Terms of Service

The Gist

We (the people of Empathysites - operating under Kat Love LLC) provide the therapy website design and hosting service called Empathysites at empathysites.com and would love for you to use it. This summary, "The Gist" provides a general overview of the terms, but the full Terms of Service below govern your use of Empathysites.

Our service is designed to give you access to design and support services while still having ownership over the content of your site. We encourage you to communicate who you are, how you help, and express yourself freely. However, be responsible in what you publish. In particular, make sure that none of the prohibited items listed below appear on your site or get linked to from your site (things like spam, viruses, or hate content).

It is also necessary to be responsible in your handling of potentially sensitive data. Using Empathysites services, products, or sites in a way that does not comply with the medical, sensitive, or personal data security laws of your country, state, or locality is prohibited.

If you find a empathysites.com site that you believe violates our terms of service, please contact us.

The following terms and conditions govern all use of the empathysites.com website, as well as the services and products available through Empathysites, including coaching and consulting as well as the design, writing, development, and hosting of websites. "Your website" refers to any website that we design or host for you.

The empathysites.com website is owned and operated by Empathysites - operating under Kat Love LLC. Access to and use of empathysites.com is subject to your acceptance without modification of all the terms and conditions contained herein, including all other operating rules, policies (such as Empathysites's Privacy Policy), and procedures that may be published from time to time on empathysites.com (collectively, the "Agreement").

Please read this Agreement carefully before accessing or using empathysites.com or any of the services provided by Empathysites. By accessing empathysites.com or using any services or products offered, you agree to be bound by the terms and conditions outlined in this agreement. If you do not agree to all the terms and conditions, you may not access or use empathysites.com or any of the services or products. This Agreement constitutes an offer by Empathysites, and your acceptance is expressly limited to these terms. All services and access to empathysites.com are available only to individuals who are at least 13 years old.

Your Responsibility for Your Empathysites Account

You are solely responsible for maintaining the security of your Empathysites account on the empathysites.com website, including any payment details associated with your account. You agree to keep your account credentials confidential and are fully responsible for all activities that occur under your account. If you become aware of any unauthorized access or use of your account, you must notify Empathysites immediately. Empathysites will not be liable for any damages, losses, or actions resulting from unauthorized use or access of your account.

You must not use your account to engage in unlawful activities or to mislead others. Empathysites reserves the right to modify or remove any account details it deems inappropriate or unlawful, or likely to cause liability to Empathysites.

Your Responsibility for Your Website Login

If you are provided access to the administrative side of your website (the “admin login”), you are responsible for maintaining the security of your login credentials, including the username and password. You agree not to share or disclose your login details to any unauthorized third party.

In the event that your login details are compromised due to your actions, including sharing your password or failure to maintain its security, you are fully responsible for any damages, losses, or unauthorized activity that occurs as a result. Empathysites will not be held liable for any security breaches or damages arising from such incidents. You agree to promptly notify Empathysites of any suspected unauthorized access to your website admin account.

Your Responsibility for Your Website Content

You are responsible for the Content of your website. If you have a blog on your website, post material to your website, post links on the website, request that our support services assist with adding to or updating your website, or otherwise make (or allow any third party to make) material available or published by means of your website (any such material, “Content”), you are entirely responsible for the content of, and any harm resulting from, that Content. That is the case regardless of whether the Content in question constitutes text, graphics, images, an audio file, or computer software. By making Content available or published, you represent and warrant that:

the use, downloading, copying of the Content will not infringe the proprietary rights, including but not limited to the copyright, patent, trademark or trade secret rights, of any third party;
if your employer or publisher has rights to intellectual property you create, you have either (i) received permission from your employer to post or make available the Content, including but not limited to any software, or (ii) secured from your employer a waiver as to all rights in or to the Content;
you have fully complied with any third-party licenses relating to the Content, and have done all things necessary to successfully pass through to end users any required terms;
the Content does not contain or install any viruses, worms, malware, Trojan horses or other harmful or destructive content;
the Content is not spam, is not machine- or randomly-generated, and does not contain unethical or unwanted commercial content designed to drive traffic to third party sites or boost the search engine rankings of third party sites, or to further unlawful acts (such as phishing) or mislead recipients as to the source of the material (such as spoofing);
the Content is not pornographic, does not contain threats or incite violence towards individuals or entities, and does not violate the privacy or publicity rights of any third party;
the Content does not support or promote animal cruelty or market services that involve the forced labor of animals
your blog is not getting advertised via unwanted electronic messages such as spam links on newsgroups, email lists, other blogs and web sites, and similar unsolicited promotional methods;
your blog is not named in a manner that misleads your readers into thinking that you are another person or Service. For example, your blog’s URL or name is not the name of a person other than yourself or Service other than your own; and
you have, in the case of Content that includes computer code, accurately categorized and/or described the type, nature, uses and effects of the materials, whether requested to do so by Empathysites or otherwise.

By submitting Content to Empathysites for inclusion on your website, you grant Empathysites a world-wide, royalty-free, and non-exclusive license to reproduce, modify, adapt and publish the Content solely for the purpose of displaying, distributing and promoting your website. If you delete Content, Empathysites will use reasonable efforts to remove it from your website, but you acknowledge that caching or references to the Content may not be made immediately available.

Without limiting any of those representations or warranties, Empathysites has the right (though not the obligation) to, in Empathysites’s sole discretion (i) refuse or remove any content that, in Empathysites’s reasonable opinion, violates any Empathysites policy or is in any way harmful or objectionable, or (ii) terminate or deny access to and use of your website to any individual or entity for any reason, in Empathysites’s sole discretion. Empathysites will have no obligation to provide a refund of any amounts previously paid.

Your Rights to the Content We Write For You

If your package includes website writing, your written pages are delivered as a finished draft. Revisions and rewrites are not included. You're welcome to edit and personalize your copy and additional writing support may be available as an add-on.

Unless otherwise agreed in writing, Empathysites retains copyright in written content, layout copy, and messaging we wrote as part of your website project.

Upon full payment, you are granted a perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free license to use, reproduce, modify, publish, and distribute that written content for your business without restriction.

Empathysites retains the right to display and reference that written content in portfolios, case studies, and promotional materials as examples of our services. Requests for confidentiality or non-display must be agreed to in writing prior to the start of the project.

Your Rights to the Logo We Design For You

If your purchase includes logo design, the following applies to any logo we create for you.

Unless otherwise agreed in writing, Empathysites retains copyright in the logo and any related brand assets we design as part of your project. Upon full payment, you are granted a perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free license to use, reproduce, modify, publish, and distribute that logo for your business without restriction, including use on your website, signage, print materials, and marketing. This license continues even if you later cancel your Empathysites services.

You are responsible for determining the availability of, and for registering, any trademark based on your logo. Empathysites does not conduct trademark searches and does not guarantee that a logo is free of conflict with existing marks.

Empathysites retains the right to display and reference the logo in portfolios, case studies, and promotional materials as examples of our services. Requests for confidentiality or non-display must be agreed to in writing prior to the start of the project.

Payment, Renewal, Sessions, Support, and Cancellations

General Terms

You agree to pay Empathysites a one-time fee and an ongoing monthly subscription fee for the service of your choice.

The one-time fee is charged at sign-up and may cover structured support or services around content, planning, writing, or marketing.
The $97/month subscription also begins at sign-up and covers services like technical setup, software, security, project management, and ongoing website assistance.

One-time fees are non-refundable. Subscription fees are billed in advance and renew automatically.

Automatic Renewal

Your $97/month subscription will renew automatically unless canceled. By signing up, you authorize Empathysites to charge the then-current rate using the payment method we have on file. You may cancel at any time as outlined below.

Failed Payments and Account Suspension

If a subscription payment fails, we will attempt to retry the payment and will notify you via email. You are responsible for maintaining a valid payment method and ensuring payments are completed on time.

If payment is not resolved within fourteen (14) days of the initial failed payment, Empathysites may take your website offline, suspend services, and terminate your account.

Upon account termination due to non-payment, your website, files, and backups will be permanently deleted and may not be recoverable.

Empathysites is not responsible for any loss of data, website content, business interruption, or other damages resulting from account suspension or termination due to non-payment.

Support

Email support is available to all active subscribers. We do our best to respond to support requests within 1–3 business days (24–72 hours).

Notice of Changes

Empathysites may update subscription fees and will provide at least thirty (30) days' written notice before any change takes effect.

Cancellations

$97/month Subscription Cancellation

You may cancel your $97/month Empathysites subscription at any time. Cancellation will result in:

The termination of your website and deletion of all related website data
The loss of your license to use the Empathysites design
The end of access to ongoing website assistance
The end of your license to use any Empathysites-provided image packs and custom visual elements

Cancellations take effect at the end of your current billing cycle. No refunds are provided for partial months or unused time.

One-time Fee Policy

The one-time fee is non-refundable once paid. This fee secures your access to structured support, services, and materials. If you decide not to move forward or delay your project:

No refunds will be issued
Your $97/month subscription will continue unless you cancel

Session Rescheduling Policy

Some packages include a Writing Planning & Interview and coaching sessions may be purchased separately. For either:

We require at least 48 hours' notice to reschedule or cancel. With that notice, rescheduling is free.
A session canceled or missed with less than 48 hours' notice is forfeited. Rebooking requires a rescheduling fee at our then-current rate, which we may waive at our discretion.
Rescheduling may delay your project, since sessions are typically booked several weeks out.

Project Timeline and Inactivity

Your website design begins once we have everything we need from you: your website content including words and images.

While your monthly subscription is active, there's no deadline for getting those to us as long as we can reach you.

If six months pass with no response from you after our last delivery or check-in, we'll consider the project inactive and close it. Closing the project pauses the build only. Your subscription continues unless you cancel. Reopening a closed project requires a $250 restart fee.

If you cancel before your site launches, your one-time fee isn't refunded, and resuming later requires a new purchase, quoted based on what has already been delivered.

Add-On Domains

Add-on domain registration and management ($30/year) is billed separately from your primary subscription and follows different cancellation policies.

Add-ons may be canceled at any time prior to the renewal date
No refunds are issued once the new billing cycle begins
If you cancel your main Empathysites service, ownership of any registered add-on domains will be transferred to you upon request

Provided Images

As part of your website design, Empathysites may provide a curated image pack created using AI image generation tools.

You may select one image pack as part of your initial website design. Image pack selection is part of the design process and is not available after your website has been built, including for existing clients whose websites were completed before image packs were offered.

Image packs are licensed for use, not sold or transferred to you. You are granted a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to use the images in your selected pack solely on the Empathysites-designed website and blog at your primary domain with us, and only while your account is active.

This license does not permit you to: use the images on any other website, domain, or platform; use them in any other marketing, print, or promotional materials; modify, alter, or create derivative versions of the images; or sell, redistribute, sublicense, or share the images with any third party.

Image packs are curated as complete sets. Individual images within a pack are not swapped, substituted, or rearranged. If our image packs are not the right fit for your practice, you are welcome to source your own images instead. Any images you source yourself are your responsibility to license appropriately.

Upon cancellation or termination of your account, your license to use Empathysites image packs and custom visual elements ends. Unlike the written content you provided yourself, which remains yours, image packs and custom visual elements are part of the website design and do not transfer to you. You may not download, retain, or reuse these images after your account ends.

Because these images are created with AI tools and offered as shared image packs, they are not exclusive to you. Other Empathysites clients may use the same images on their websites. AI-generated images also may not qualify for copyright protection, so we cannot promise exclusive use of any image.

Separately, AI image tools can occasionally produce people who resemble real individuals by coincidence. We review image packs with care to avoid this but cannot warrant that every image is entirely free of resemblance to any real person.

In some cases, Empathysites may also create custom visual elements for your specific website project rather than providing a premade pack. This may include custom-generated images, textures, background elements, icons, or illustrations. In creating these elements, Empathysites may reference images you provide. All such elements are part of your website design and are licensed under the same terms as image packs described in this section.

If you wish to use stock photography or other images beyond the pack we provide, you are responsible for securing the appropriate licenses directly from the provider of your choice.

Some older Empathysites websites may include images originally provided through Death To The Stock Photo(opens in new tab) under our previous agency license. Those images remain licensed for ongoing use on those websites only.

Accessibility Disclaimer

We do not guarantee that the websites we design or develop will meet specific accessibility standards, such as the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), or Section 508 compliance. While we can provide general advice or resources upon request, ensuring compliance with any applicable accessibility laws or guidelines is your responsibility.

Third-Party Services and Tools: We are not responsible for the accessibility of third-party tools, plugins, platforms, or services integrated into your website. You should verify the accessibility of such tools directly with their providers.

Your Responsibility: You are responsible for identifying and addressing any accessibility requirements relevant to your website. However, because we do not permit you to alter the underlying code of the websites we develop, accessibility improvements or compliance measures must be coordinated through us or another qualified service provider. Please note that additional fees may apply for any accessibility-related work.

No Assumption of Liability: We disclaim all liability for any legal claims, damages, or penalties arising from accessibility-related issues, including but not limited to those related to design, development, or content provided by you.

Empathysites.com External Links and Visitor Safety

Empathysites.com has not reviewed and cannot review all content available on websites linked to or from empathysites.com, and is not responsible for their content or use. By linking to external websites, Empathysites does not imply endorsement. Visitors are responsible for taking necessary precautions to protect their computer systems from harmful content, such as viruses, malware, or other destructive elements. Empathysites disclaims any responsibility for any harm resulting from the use of third-party websites or content.

Copyright Infringement

As Empathysites asks others to respect its intellectual property rights, it respects the intellectual property rights of others. If you believe that material located on or linked to by empathysites.com violates your copyright, you are encouraged to notify Empathysites. Empathysites will respond to all such notices, including as required or appropriate by removing the infringing material or disabling all links to the infringing material. Empathysites will terminate a visitor’s access to and use of the Website if, under appropriate circumstances, the visitor is determined to be a repeat infringer of the copyrights or other intellectual property rights of Empathysites or others. In the case of such termination, Empathysites will have no obligation to provide a refund of any amounts previously paid to Empathysites.

Intellectual Property

This Agreement does not transfer any intellectual property from Empathysites to you. All rights, title, and interest in and to Empathysites’ intellectual property, including trademarks, service marks, logos, and any related materials, remain the exclusive property of Empathysites or its licensors.

Specifically, "Empathysites," "empathysites.com," the Empathysites logo, and all other marks or logos associated with Empathysites are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Empathysites or its licensors. Other trademarks, service marks, logos, and graphics used on or in connection with Empathysites.com may belong to third parties.

Your use of Empathysites’ services and the Empathysites website does not grant you any rights or licenses to use Empathysites' trademarks or those of any third parties.

For clarity, this section refers to Empathysites' own brand and marks (such as the "Empathysites" name and logo) and does not affect your rights to a custom logo we design for you, which are described in "Your Rights to the Logo We Design For You" above.

Attribution

Empathysites reserves the right to display attribution links such as ‘Website by empathysites.com,’ photo credits, or font attribution in your blog footer or toolbar. Footer credits and the empathysites.com toolbar may not be removed.

Domain Names

If you are registering a domain name, using or transferring a previously registered domain name, you acknowledge and agree that use of the domain name is also subject to the policies of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (“ICANN”), including their Registration Rights and Responsibilities.

These policies apply if Empathysites is managing and registering your domain on your behalf or not.

When Empathysites Manages Your Domain

Empathysites is not an accredited registrar but will register a domain in your name, manage the domain, and renew the domain yearly on your behalf. By agreeing to Empathysites terms, you authorize Empathysites to be the technical, administrative, and billing contact for your domain while the domain will be registered to you.

If you decide to leave Empathysites, we will help push or transfer your domain to you, your next website developer, or next website solution on your written request in a timely manner. We also will make changes, cancellations, or transfers to your domain name in compliance with ICANN policies (like for instance upon receipt of an order from a court requiring action).

We do our very best to renew domains on time but are not held liable if a domain fails to be renewed due to interruption in service of our registrar, your late payment, or for any other reason.

When You Manage Your Domain In Your Own Account

With Empathysites, you may manage your domain in your own account in a registrar of your choosing. In the case of doing so, Empathysites is not responsible for the ongoing renewal fees for your domain nor is Empathysites responsible for other management or monitoring tasks nor held liable in the case of mismanagement, expiration, or other losses to the domain.

If you are coming to Empathysites with a domain already registered elsewhere, in most cases your domain will remain in it's registrar.

Email Management and Responsibility

You are responsible for the ongoing management, maintenance, and renewal of your email software and services. Empathysites will assist with setting up and managing the necessary DNS records to connect your chosen email service to your website.

However, we do not manage, monitor, or provide support for the email service itself. Empathysites is not liable for any disruptions, outages, or issues related to your email service, including but not limited to DNS record misconfigurations, service interruptions, or problems originating from your email service provider. You are responsible for resolving any email-related issues, including working directly with your email service provider for support.

Data Security

Empathysites and the websites we create including any forms into which a website visitor may insert content are not intended for storage, transmission, or use of or with sensitive personal data, medical data, or protected health information (PHI) be that the data of your clients or of anyone.

By using Empathysites, you acknowledge that the site we have built for you is not secure to the level that may be required for compliance with the appropriate legal and ethical best practices needed to keep such sensitive information secure.

Using any Empathysites service or site in a way that is considered illegal in your state or country on matters of data security is strictly prohibited.

Content Backups

Empathysites includes the regular backup of your website but our backups do not come with a warranty. You are responsible for your website’s content including taking your own separate backups or accepting the potential loss of content should our backups fail. You may reach out to Empathysites support anytime for an export file of your content.

Backups may be deleted upon account cancellation or termination, including termination due to non-payment.

Changes To This Agreement

Empathysites reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to modify or replace any part of this Agreement. It is your responsibility to check this Agreement periodically for changes. Your continued use of or access to empathysites.com and Empathysites services following the posting of any changes to this Agreement constitutes acceptance of those changes. Empathysites may also, in the future, offer new services and/or features (including, the release of new tools and resources). Such new features and/or services shall be subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement.

Termination

Empathysites may terminate your access to all or any part of the empathysites.com website or Empathysites services at any time, with or without cause, with or without notice, effective immediately. If you wish to terminate this Agreement, your empathysites.com account, or Empathysites services, you must cancel your services in alignment with what is outlined in this Agreement. All provisions of this Agreement which by their nature should survive termination shall survive termination, including, without limitation, ownership provisions, warranty disclaimers, indemnity and limitations of liability.

Disclaimer of Warranties

Empathysites.com and the websites we design for you are provided “as is,” without warranties of any kind, express or implied. This includes, but is not limited to, warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement.

We do not guarantee that your website will be error-free or that access will be uninterrupted. You understand that you use the website and any related content or services at your own discretion and risk.

Empathysites provides educational and informational support related to website content, marketing, technology, and strategy. Any guidance we offer about HIPAA, privacy policies, marketing regulations, image licensing, or similar matters is not legal advice. You are responsible for consulting with a qualified professional to ensure compliance with applicable laws and standards in your profession.

Limitation of Liability

In no event will Empathysites, or its suppliers or licensors, be liable with respect to any subject matter of this agreement under any contract, negligence, strict liability or other legal or equitable theory for: (i) any special, incidental or consequential damages; (ii) the cost of procurement for substitute products or services; (iii) for interruption of use or loss or corruption of data; or (iv) for any amounts that exceed the fees paid by you to Empathysites under this agreement during the twelve (12) month period prior to the cause of action. Empathysites shall have no liability for any failure or delay due to matters beyond their reasonable control. The foregoing shall not apply to the extent prohibited by applicable law.

General Representation and Warranty

You represent and warrant that (i) your use of empathysites.com and Empathysites services will be in strict accordance with the Empathysites Privacy Policy, with this Agreement and with all applicable laws and regulations (including without limitation any local laws or regulations in your country, state, city, or other governmental area, regarding online conduct and acceptable content, and including all applicable laws regarding the transmission of technical data exported from the United States or the country in which you reside) and (ii) your use of empathysites.com and Empathysites services will not infringe or misappropriate the intellectual property rights of any third party.

Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Empathysites, its contractors, and its licensors, and their respective directors, officers, employees and agents from and against any and all claims and expenses, including attorneys’ fees, arising out of your use of empathysites.com and Empathysites services, including but not limited to your violation of this Agreement.

Miscellaneous

This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between Empathysites and you concerning the subject matter hereof, and they may only be modified by a written amendment signed by an authorized executive of Empathysites, or by the posting by Empathysites of a revised version.

Except to the extent applicable law, if any, provides otherwise, this Agreement, any access to or use of empathysites.com or Empathysites services will be governed by the laws of the state of California, U.S.A., excluding its conflict of law provisions, and the proper venue for any disputes arising out of or relating to any of the same will be the state and federal courts located in Sacramento County, California. Except for claims for injunctive or equitable relief or claims regarding intellectual property rights (which may be brought in any competent court without the posting of a bond), any dispute arising under this Agreement shall be finally settled in accordance with the Comprehensive Arbitration Rules of the Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Service, Inc. (“JAMS”) by three arbitrators appointed in accordance with such Rules. The arbitration shall take place in Sacramento, California, in the English language and the arbitral decision may be enforced in any court. The prevailing party in any action or proceeding to enforce this Agreement shall be entitled to costs and attorneys’ fees.

If any part of this Agreement is held invalid or unenforceable, that part will be construed to reflect the parties’ original intent, and the remaining portions will remain in full force and effect. A waiver by either party of any term or condition of this Agreement or any breach thereof, in any one instance, will not waive such term or condition or any subsequent breach thereof. You may assign your rights under this Agreement to any party that consents to, and agrees to be bound by, its terms and conditions; Empathysites may assign its rights under this Agreement without condition. This Agreement will be binding upon and will inure to the benefit of the parties, their successors and permitted assigns.

Change log:

August 23, 2026: Removed specific prices, updated session and project timeline policies, and clarified that written pages are delivered without revisions.
June 24, 2026: Added "Your Rights to the Logo We Design For You" covering ownership and licensing of custom logos
May 23, 2026: Revised the Provided Images section to clarify AI image pack inclusion, one-pack selection, scope of use, and that image packs do not transfer to you on cancellation.
April 1, 2026: Added clarification for the Failed Payments and Account Suspension timeline for failed payments, account suspension, website termination, and potential deletion of website data and backups due to non-payment.
February 25, 2026: Added clarification on who owns the words on your site, including client usage rights and Empathysites portfolio permissions.
August 18, 2025: Updated Provided Images section to reflect current use of AI-generated images, clarify client responsibility for stock photo licensing, and retain coverage for legacy Death to the Stock Photo images.
June 28, 2025: Update across terms including payment, cancellations, session policies, support timelines, and add-on domain language.
December 9, 2024: Updated language throughout for clarity. Added Accessibility section.
June 7, 2023: Updated program terms, session rescheduling, and cancellation policies.
February 27, 2023: Added program terms language.
2019–2017: Added and updated policies for Provided Images, Cancellations, Anti-Cruelty/Labor, Data Security, Email, Content Backups, and Domains.
First published: September 15, 2016