Terms Of Service Explained

Before you sign up with a web host, make sure you have read and fully understand their TOS. You do not want to be shocked later to find out you missed important information. Doing so could result in lost money or in having your hosting services terminated. Be certain you thoroughly understand your responsibilities as a hosting client. Also make yourself aware of the responsibilities of your hosting provider.

Keep yourself updated on the TOS even after you sign up with a web host. They will often state in their terms that they have the right to make changes as necessary and when necessary. Therefore, it is important to keep yourself up to date on any changes that are made.

Read the TOS to learn about their payment policies. Familiarize yourself with the terms so that you know what would happen if you were to miss a payment. Do you have a grace period in which you can make up the payment or will your account be terminated once your account is past due for a specified amount of time? It is important to know this information so that you are no surprised to find your account is cancelled if your payment is delinquent.

If the hosting company offers any refund options, the details of refunds will often by stated in the TOS. Read this information so that you know what you can expect if you request a refund. For example, many hosting companies offer a 30-Day (or similar) money back guarantee. If this is the case it is important to know the terms of that guarantee. Can you cancel for any reason? Will you receive a full or partial refund? Read through this information carefully so that you have a clear view of what you can expect from your hosting provider. Just as you need to follow the terms of service, so does your web host.

Many web hosts do not allow adult content. This should be stated in their TOS. If they prohibit adult content, the TOS will also explain the consequences if the host should find that your site contains such content. A hosting company often has other content restrictions. The rules can vary from host to host and therefore you should not assume you know what content you can and cannot place on a website without reading the TOS first.

A host will obviously not allow you to perform any actions in which you try to break security and enter into other hosting clients’ data for their websites. Read the TOS so that you know exactly what action can be taken if you are caught doing so. Also keep in mind that different companies have different policies about how they will handle your account if you are thought to have broken any rules. Some may suspend your account right away until an investigation can be completed.

Very rarely will someone purposely break the TOS, but of course, it can happen. Please note that there is often a section of the TOS which will explain what can happen if there are any legal ramifications if you were to break your contract, breech the security of someone else’s website or post offensive content. There is generally a section which states that the hosting provider cannot be held accountable for your actions. If you are taken to court by someone, your host has no responsibilities to you for any legal actions or related legal fees.

Save yourself potential time and frustration in the future by always knowing what is stated in your host’s TOS. By staying knowledgeable about the terms of service, you will know not only what is expected of you as a customer but also what you can expect from your web host. If you both uphold your end of the deal, there should never be any problems.