Hosting contracts

A hosting agreement is a legal agreement between a web host and its customer, specifying the mutual rights and obligations of the web host and the customer.

We have a selection of great-value hosting agreement templates, available for download from our Website Contracts site:

• Hosting Agreement (short-form)
• Hosting Agreement (long-form)
• Hosting T&Cs (short-form)
• Hosting T&Cs (long-form)

A hosting agreement should cover not just hosting services, but all the ancillary services that a web host provides. These may include control panels, email services, domain name services, SSL certificates, and so on.

Where a host is reselling the hosting services of another company, the reseller will want to ensure that its hosting agreement is "back-to-back" with the hosting agreement of the ultimate service provider. This will help the reseller to pass on to the customer any liabilities it incurs as a result of the actions of the customer in relation to the ultimate service provider.

Key terms in a hosting agreement will typically include:

• the specification of the services to be provided (including details of specific technologies offered, or at least a reference to the specific technologies offered);
• the specification of the resources (usually storage capacity, bandwidth and processor power) available to the customer, how those resources may be varied, and the consequences of the customer using excessive resources;
• limitation on the kinds of content a customer may submit for hosting;
• a data processor clause in respect of personal data;
• warranties and indemnities for the benefit of the host in respect of unlawful content;
• the other responsibilities of the customer;
• arrangements for the termination of the hosting agreement; and
• a service level agreement (where appropriate).