WordPress hosting terms and conditions

1. Service details

We, Avidmode, offer you, the client, a managed web hosting service to people and companies. It is only available from us by offer, generally associated with our web development service.

By agreeing to host your website with us, you agree to abide by all the terms outlined in this document.

1.1 Managed

Every aspect of our hosting service is managed. This means that we are responsible for all tasks and areas that fall outside the scope of typical use of a website, allowing clients to focus on only managing their own content and day-to-day features and functionality.

As such, clients will not have full access to all administrative features offered by the CMS (such as WordPress) used to build their website, nor will clients have direct access to the filesystem, database or any other part of the infrastructure.

This is necessary as we would otherwise be unable to guarantee the performance and integrity of our service.

1.2 Server hardware and software

Avidmode’s servers are provided by Linode, an American provider of high-performance Virtual Private Servers. They are configured from the ground up by us for the purpose of web hosting.

We run only modern, up-to-date software that follows best practice in the industry. Our server configuration is continuously updated with the latest recommendations from developers and other big players in the market (such as CloudFlare).

1.3 HTTPS everywhere

Every website we host is available over HTTPS only. This is handled automatically by the server via the ACME protocol and Let’s Encrypt, unless the client has a commercial certificate they’d like us to use instead.

Our HTTPS configuration is regularly tested using the Qualys SSL Test to ensure we maintain their top A+ rating.

1.4 Backups

We take daily database and monthly file backups of all hosted sites, stored off-site on Amazon S3. The server also has three slots of emergency restore backups. All backups exist for Avidmode use only and are not directly accessible to clients.

1.5 Support

We’re available for support queries via phone and email.

1.6 Uptime

Hosted websites are checked for uptime using a third-party service. Our monthly uptime average is 99.95%, which includes scheduled maintenance.

1.7 Price and resource usage

The base price for our hosting service includes as much disk space, processing power and bandwidth that we judge will be needed. This is so clients do not have to worry about it and can focus on maintaining their website.

In the event that a client looks like they may exceed our estimates, we will get in touch with them about their resource usage, and it may be necessary for us to amend the price going forwards.

2. Use

These are the terms of use for our web hosting service.

2.1 Legal and conscionable use

Any content uploaded to our servers by a client, whether written, imagery, video, audio or otherwise, must:
abide by all applicable laws, not be erotic, pornographic or offensive and follow good conscience.

In the event of uploaded material being in breach of these restrictions, we reserve the right to immediately remove it from our servers. Clients may not advance any claim against Avidmode related to this deletion, and we may, at our own discretion, decide to immediately terminate the client’s hosting service. In such a case, any fees paid to us for the use of our hosting service, even in advance, are non-refundable.

2.2 Responsibility

We are liable in accordance with applicable laws subject to the following restrictions. Our responsibility does not include operating costs, loss of data, loss of profit, loss of goodwill or any other indirect loss that the client suffers as a result of their use of our service.

We are not liable for losses resulting from interruptions, disturbances or changes that we deemed necessary for technical, maintenance and operational reasons or required by the authorities, unless we have neglected to properly inform the client(s) and take active steps to mitigate any inconvenience.

We are not liable for any loss or damage caused by a force majeure event.

In all cases, regardless of cause, our total liability for loss or damage shall not exceed £500.

2.3 Cancellation

A client may terminate their hosting with us at any point, in which case we will return a copy of the files and database(s) within 30 business days. Any service costs already paid by the client are non-refundable.

3. General

3.1 Address information

Clients are required to provide us with their current place of residence and contact email address.

3.2 Payment terms

Clients may choose to pay for our web hosting service either monthly or yearly, with the latter including a discount of two months.

Invoices sent out by Avidmode must be paid by their due date. In the event of late or missing payments, we will contact the client to discuss a course of action. We’re usually relaxed about this but we do reserve the right to terminate a client’s hosting with immediate effect for lack of payment. In such an event, we are not liable for any consequences suffered by the client as a result of their website being taken offline.

3.3 Jurisdiction

These terms are governed by the non-exclusive jurisdiction of England and Wales.