impersonate another person or entity
• Overload or disrupt our infrastructure (e.g., DDoS)
• Resell or redistribute our services without written authorisation

Violation may result in immediate suspension or termination without refund.

4.1 No cancellation fee. You may cancel your subscription at any time from your account settings or by contacting support. There is no penalty or cancellation fee.

4.2 Effect of cancellation. Upon cancellation:

• Your site will remain live until the end of your current billing period.
• After the billing period ends, your site will be taken offline and your hosting will be terminated.
• If you have not purchased your source code (R8,500 once-off), you will lose access to your website, its content, and all associated data. We are not obligated to retain or provide backups after termination.
• If you have purchased your source code, you retain full ownership of that code and can host it independently.

4.3 Refunds. Subscription payments are non-refundable for the current billing period. If you cancel mid-month, you retain service until month-end but no pro-rated refund is issued.

4.4 Source code purchases. Source code purchases are non-refundable once delivered, as digital goods cannot be "returned."

4.5 Custom development. For custom-built sites (by our dev team), cancellation terms are governed by the individual project agreement. Standard hosting cancellation rules apply to the hosting portion.

4.6 Data deletion. After termination, all website data, content, uploaded media, subscriber lists, and analytics are permanently deleted within 30 days. Export your data before cancelling if you wish to retain it.

5.1 Your content. You retain full ownership of all content, images, text, and media you upload to your site. We do not claim any rights to your intellectual property.

5.2 Our platform. The equallyoked. brand, Yoke Builder platform, templates, design system, admin tools, and all underlying code remain the intellectual property of equallyoked. unless explicitly transferred via a source code purchase.

5.3 Source code ownership. When you purchase the source code (R8,500), you receive a perpetual, non-exclusive licence to use, modify, and host that code. You may not resell, redistribute, or licence the code to third parties.

5.4 Template designs. Template designs used within Yoke Builder are licensed for use on your site only while your subscription is active or until source code is purchased. They may not be extracted, copied, or used for other projects without purchase.

5.5 "Built with Yoke Builder". A small, unobtrusive credit link ("Built with Yoke Builder") appears in the footer of sites on the Starter plan. This is removed on Executive and Enterprise plans.