Web Hosting Terms of Service

Updated May 03, 2023
Use of our service constitutes acceptance and agreement to the Terms of Service (TOS) in full. Violation of these policies may result in the suspension or termination of your account.

Content
All services provided may only be used for lawful purposes. Examples of unacceptable content include, but are not limited to: copyrighted material, material we judge to be threatening or obscene, pornography, dangerous or unsecured scripts or software.

The Letter M Marketing (TLM) has a zero tolerance policy on spam.

Payment Information
You agree to supply appropriate payment for the services received from TLM in advance of the time period during which such services are provided. You agree that until you notify TLM of your desire to cancel any or all services received, those services will be billed on a recurring basis. TLM reserves the right to adjust pricing plans and optional fees.

Payment is required by the date specified on the invoice. If payment is not received, the site will be taken offline.

Backups and Data Loss
TLM is not responsible for files and data residing on your account on our servers. You agree to take full responsibility for files and data transferred and to maintain all appropriate backup of files and data stored on TLM servers. Your use of the service is at your sole risk. Backups will not be provided for accounts that have been suspended or terminated for any reason unless otherwise agreed to in writing by TLM.

Cancellations
TLM reserves the right to cancel service at any time. The cancellation will be effective as of your next billing date. If you wish to cancel hosting, you must provide written notice 60 days in advance. Once the site has been successfully moved, you will be refunded the pro-rated amount; less any admin time spent facilitating the website migration (invoiced at our usual hourly rate). Cancelled accounts are non-transferable. Dedicated IPs, SSL Certificates, Setup Fees, etc. are not refundable.

As a managed hosting service, multiple add-ons are included in the hosting cost. These may include (but are not limited to) software that supports backups, security, contact forms, analytics, accordion menus, search, and more. If you host elsewhere, these may not be included.

Bandwidth Usage
You are allocated a monthly bandwidth allowance. This allowance varies depending on the hosting package you purchase. Should your account pass the allocated amount we reserve the right to either suspend the account until the start of the next allocation, suspend the account until more bandwidth is purchased at an additional fee, suspend the account until you upgrade to a higher level of package, terminate the account and/or charge you an additional fee for the overages. Unused bandwidth in one month cannot be carried over to the next month.

Indemnification and Disclaimer
When building or improving your website, we follow and generally exceed the standard trade practice for website security to discourage criminal or mischievous actions (i.e. hacking, phishing schemes or digital theft). However, threats against websites and online assets are constantly evolving, and as such WE DO NOT warrant the website against any future compromise or infection with malware, virus or any resulting defacement or damage.

The customer agrees to indemnify and hold harmless TLM from any claims resulting from the use of our services.

TLM will not be responsible for any damages your business may suffer. TLM makes no warranties of any kind, expressed or implied for services we provide. This includes loss of data resulting from delays, no deliveries, wrong delivery, and any and all service interruptions caused by TLM, its owners, and/or its employees or partners. TLM reserves the right to refuse service to anyone for any reason. We reserve the right to limit what scripts and software are uploaded to our servers.

Changes to the TOS
TLM reserves the right to revise its policies by posting the terms on this webpage.

Maintenance
TLM designates time periods during which it may limit or suspend service to perform necessary maintenance or upgrades. If planned maintenance has the possibility of making the website inaccessible for an extended period of time, TLM will provide not less than twelve (12) hours prior via electronic mail or other notice.

Domain Registrations and Renewals
TLM will make every effort to assist you to register, transfer or renew your requested domain name. You are solely responsible for monitoring your domain expiration date and making sure you renew it before it expires.

Addressing Issues
When we build a site, we take every reasonable measure to prevent foreseeable issues. We also install regular updates on all sites we host to improve the security of the sites. But as technology advances and changes, some issues are unavoidable and should be expected. These issues can be caused by user error, the introduction of new software or devices, expiration of items necessary for the website to run correctly, malicious parties trying to harm the site, or a multitude of other reasons. Obviously, we cannot take responsibility for issues over which we have no control. If you run into a problem with your site, we are happy to help identify the cause of the issue and resolve it at our usual hourly rate.

With your authorization, we will launch an investigation to determine the problem (not exceeding $200). We will then provide a quote before proceeding with further investigation or a fix.

Higher “Urgent request” rates may apply in some situations.

We understand that certain violations of the above terms can occur inadvertently, and even as a result of unauthorized access from some third party. We will do our best to weigh the merits of each individual case and act with common sense and an understanding of the technical and social implications of the situation.

Client Signoff

Client approval

By giving your approval to launch the website, you acknowledge that the website is fully functional and meets the scope agreed to in the proposal. If that is not the case, this must be acknowledged in writing before the site goes live.

30-day warranty

You have 30 days (after the site is live and working properly) to thoroughly check the website and ensure it meets the requirements approved in the project scope and is functioning as expected. If there are any concerns, it is your responsibility to advise The Letter M within this 30-day period. Changes or concerns expressed after this date will result in extra fees.

This is also the time to ensure you understand how to use the content management system (CMS) properly and document any instructions you, or other users, may need to refer to in the future.

Addressing issues after 30 days

When we build a site, we take every reasonable measure to prevent foreseeable issues. We also install regular updates on all sites we host to maintain functionality and improve the security of the sites. But as technology advances and changes, some issues are unavoidable and should be expected. These issues can be caused by user error, the introduction of new software or devices, expiration of items necessary for the website to run correctly, malicious parties trying to harm the site, or a multitude of other reasons. Obviously, we cannot take responsibility for issues over which we have no control. However, if you run into a problem with your site after the 30-day warranty period, we are happy to help identify the cause of the issue and resolve it at our usual hourly rate.

With your authorization, we will launch an investigation to determine the problem (not exceeding two hours). We will then provide a quote before proceeding with further investigation or a fix.

Higher “Urgent request” rates may apply in some situations.

3rd party hosting

Guarantee of functionality on dev site

You have the opportunity (before the site goes live on your selected host) to thoroughly check the website and ensure it meets the requirements approved in the project scope and is functioning as expected.

Changes or concerns expressed after initiating the migration to a different web host will be billed by the hour.

It is your responsibility to thoroughly research the selected web host to ensure they support all functionality of your site.

Addressing issues after site is moved off dev site

When we build a site, we take every reasonable measure to prevent foreseeable issues. But as technology advances and changes, some issues are unavoidable and should be expected. These issues can be caused by user error, the introduction of new software or devices, expiration of items necessary for the website to run correctly, malicious parties trying to harm the site, or a multitude of other reasons. Obviously, we cannot take responsibility for issues over which we have no control. However, if you run into a problem with your site after you have moved it off our dev site, we are happy to help identify the cause of the issue and resolve it at our usual hourly rate.

With your authorization, we will launch an investigation to determine the problem (not exceeding two hours). We will then provide a quote before proceeding with further investigation or a fix. If the problem did not exist on the original launch version, you will be charged for the time it takes to verify the issue.

Higher “Urgent request” rates may apply in some situations.