Terms of Service

Last updated: 6 October 2026

The short version

Website Rating is a curated directory of startups. Submitting one doesn't guarantee it gets listed.
Fast Track tiers buy priority review and placement, not a guaranteed listing. Every submission is still reviewed.
If we decline a paid submission, you get a full refund. Once your startup is published, payments are final.
We reject anything hateful, criminal, illegal, adult/sexual, or otherwise abusive, at our discretion.

Who we are & accepting these terms

Website Rating (websiterating.com) is operated by Search Ventures Pty Ltd (ACN 639 906 353), Australia ("we", "us"). By using the site or submitting a startup, you agree to these terms. If you don't agree, don't use the site.

The directory & submissions

Website Rating is a curated directory. Anyone may submit a startup, but a submission is a request, not a right to be listed. We review every submission and decide, at our sole discretion, whether and how to publish it. We may edit, decline, or later remove any listing.

By submitting, you confirm you're authorised to submit the startup and that the information you provide is accurate and not misleading. You grant us permission to display the submitted details (name, website, description, logo/favicon, and public metrics such as Domain Rating) on the site.

Submissions must be in English. The startup name and description you provide, and your website itself, must be in English; we may decline or remove submissions that are not.

You must submit your homepage, not a deep link. The URL you provide must be the root domain of your site (a subdomain of your own domain, such as app.example.com, is fine); links to a specific page, along with any query string or tracking parameters, are rejected. We track and display Domain Rating at the domain level, so a listing always points at the site as a whole. This applies to all tiers, including Fast Track - Fast Track does not buy a link to a chosen landing page.

One submission per site. Please submit a given domain once. Repeat submissions of the same site are rate-limited automatically and may be declined.

Fast Track tiers & what they include

Free submissions enter a standard review queue. Fast Track tiers (Fast Track, Fast Track + Featured, and Fast Track + Interview) buy priority review and additional placement such as faster publication, featured positioning, or a published interview, as described on the pricing page.

Paying does not guarantee that a submission will be listed. Payment expedites and enhances review; it does not remove our right to reject a submission that breaches these terms (see Prohibited content). If we decline a Fast Track submission, we refund the payment in full (see Payments & refunds).

Payments & refunds

Payments are processed by Stripe. Prices are shown at checkout in the stated currency and are exclusive of any taxes unless otherwise noted.

If we decline a paid submission, we refund it in full. The refund goes back to the original payment method through Stripe. Once a submission is published, the service has been delivered and payments are final, including if the listing is later removed for breaching these terms. Nothing here limits any rights you have under applicable consumer law that cannot be excluded.

What we list

Website Rating lists startups and software products with their own website. We don't list:

Websites that aren't in English (the site itself, not just your submission);
Thin keyword sites, including collections of free tools, calculators or generators that exist mainly to rank in search;
Directories, launch boards, listing sites and classifieds;
Link-building, SEO or directory-submission services, and affiliate or review sites;
Projects on a free hosting subdomain (such as *.vercel.app, *.netlify.app or *.github.io) instead of their own domain;
High-risk services: proxy and VPN networks, anonymous messaging, uncensored AI models, rewards or "get paid to" sites, and lending, crypto-lending or funding brokers.

Prohibited content

We will not list, and may remove at any time, submissions that (in our sole judgement) involve or promote:

Hate, harassment, discrimination, or violence toward any group or person;
Criminal activity, fraud, scams, or anything illegal in Australia or the user's jurisdiction;
Adult or sexual services, pornography, or sexually explicit content;
Malware, phishing, or other content designed to harm users or their devices;
Regulated goods or services offered unlawfully (e.g. illicit drugs, weapons, unlicensed financial or gambling services);
Infringement of others' intellectual property, privacy, or other rights;
False, deceptive, or materially misleading claims about the startup.

We also don't list thin keyword sites: single pages that exist mainly to rank for a search term rather than offer a real product or service.

This list is not exhaustive. We may decline or remove any submission we consider inappropriate for the directory, with no obligation to explain. A declined paid submission is refunded in full; a published listing that is later removed is not.

Domain Rating & third-party data

Some listings show a Domain Rating and related metrics sourced from third parties. These figures are provided as-is, may be delayed or inaccurate, and are for general information only. We don't warrant their accuracy and aren't responsible for decisions made based on them.

Disclaimers & liability

The site and its content are provided "as is" and "as available". We've created the content with care but don't guarantee its accuracy, completeness, or that the site will be uninterrupted or error-free. Listing a startup is not an endorsement.

The directory links to external, third-party websites we don't control and aren't responsible for. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we are not liable for any indirect or consequential loss arising from your use of the site, and our total liability to you is limited to the amount you paid us (if any) in the 12 months before the claim.

Intellectual property

Changes, governing law & contact

We may update these terms as the site evolves; changes are posted here with a new "Last updated" date, and continued use means you accept them. These terms are governed by the laws of Australia.

Questions? Use our contact form.