Tricky Web Host Terms Of Service (TOS)

 

 

It’s something that we’ve all been guilty of when signing up for a service, we accept the terms of service or sign on the dotted line without so much as a glance to what we are agreeing to.   

 

Some hosting providers have tricky terms of service, which makes it an even better idea to know exactly what you’re signing up for before you agree to it.  Before you think that because you haven’t signed your name to a dotted line, know that by clicking ‘I agree’ on a website and submitting it, that you’re legally bound just as if you’d signed your name in ink.

 

Some web hosting providers reserve the right to change the terms of service at any time without warning or notification, which means while you say yes to one thing, they could change it mid-stream without you ever knowing a thing about it. Remember, if you clicked I agree, then you’ve said that it’s ok that they do this.

 

Another thing for those who are using virtual or shared hosting accounts is that you are literally sharing your resources with sometimes hundreds of other websites that are on the same server as yours.  Many hosting providers state in their Terms of Service that they can terminate or even cancel an account that they feel is abusing their usage allowance (even if it’s unlimited) meaning the virtual plug being pulled on your site.

 

Often Terms of Service do not allow anything in sexual nature at all to be placed on your site.  While this may not be something that you’ll find in the FAQ on the hosting services website, if it is a problem it should be listed in the Terms of Service.

 

Many web hosting providers offer more than 99% uptime, some offering as much as 99.9% which may sound great, but often there lies a clause in the Terms of Service which say that this excludes any server downtime due to server maintenance or upgrades which will improve service.

 

Another item you’ll find in your web hosting providers Terms of Service agreement is Spam. Spam is defined in various ways, but if you are sending emails to one person at a time, you should be fine, but what if you sent out a bulk email to announce a web sale, or to set up a meeting with potential investors?  Even though those emails technically are not spamming, they could be viewed as such through the websites Terms of Service.

 

One thing is certain that in spite of it seeming like a bunch of babbling, the best thing to do before clicking ‘I agree’ is to make sure that you read through the Terms of Service that your web hosting provider requires and have a full understanding of what they mean.  If you have any questions or are unclear about any of the Terms of Service outlined, take the time to let the web hosting representative answer your questions so you’ll have full understanding of what you are agreeing to.

 

Starting a website in 2009? Check out our article on Why You Want to Start an Online Business. Reading a whole bunch of web hosting reviews? If you start a business website make sure to check out our article on Small Business Web Hosting. Get your inexpensive web hosting today!

 

 

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