Terms of Use

Last updated: 18 September 2026

Welcome to Shop.mw. These Terms of Use ("Terms") govern your access to and use of the Shop.mw website, search engine, static website builder, subdomains, and related services (collectively, the "Service"). By using the Service, you agree to be bound by these Terms.

Shop.mw is owned and managed by JADE IT, a registered company based in Blantyre, Malawi.

1. About Shop.mw

Shop.mw functions as both a search engine and discovery platform focused on Malawian content, as well as a hosted static web publishing environment. The Service indexes publicly available web pages, news articles, business listings, music, events, and other content published on the internet, with a focus on Malawian websites and content relevant to Malawi.

We also allow users to build static merchant sites via provided theme templates, register application routing subdomains, submit RSS feeds and websites for crawling, create microsites, publish posts, join and monetize groups, and interact with content through our platform.

2. Acceptance of Terms & Identity Traceability

By accessing or using Shop.mw, creating an account, or provisioning a store, you agree that:

• You have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms.
• You are at least 18 years of age, or have consent from a parent or guardian.
• Google Authentication & Verification: Account creation and store deployment rely exclusively on Google Sign-In. You acknowledge that every subdomain storefront, published item, and account action is linked to your verified Google unique account identifier.
• You will use the Service in full compliance with all applicable laws of Malawi and any other jurisdiction that applies to you.
• You will not use the Service for any unlawful, harmful, deceptive, or fraudulent purpose.

3. Subdomain Provisioning & Static Builder Architecture

3.1 Subdomain Legal Nature

Neither Shop.mw nor JADE IT is a domain registrar, domain reseller, or ICANN/Registry-accredited domain provider, and should not be regarded as such.

Shop.mw markets subdomains (e.g., yourbrand.shop.mw) as "free domains" or "starter domains" or "micro sites" purely for onboarding simplicity, user convenience, and branding clarity. You explicitly acknowledge and accept that:

• Subdomains (e.g., store.shop.mw) are platform-managed routing endpoints hosted exclusively on JADE IT infrastructure. Provisioning a subdomain grants a limited, revocable, non-exclusive license to utilize our hosted application endpoints and display template content exclusively within our platform.
• Subdomains are not standard TLD domain name registrations. They carry no WHOIS data, cannot be transferred, cannot point externally, cannot export DNS control records (NS, A, CNAME), and cannot be re-routed to third-party web hosting providers.
• Provisioning a subdomain does not transfer DNS ownership, registry rights, or trademark ownership to the user. JADE IT maintains sole authority over domain configuration and platform routing.

3.2 Website Builder Scope (No cPanel / General-Purpose Web Hosting)

Shop.mw provides a hosted website and store builder through web forms and theme templates. The standard store feature is currently free to use, subject to these Terms and the features available on the platform.

• Shop.mw does not provide traditional cPanel hosting, SSH access, FTP/SFTP access, or unrestricted custom server-side script execution (such as PHP, Python, or Node.js).
• Users may not attempt to gain unauthorised database access, root access, server credentials, or access to another user's data.
• Websites and stores operate within the functionality and technical limits of Shop.mw's builder and selected theme.

3.3 Store Feature and Premium Add-ons

The standard store feature is currently free. Optional premium add-ons are available for MWK 50,000 per year. Depending on availability and the offer displayed when you subscribe, these add-ons may include:

• Sell with PayChangu: enable online payment functionality for your store through the supported PayChangu integration.
• File storage: upload and make files available through supported website features, with up to 1 GB of storage.
• Remove ads: remove Shop.mw advertising from the eligible website or store experience.

Purchasing eligible premium add-ons activates access to premium themes, subject to the options shown in the builder. Add-on availability, included features, storage limits, payment-provider requirements, and renewal terms are those displayed at the time of purchase. The annual price covers the premium add-on offer as presented in the Shop.mw interface; check the checkout page for the exact package and any applicable taxes or third-party charges.

PayChangu services are subject to PayChangu's own eligibility requirements and terms. Shop.mw does not guarantee payment approval, settlement timing, or uninterrupted availability of a third-party payment service. Users must not describe a store as accepting online payments until the relevant payment feature has been successfully enabled.

4. Content Indexing and Web Crawling

4.1 What we index

Shop.mw operates an automated web crawler (identified as ShopMWBot) that visits publicly accessible web pages to build a searchable index. The crawler focuses on:

• Websites using the .mw top-level domain and its variants (.co.mw, .ac.mw, .gov.mw, .org.mw, .net.mw, .edu.mw, .com.mw)
• Selected non-.mw websites that publish Malawian content
• Publicly available news feeds and RSS sources
• Websites and RSS feeds submitted by users through their profile

4.2 How the crawler behaves

• Our crawler respects robots.txt directives by default.
• We make reasonable efforts to avoid overloading servers by limiting request rates.
• We identify ourselves with a descriptive User-Agent string: ShopMWBot/1.0 (+https://shop.mw/bot).
• We do not bypass authentication, paywalls, or access restrictions.
• We only index content that is publicly accessible without login.
• We throttle per-domain requests to a single concurrent connection with a delay between requests.

4.3 What we do not index

• Private, password-protected, or login-required pages
• Content behind paywalls
• Personal data not intended for public view
• Facebook, Instagram, and other social media content (we do not crawl social platforms)

4.4 Submitting your website for crawling

Registered users can submit their own website for crawling directly from their profile page (under Profile → Submit your website for indexing). This lets website owners ensure their content is discovered without waiting for the crawler to find it organically.

When you submit a website through your profile, you agree that:

• You own the website or have permission from the owner to submit it for indexing.
• The website is publicly accessible and does not require login to view its main content.
• The website does not contain illegal content, malware, phishing pages, or deceptive material.
• You will not submit URLs you do not control in order to spam, harass, or impersonate another site.

You can choose a crawl frequency when submitting: every 6 hours, 12 hours, daily, weekly (default), or monthly. You can remove your submitted site at any time from your profile — once removed, we stop crawling it on the next crawl cycle and remove the associated crawl entry.

Submitted websites are subject to the same crawl rules as all other indexed content. We reserve the right to reject, pause, or remove any submitted site that violates these Terms or causes technical, legal, or reputational issues for the Service.

4.5 User-submitted RSS feeds

Users can also submit RSS feeds through their profile. When you submit an RSS feed, the site hosting that feed is automatically added to our crawl queue at priority level 7 (below our curated Malawi news and government sources, but above weekly newsletters). This ensures that user-contributed sources are indexed but do not overwhelm the crawler with low-frequency content.

You can delete any RSS feed you have submitted at any time, which also removes its associated crawl entry.

5. Opting Out of Indexing

5.1 Alternative: robots.txt

You may also block our crawler by adding the following to your site's robots.txt file:

User-agent: ShopMWBot
Disallow: /

We honor this directive. Combined with an email opt-out, this ensures your content is never indexed.

6. Strict Brand, Content, and Anti-Phishing Prohibitions

Shop.mw maintains zero tolerance for deceptive practices, corporate squatting, and financial fraud. Users constructing storefronts or submitting content must strictly comply with the following prohibitions:

6.1 Brand Name Squatting & Trademark Impersonation

• Registering subdomains that squat on registered business names, trademarks, or public entities in Malawi or globally without documented ownership authorization is strictly prohibited.
• Impersonating local merchants, established businesses, government agencies, or public figures will result in immediate subdomain forfeiture.

6.2 Web Design, Brand Mimicry & Visual Phishing

• Deceptive brand imitation: You must not design or publish a website, store, page, template, graphic, or other interface that deceptively mimics a known brand, including mobile network operators, mobile-money services, banks, government agencies, or other established organisations. This includes copying brand identities, logos, layouts, colours, user-interface elements, or official-looking pages in a way likely to mislead visitors into believing your site is operated, approved, or affiliated with that organisation.
• Telecom and financial impersonation: You must not clone or impersonate Malawian financial institutions (including National Bank of Malawi, FDH Bank, Standard Bank, and NBS Bank), mobile network operators, or mobile-money services (including Airtel Money and TNM Mpamba), especially to solicit payments, PINs, passwords, one-time codes, or other credentials.
• Credential harvesting: Fake login screens, bogus payment forms, and fraudulent PIN/password prompts are prohibited.
• Legitimate design work: This rule does not prohibit lawful commentary, comparison, reporting, or clearly authorised brand work, provided it does not mislead users or infringe applicable rights.

6.3 Financial Scams & Fraudulent Promotions

• Publishing text blocks, listings, or group posts promoting fake giveaways, rapid return investment schemes ("pyramid schemes"), unauthorized loan syndicates, or deceptive money-doubling promotions is strictly forbidden.
• Soliciting advance payments for non-existent goods or posing as an unauthorized agent for foreign or local suppliers may trigger referral to Malawian law enforcement.

6.4 Reserved Brand Policy & Verified Owner Onboarding

To protect public safety, prevent consumer fraud, and preserve corporate brand integrity, Shop.mw maintains an automated registry of restricted brand names, financial trademarks, public institutional labels, and national commercial identifiers. Subdomain provisioning matching these reserved terms is automatically blocked during account registration.

Notice to Authentic Brand Owners & Corporate Entities: If you are the authorized representative or legal rights holder of an established local or international trademark, business entity, or public service currently restricted on our platform, we welcome you to claim your dedicated merchant space.

We offer verified corporate onboardings, custom subdomain assignments, and premium marketplace placement for authenticated brands operating in Malawi. To initiate domain reservation, brand verification, or custom storefront deployment, please contact our legal and corporate relations team at:

Brand Verification Desk: jadegraphicsmw@gmail.com

Upon receipt of official legal verification (such as corporate registration documents or a formal letter of authorization), JADE IT will assign and deploy your verified corporate storefront on Shop.mw.

7. User-Submitted Content & Storefronts

Shop.mw allows users to submit content, including RSS feeds, website URLs for crawling, posts, storefront static content, files, advertisements, group content, and monetized group memberships. When you submit or publish content, you agree that:

• You own the content or have full legal permission to publish and commercialize it.
• The content is not illegal, defamatory, misleading, deceptive, or harmful.
• The content does not infringe any copyright, trademark, or other intellectual property right of any party in Malawi or internationally.
• The content contains no malware, tracking scripts, spam, or deceptive outbound links.
• You grant Shop.mw a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to display, host, index, and distribute the content across the platform.

8. Monetized Groups and Payouts

Shop.mw allows group owners to create paid groups where members pay a membership fee (one-time, monthly, or yearly) to join. This section explains how revenue from paid groups is shared, when payouts are issued, and what happens if a group is removed or closed.

8.1 Revenue share

When a paid group collects membership fees from members, Shop.mw retains a platform fee and distributes the remainder to the group owner. The default split is:

The exact revenue-share percentage for a specific group is stored on the group itself and is displayed to the group owner in their dashboard. Shop.mw may adjust the default revenue share in future, but changes will not apply retroactively to fees already collected.

8.2 Where earnings accumulate

All earnings from paid group memberships accumulate in the group owner's Shop.mw wallet (visible on your profile). Your wallet balance is your current earned amount after platform fees, before any pending withdrawals.

Wallet balances are not bank accounts and do not earn interest. They represent money owed to you by Shop.mw, payable according to the thresholds and schedule below.

8.3 Payout threshold

8.4 Payout schedule

Payouts are processed on the following schedule:

• Requests: Submit a payout request from your wallet when your balance meets or exceeds MWK 50,000.
• Processing window: Payout requests are reviewed and processed within 7 to 14 working days.
• Payout method: Mobile money (Airtel Money, TNM Mpamba) or bank transfer, at Shop.mw's discretion based on availability.
• Currency: All payouts are issued in Malawian Kwacha (MWK).

8.5 Refunds and reversals

If a member's payment is refunded, reversed by the payment processor, or confirmed as fraudulent, the corresponding amount (including any share already credited to the group owner) may be deducted from the group owner's wallet. If the wallet has insufficient funds, the balance may become negative, and future earnings will first offset the deficit before new payouts are issued.

8.6 Group deletion or closure

If a paid group is deleted or deactivated:

• Any wallet balance already earned by the group owner remains theirs and is subject to the same payout threshold and schedule.
• Members with active paid memberships that have not yet expired may be entitled to a pro-rata refund at Shop.mw's discretion, subject to the platform's refund policy.
• Shop.mw is not obligated to compensate group owners for future earnings that would have occurred had the group remained active.

8.7 Prohibited monetization

Paid groups may not be used to sell or promote:

• Illegal goods or services
• Adult content or sexual services
• Financial scams, pyramid schemes, or fake investment opportunities
• Counterfeit goods or pirated media
• Anything that violates Malawian law or the policies of our payment processors

Groups found in violation may be removed, and associated wallet balances may be frozen pending investigation. Shop.mw reserves the right to withhold payouts from groups engaged in fraudulent or prohibited activity.

8.8 Taxes

You are responsible for any taxes owed on income you receive from Shop.mw in accordance with the laws of Malawi. Shop.mw does not withhold taxes on your behalf unless required by law to do so. If you are unsure about your tax obligations, please consult a qualified accountant.

9. Advertisements

Shop.mw displays advertisements from third parties and from users who purchase ad packages. Advertisers are responsible for ensuring their advertisements comply with applicable laws, including consumer protection and advertising standards in Malawi.

Shop.mw is not responsible for the content, products, or services offered by advertisers. Any transaction between a user and an advertiser is solely between those parties.

10. Intellectual Property

All original content on Shop.mw — including the site design, static site builder software, core templates, code, logos, branding, and user interface — is owned by JADE IT and protected by copyright law. You may not copy, modify, distribute, reverse engineer, or reuse this material without written permission.

Indexed third-party content remains the property of its original owners. Shop.mw displays snippets and links for search and discovery purposes only, consistent with fair use and standard search engine practice.

11. Copyright Complaints

If you believe content indexed or displayed on Shop.mw infringes your copyright, please contact us at jadegraphicsmw@gmail.com with:

• Identification of the copyrighted work
• The URL(s) of the infringing content on Shop.mw
• Your contact information
• A statement that you have a good-faith belief the use is unauthorized
• A statement, under penalty of perjury, that the information is accurate and you are the copyright owner or authorized to act on their behalf

We will review and respond to valid copyright complaints promptly, and remove infringing content where appropriate.

12. Limitation of Liability

Shop.mw is provided "as is" and "as available". We make no guarantees regarding:

• The accuracy, completeness, or reliability of search results or indexed content
• Continuous, uninterrupted, or error-free operation of hosted subdomains or the static builder
• The availability or accuracy of third-party content linked from the Service
• The financial success of any merchant storefront, paid group, advertising campaign, or monetization effort

To the maximum extent permitted by Malawi law, JADE IT shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, or consequential damages arising from your use of the Service, including lost revenue, site downtime, or unpaid/disputed group earnings.

13. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. When we do, we will revise the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. Continued use of the Service after changes are posted constitutes your acceptance of the updated Terms.

If changes are material — particularly changes to merchant hosting restrictions, revenue share, payout thresholds, or payout schedules — we will make reasonable efforts to notify affected users in advance.

14. Absolute Right to Terminate & Takedown Protocol

JADE IT reserves the unconditioned right to immediately suspend, disable, or permanently erase any account, store, or subdomain without prior warning, at our sole discretion, if:

• The subdomain or user content violates any clause of these Terms.
• The subdomain is identified in phishing, visual mimicry, brand squatting, or financial scamming.
• The subdomain attracts malicious security flags or inclusion on global blacklists (e.g., Google Safe Browsing, Spamhaus, PhishTank).
• Directed to do so by Malawian law enforcement, regulatory bodies, or legal court orders.

If your account or store is terminated for malicious, fraudulent, or illegal activity, any outstanding wallet balance or monetization earnings will be permanently forfeited and frozen.

15. Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of Malawi. Any disputes arising from your use of Shop.mw shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Malawi.

16. Contact