Version 2.0 – effective from 19 October 2026
This is an English translation of the Dutch “Algemene voorwaarden” of EM Hosting & Design, provided for convenience. In the event of any discrepancy, the Dutch text prevails (see article 22.1).
1. Definitions
EM Hosting & Design: the sole proprietorship EM Hosting & Design, established at Oesterstraat 50, 4691 KT Tholen, the Netherlands, registered with the Dutch Chamber of Commerce under number 56914792, VAT number NL001735443B26, hereinafter “EM”.
Client: the natural or legal person who enters into an Agreement with EM or to whom EM makes an offer.
Consumer: a Client who is a natural person and is not acting in the course of a trade, business or profession.
Agreement: any agreement between EM and the Client for the provision of Services and/or products, including all amendments and additions thereto.
Services: all work and deliverables of EM, including web design and development, web shops, hosting, domain registration, maintenance and support, SEO and findability, branding and corporate identity, and related work.
Hosting Services: the provision of server space, e-mail, SSL certificates, backups and related facilities, whether or not through hosting partners engaged by EM.
Materials: all works developed or delivered by EM under the Agreement, such as designs, websites, code, texts, images, logos and documentation.
In writing: by letter, e-mail or any other electronic channel by which the content and sender of a message can be established, including WhatsApp.
2. Applicability and amendments
2.1 These terms apply to all offers, quotations, Agreements and Services of EM. The applicability of any terms of the Client is expressly rejected.
2.2 Deviations from these terms are valid only if agreed in writing and apply only to the Agreement for which they were made.
2.3 If any provision proves to be void or voidable, the remaining provisions remain in full force. EM and the Client will replace the provision concerned with a valid provision that approximates the purpose and intent of the original as closely as possible.
2.4 EM may amend these terms. Amendments will be announced in writing at least 30 days before they take effect. If an amendment materially worsens the Client’s position, the Client may terminate the Agreement as of the effective date. For Consumers this right of termination applies to any amendment that is not exclusively in their favour.
2.5 These terms are available at emhostingendesign.nl/algemene-voorwaarden/ and will be sent free of charge on request.
3. Quotations and conclusion of the Agreement
3.1 All quotations and offers of EM are without obligation and valid for 14 days unless stated otherwise.
3.2 An Agreement is concluded when the Client accepts a quotation or offer in writing, when EM confirms an order in writing, or when EM starts performance at the Client’s request.
3.3 Quotations are based on the information provided by the Client. Obvious errors or clerical mistakes in a quotation do not bind EM.
3.4 Verbal agreements bind EM only once EM has confirmed them in writing. This does not apply to Consumers insofar as the law provides otherwise.
4. Performance of the Agreement
4.1 EM performs the Agreement to the best of its knowledge and ability and in accordance with good professional practice. All Services constitute a best-efforts obligation unless a specific result has been expressly promised in writing.
4.2 EM may have work carried out wholly or partly by third parties. EM remains the Client’s point of contact.
4.3 Delivery periods are indicative and are not deadlines of the essence unless expressly agreed otherwise in writing. Exceeding a delivery period does not entitle the Client to damages; in the event of a substantial delay the Client may set EM a reasonable period in writing to perform.
4.4 For websites and web shops EM generally uses WordPress and related third-party themes and plug-ins. The operation and security of such third-party software is governed by the licence and policies of the respective supplier.
5. Obligations of the Client and indemnification
5.1 The Client ensures the timely, complete and correct supply of all information, texts, images, access credentials and other items EM needs for performance. Delays or additional work resulting from late or incorrect supply are for the Client’s account.
5.2 The Client warrants that content supplied by it or placed on its website (texts, photos, videos, logos, data) does not infringe the rights of third parties and is not unlawful. The Client indemnifies EM against all third-party claims and related costs arising from this.
5.3 The Client is responsible for the content of its website, for compliance with legal obligations on it (such as privacy and cookie information, consumer law and VAT disclosure) and for the use that it and its visitors make of the Services.
5.4 The Client keeps its login credentials confidential and reports any (suspected) misuse to EM immediately.
6. Hosting
6.1 EM provides Hosting Services through its own infrastructure and/or carefully selected hosting partners within the European Union. The terms of hosting partners may additionally apply to their services; EM provides these on request.
6.2 EM aims for high availability but does not guarantee uninterrupted operation. Maintenance that may cause interruption is announced in advance where possible and scheduled outside office hours.
6.3 Backups. Hosting Services include a periodic backup of the website and database at the frequency and retention period stated for the package (default: daily, retained for 14 days). Restoration from a backup takes place at the Client’s request. Backups are a safety net and not a substitute for the Client’s own copy: the Client is advised to periodically keep its own export of its data. E-mail is backed up only if expressly stated for the package.
6.4 Acceptable use. The Client may not use the Hosting Services for (a) unlawful or criminal content or activities, (b) sending unsolicited bulk messages (spam), (c) distributing malware or carrying out attacks, (d) infringing the rights of third parties, or (e) use that places a disproportionate load on the servers or other clients. In the event of a violation EM may (temporarily) block the content or service concerned after a warning, or immediately in urgent cases. The Client will be informed as soon as possible.
6.5 Hosting packages may be subject to limits (storage, data traffic, e-mail traffic). In the event of structural exceedance EM will consult with the Client about a suitable package.
6.6 EM may (temporarily) interrupt the Hosting Services where necessary to avert an acute security risk or at the order of a competent authority.
7. Domain names
7.1 EM registers and manages domain names in the Client’s name, acting as an intermediary with the relevant registry or registrar (such as SIDN for .nl). Registration and use are subject to the rules of that body.
7.2 The Client is responsible for the choice and use of the domain name and indemnifies EM against third-party claims (for example under trademark or trade name law).
7.3 EM confirms a domain registration only after it has actually been registered; until then EM cannot guarantee registration.
7.4 Upon termination of the Agreement or on request, EM provides the Client with the details (such as the transfer token) needed to transfer the domain name to another party, provided all amounts due have been paid.
8. Delivery and acceptance
8.1 When (part of) the work is ready, EM makes it available for review, for example in a staging environment.
8.2 The Client has 10 working days after delivery to report defects in writing and in specific terms. Defects attributable to EM are remedied free of charge within a reasonable period.
8.3 The work is deemed accepted (a) once the Client confirms this in writing, (b) when the Client takes the work into use, or (c) if no report is made within the period in article 8.2. Minor defects that do not materially impede use do not prevent acceptance; EM will still remedy them.
8.4 Changes after acceptance, or requests outside the agreed scope, are treated as additional work.
8.5 For Consumers this article does not affect their statutory rights in respect of a defective service or digital content.
9. Additional work
9.1 Work outside the agreed scope or above the agreed number of hours constitutes additional work. EM notifies additional work in advance with an indication of the costs and carries it out only after the Client’s approval, unless it concerns urgent work needed to prevent damage.
9.2 Additional work is invoiced separately at the agreed hourly rate or, failing that, at EM’s rate applicable at the time.
10. Intellectual property and licences
10.1 All intellectual property rights in the Materials are vested in EM or its licensors unless agreed otherwise in writing.
10.2 After full payment of all amounts due for the project concerned, the Client obtains a perpetual, non-exclusive and transferable right to use the Materials developed for it for the purpose for which they were made, including the right to have the website managed and modified by another party. Until then the Materials remain EM’s property and EM may restrict their use.
10.3 Content and corporate identity elements supplied by the Client remain the Client’s property.
10.4 Open-source software (such as WordPress) and third-party themes and plug-ins are subject to their own licence terms. Licences that EM provides under its own (agency) licence are tied to the Agreement with EM; upon termination the Client must obtain its own licence for those components. EM informs the Client on request which components this concerns.
10.5 For logos and corporate identity designs EM transfers, after full payment, the copyright in the final design to the Client unless agreed otherwise. Sketches, concept proposals and rejected variants remain EM’s property.
10.6 EM may use completed projects as references (portfolio, website, social media) unless the Client objects in writing. EM may place a modest credit in the website footer, which will be removed at the Client’s request.
11. SEO, findability and results
11.1 Services in the field of SEO, findability, AI visibility and online marketing are best-efforts obligations. Search engines and AI platforms determine themselves how they display content; EM has no influence over this.
11.2 EM gives no guarantees regarding search engine rankings, visitor numbers, conversion, revenue or other commercial results.
12. Prices and indexation
12.1 All prices are in euros and exclusive of VAT unless stated otherwise. For Consumers prices are stated inclusive of VAT.
12.2 EM may adjust the prices of subscriptions and recurring Services annually in line with the Dutch consumer price index (CBS) and in the event of changed third-party costs (such as licences, data centres or registries). A price increase is announced in writing at least 30 days in advance. In the event of an increase exceeding the CPI the Client may terminate the Agreement as of the effective date.
12.3 A Consumer may rescind the Agreement if EM increases the price within three months of concluding the Agreement, unless the increase results from statutory regulations.
12.4 Fixed-price projects are based on the scope described in the quotation. Changes to the assignment may lead to an adjustment of the price (article 9).
13. Payment, suspension and collection
13.1 Invoices are payable within 14 days of the invoice date unless stated otherwise. For projects EM may request a deposit (50% by default) before commencement and invoice the balance on delivery. Subscriptions are invoiced in advance per period.
13.2 The Client may not set off an invoice or suspend payment, except insofar as the law permits this for Consumers.
13.3 If the payment term is exceeded the Client is in default by operation of law. EM may then charge statutory commercial interest (for Consumers: statutory interest) from the due date.
13.4 If payment is still not made after a written reminder with a period of at least 14 days, EM may suspend its Services, including taking the website offline and blocking e-mail and hosting, until all outstanding amounts have been paid. EM announces this in writing at least 7 days in advance. Reactivation costs may be charged.
13.5 Extrajudicial collection costs are for the Client’s account. For Consumers these are calculated according to the Dutch statutory scale (Besluit vergoeding voor buitengerechtelijke incassokosten) and are due only after the Consumer, following default, has received a free reminder with a 14-day payment term. For business Clients the collection costs amount to 15% of the principal sum with a minimum of € 150, without prejudice to EM’s right to claim the actual costs if higher.
14. Term, renewal and termination
14.1 Subscriptions (hosting, domain names, maintenance, support, licences) are entered into for the agreed initial term. If no term has been agreed, an initial term of 12 months applies.
14.2 After the initial term the subscription continues for an indefinite period. From that point the Client may terminate monthly with a notice period of one month. Early termination during the initial term is not possible, except as provided in articles 2.4 and 12.2.
14.3 Domain name registrations are paid in advance per registration period (usually one year) and run until the end of that period; registration fees already paid are not refundable.
14.4 Termination must be made in writing. EM confirms every termination in writing; without confirmation the termination has not been received.
14.5 Project agreements (such as building a website) end on completion. The Client may terminate a project early; the work performed, costs incurred and capacity reserved up to that point will then be invoiced.
15. Termination by EM and consequences of termination
15.1 EM may terminate or suspend the Agreement in whole or in part with immediate effect in writing, without being liable for damages, if the Client (a) fails to meet its obligations after notice of default, (b) is declared bankrupt, applies for a suspension of payments or ceases its business, or (c) seriously or repeatedly violates the acceptable use rules in article 6.4.
15.2 EM may terminate subscriptions for an indefinite period with a notice period of three months, for example when a service or package is discontinued.
15.3 Exit and transfer. Upon termination of Hosting Services EM will, at the Client’s request and provided all amounts due have been paid, make an export of the website (files and database) and, where applicable, the domain transfer details available within 14 days. This standard export is free of charge; additional migration work (such as moving to another host or transferring e-mail) is carried out by EM as additional work at the applicable hourly rate.
15.4 EM retains the Client’s data for up to 30 days after the end date and then permanently deletes it, unless a longer retention period has been agreed or is required by law. The Client is responsible for securing its data in time within this period.
15.5 Amounts invoiced by EM before termination for work already performed remain due and become immediately payable.
16. Liability
16.1 EM’s liability for damage arising from or in connection with the Agreement is limited to compensation for direct damage, up to a maximum of the amount paid by the Client for the Agreement concerned in the 12 months preceding the event causing the damage (for projects: the project price), with a maximum of € 10,000 per event or series of related events.
16.2 Direct damage means exclusively: the reasonable costs of making EM’s performance conform to the Agreement, the reasonable costs of establishing the cause and extent of the damage, and the reasonable costs of preventing or limiting damage.
16.3 EM is not liable for indirect damage, including consequential damage, loss of profit or revenue, lost savings, reputational damage, loss of or damage to data insofar as a current backup could have prevented this, and damage due to business interruption.
16.4 EM is not liable for damage resulting from (a) incorrect or incomplete information from the Client, (b) acts of the Client or third parties engaged by it, such as the Client’s own changes to the website, (c) failures, outages or data loss at hosting partners, registries, software suppliers or other third parties insofar as EM has no influence over them, or (d) security incidents that have occurred despite reasonable security measures by EM.
16.5 The limitations in this article do not apply if the damage results from intent or deliberate recklessness on the part of EM, nor insofar as the law does not permit a limitation. For Consumers the limitations apply only insofar as this is reasonable under the law.
16.6 Liability is conditional on the Client giving EM written notice of default without delay, and in any event within 30 days of discovery, and granting EM a reasonable period to remedy the shortcoming. Any claim for damages lapses 12 months after the claim arose. For Consumers the statutory periods apply.
17. Privacy and data protection
17.1 EM processes personal data in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and its privacy statement at emhostingendesign.nl/privacyverklaring/.
17.2 Insofar as EM processes personal data on behalf of the Client in performing the Agreement (for example in hosting, e-mail and maintenance), EM is the processor and the Client the controller. EM’s data processing agreement then forms part of the Agreement; EM makes it available when the Agreement is concluded and sends it on request.
17.3 EM takes appropriate technical and organisational measures to secure personal data and notifies the Client without undue delay of data breaches falling under its responsibility.
18. Confidentiality
The parties keep each other’s confidential information (such as business data, access credentials, customer data and pricing arrangements) confidential and use it only for the performance of the Agreement. This obligation continues after termination of the Agreement.
19. Force majeure
19.1 EM is not obliged to perform any obligation if it is prevented from doing so by force majeure. Force majeure includes in any event: failures or outages at data centres, hosting partners, network or internet providers; DDoS and other cyber attacks; power failures; changes to, failures of or discontinuation of third-party software, platforms or APIs (such as WordPress, themes, plug-ins, search engines, social media platforms and payment services); government measures; illness or unavailability of indispensable persons; and any other circumstance beyond EM’s reasonable control.
19.2 If force majeure lasts longer than 60 days, either party may terminate the Agreement in writing for the part not yet performed, without being liable for damages. Services already delivered will be settled pro rata.
20. Additional provisions for Consumers
20.1 Right of withdrawal. A Consumer who concludes an Agreement at a distance (for example online or by e-mail) may withdraw from it within 14 days of conclusion without giving reasons, using the model withdrawal form or another unambiguous written statement.
20.2 If the Consumer expressly requests EM to start performance during the withdrawal period, the Consumer owes a proportionate part of the price for what has been delivered up to the moment of withdrawal. The right of withdrawal lapses if the service has been fully performed within the withdrawal period and the Consumer has expressly declared in advance to waive the right of withdrawal. This applies in particular to domain registrations, which are completed immediately upon registration and cannot be undone.
20.3 Provisions of these terms that limit the statutory rights of Consumers apply only insofar as the law permits. In the event of conflict with mandatory consumer law, the law prevails.
21. Governing law and disputes
21.1 All Agreements are governed by Dutch law. For Consumers residing outside the Netherlands, the mandatory provisions of the law of their country of residence continue to apply.
21.2 The parties will first attempt to resolve any dispute by mutual consultation. Failing that, the dispute will be submitted to the competent court of the District Court of Zeeland-West-Brabant, the Netherlands.
21.3 A Consumer may, within one month after EM has invoked article 21.2 in writing, opt to have the dispute settled by the court competent under the law.
22. Final provisions
22.1 These terms have been drawn up in Dutch. In the event of discrepancies between the Dutch text and a translation, the Dutch text prevails.
22.2 This version (2.0) replaces all previous versions and applies to Agreements concluded on or after 19 October 2026. For existing Agreements this version applies from the next renewal date, or earlier if the Client agrees.
22.3 Questions about these terms may be addressed to info@emhostingendesign.nl or +31 (0)166 700204.
