These Hosting & Maintenance Terms apply where RA Creative Limited provides website hosting and/or maintenance services and no alternative hosting terms have been separately agreed in writing.
1. Application and precedence
1.1 These terms form part of RA’s Terms of Business and the applicable Order.
1.2 A separate written agreement between RA and the Client takes precedence to the extent of any conflict.
1.3 The Order should identify whether the Client is purchasing Hosting Only, Hosting & Maintenance, or another expressly defined service.
2. Term
2.1 Unless an Order states otherwise, Hosting Services have a minimum initial term of 12 months.
2.2 After the minimum term, the Services continue on a rolling monthly basis unless terminated by either party on 30 days’ written notice.
2.3 Fees remain payable during the minimum term except where the contract is lawfully terminated for RA’s material breach.
3. Hosting service
3.1 RA will provide the hosting described in the applicable Order using infrastructure selected by RA or an appropriate third-party provider.
3.2 Hosting does not include maintenance, development, monitoring, email, domain registration or other services unless expressly included in the Order.
3.3 RA does not guarantee uninterrupted or error-free availability unless a specific Service Level Agreement has been separately agreed.
4. Maintenance
4.1 Where maintenance is purchased, only the maintenance activities expressly identified in the Order are included.
4.2 Routine maintenance may include agreed updates to supported website software, themes or plugins.
4.3 Maintenance does not constitute a warranty that every website function, integration, form, transaction or checkout process will be continuously monitored or tested unless this is expressly included.
5. Plugins and third-party software
5.1 Websites may depend on third-party plugins, themes, APIs, libraries and other software outside RA’s control.
5.2 RA does not guarantee that a third-party component will remain available, supported, secure, compatible or commercially viable.
5.3 If a third-party component is withdrawn, materially changed, becomes unsupported or ceases to function, investigation, replacement, redevelopment or migration may be separately chargeable.
5.4 Third-party licence or subscription charges are payable by the Client unless expressly included. RA may pass on supplier price increases or propose an alternative.
6. Technology changes and security
6.1 If underlying software, PHP, frameworks, databases or other technology becomes unsupported, insecure or incompatible, RA may recommend or require upgrade, replacement or migration work.
6.2 Such work is not included unless expressly stated in the Order.
6.3 If the Client declines a reasonable security or compatibility recommendation, RA is not responsible for resulting loss, failure, incompatibility or security incidents to the extent caused by that decision.
6.4 Where continuing to host a materially insecure, unsupported or compromised website creates an unacceptable risk to RA, its infrastructure or other customers, RA may require remediation and may suspend or terminate the affected Hosting Service on reasonable notice where circumstances permit.
7. Client and third-party changes
7.1 RA is not responsible for faults caused by changes made by the Client or another supplier.
7.2 Investigation or repair required because of such changes may be chargeable.
7.3 The Client is responsible for controlling administrator and other privileged access it grants to third parties.
8. Malware and security incidents
8.1 Hosting or routine maintenance does not automatically include forensic investigation, extensive malware removal, reconstruction of a compromised website or incident response unless expressly included.
8.2 Such work may be separately chargeable except to the extent the need for it was caused by RA’s breach of contract.
9. Capacity and resource use
9.1 Hosting is based upon the anticipated resource requirements of the website.
9.2 If traffic, storage, bandwidth, processing, database or other resource requirements materially increase, RA may propose or require an appropriate hosting upgrade and corresponding fee adjustment.
10. Domains, DNS and email
10.1 Website hosting does not include domain registration or renewal, DNS management, email, Microsoft 365, Google Workspace or other communications services unless expressly included in the Order.
10.2 Responsibility for services not expressly supplied by RA remains with the Client or relevant third-party provider.
11. Backups and restoration
11.1 Any backup arrangements are those expressly included in the Order or applicable hosting configuration.
11.2 Backups are a recovery measure and are not guaranteed archival storage.
11.3 RA does not guarantee that every backup will be complete, error-free or capable of restoring every item of data.
11.4 Unless expressly agreed in an SLA, RA does not guarantee a particular recovery time or recovery point.
11.5 Restoration work caused by Client or third-party deletion, alteration or damage may be chargeable.
12. Monitoring
12.1 Unless expressly included in an Order, Hosting Services do not include continuous monitoring of website functionality, transactions, forms, ecommerce checkout, third-party integrations or other business processes.
12.2 Server or infrastructure availability does not mean that every website function or third-party integration is operating correctly.
13. Suspension and non-payment
13.1 RA may suspend Hosting Services in accordance with its Terms of Business, including for overdue payment or material security risk.
13.2 Where a Hosting invoice remains unpaid for more than 14 days after its due date, RA may give written notice requiring payment. If payment is not received within 7 days after that notice, RA may suspend the affected Hosting Service until all overdue hosting charges have been paid.
13.3 RA will normally give reasonable notice before taking a live website offline solely for non-payment where circumstances permit, but no further notice is required where clause 13.2 has been followed.
13.4 RA may require payment of all overdue amounts as a condition of resuming suspended Hosting Services.
14. Charges and price reviews
14.1 Hosting and maintenance charges are invoiced as stated in the Order and are subject to RA’s Payment & Invoicing Terms.
14.2 After the initial minimum term, RA may review recurring charges on reasonable notice.
14.3 RA may also adjust charges where third-party infrastructure, licensing or supplier costs materially increase.
15. Termination and exit
15.1 Termination is subject to the minimum term in clause 2 and RA’s Terms of Business.
15.2 Where the Client has paid in full for the website and all charges relating to its development, termination or suspension of Hosting Services does not remove intellectual property rights or licences in the website which have already vested in the Client.
15.3 On termination, the Client may request an export or copy of website files and data reasonably available to RA for migration to another provider.
15.4 RA may charge for the reasonable time required to prepare, package, export, transfer or otherwise assist with an exit or migration. RA may provide a quotation or estimate for that work and require payment in full in advance before commencing the export or migration assistance.
15.5 RA is not required to install, configure, test or make the website operational on the Client’s replacement hosting environment unless this is separately agreed and paid for.
15.6 RA is not required to continue providing Hosting Services pending migration where hosting charges are overdue or the Hosting Service has otherwise been validly terminated or suspended.
15.7 This clause does not affect any obligation RA may have under applicable Data Protection Law to return or delete Personal Data.
15.8 The Client should request and collect any required website files or data before Hosting Services terminate. RA is not required to retain hosted data indefinitely after termination, subject to applicable law and any agreed handover arrangements.
16. Liability
16.1 Liability arising from Hosting or Maintenance Services is subject to the exclusions and limitations in RA’s Terms of Business unless a separate written agreement expressly provides otherwise.
RA Creative Limited
Company Number: 01940817
Registered Office: 7 Poplars Court, Lenton Lane, Nottingham, England, NG7 2RR
Revised working master for publication/solicitor review and internal record.