Hosting Terms & Acceptable Use Policy

Effective date: October 5, 2026

These Hosting Terms and Acceptable Use Policy apply to the web hosting plans, dedicated reseller servers, and domain names you buy from Smith Consulting & Design, LLC (The Web Smithy). They are part of our Terms of Service. Billing, renewals, and refunds are covered in our Subscription, Billing & Refund Policy.

1. How hosting is provided

Every shared Website Hosting Plan includes required Core Care website management at $75.00 per month, billed monthly. Core Care keeps your software updated and monitored, and it ends only when your hosting ends. Dedicated Reseller Servers do not require a Care plan.

We resell hosting that runs on infrastructure operated by WPMU DEV (Incsub, LLC) and its data center partners. We manage your account and are your point of contact for support. Plan features, such as storage, backups, and staging sites, are described on our Web Hosting page and may be updated as our provider improves its platform.

2. Acceptable use

You may not use your hosting account, server, domain, or email to:

Break any local, state, federal, or international law.
Host, send, or link to malware, viruses, phishing pages, or anything designed to steal information or harm computers.
Send unsolicited bulk email (spam), or violate the CAN-SPAM Act or other anti-spam laws.
Infringe copyrights, trademarks, or other intellectual property, including pirated software, music, or video.
Host child sexual abuse material. We report it to law enforcement immediately.
Publish content that threatens, harasses, or promotes violence against people, or that is defamatory or fraudulent.
Sell illegal goods or services, or run scams, pyramid schemes, or deceptive offers.
Run cryptocurrency mining, open proxies, IRC bots, or file-sharing or backup services for other people.
Attack, scan, or try to break into other systems, or interfere with other customers on shared infrastructure.
Use more server resources than your plan allows in a way that harms server performance for others.

“Unmetered bandwidth” means we do not charge by the gigabyte for normal website traffic. It is subject to fair use and to these rules.

3. Your responsibilities

You are responsible for everything hosted on your account, including content added by your staff, contractors, or website users.
Keep your passwords secure and your software updated, unless updates are included in a Care plan you buy from us.
Keep your own copy of important website files and data. Our backups are a safety net, not a replacement for your own records.

4. Backups

Hosting plans include automated backups and restore points as described on our Web Hosting page. We will make reasonable efforts to keep backups current and restorable, but we do not guarantee that every backup will be complete or available, and we are not liable for lost data.

5. Uptime and maintenance

We use reliable, high-uptime infrastructure and make commercially reasonable efforts to keep your website online. We do not guarantee uninterrupted service. Outages can happen because of maintenance, provider issues, attacks, or events outside our control. Unless your written agreement says otherwise, hosting plans do not include service credits for downtime. We try to schedule planned maintenance during low-traffic hours.

6. Suspension and termination

We may suspend or limit an account, without prior notice when necessary, if:

It violates this policy or the law.
It is hacked, infected with malware, or sending spam.
It threatens the security or performance of the server or other customers.
A payment is more than 15 days past due after we have sent you a reminder.

When possible, we will contact you first and give you a chance to fix the problem. We may permanently terminate accounts for serious or repeated violations.

You may cancel hosting with 30 days’ written notice, as described in our Billing Policy. When an account ends for any reason, the website is taken offline. We keep its files for 30 days after the shutdown date so you can request a copy. After that, they are permanently deleted.

7. Domain names

Registration: domains are registered through an ICANN-accredited registrar via our reseller provider. By registering a domain, you also agree to that registrar’s registration agreement, which we will provide on request.
Ownership: domains are registered in your name (or your business’s name) as the registrant, unless you ask us in writing to do otherwise.
Accurate information: ICANN rules require you to give accurate contact information and to respond to verification emails. A domain can be suspended if the information is false or the email is not verified.
Renewal and expiration: domains renew as described in our Billing Policy. If a domain expires, it may stop working and can be lost to another buyer. Recovering an expired domain may involve extra fees set by the registrar.
Transfers: you may transfer your domain to another provider. ICANN rules may block transfers for 60 days after a new registration, a transfer, or certain contact changes. We will give you the authorization code for a domain you own when your account is in good standing.
Your rights: read ICANN’s Registrant Benefits and Responsibilities and Registrant Educational Information.

8. Reporting abuse and copyright complaints

To report spam, malware, phishing, or other abuse on a website we host, email info@smithcd.com with the website address and details. For copyright complaints, include your contact information, the work you believe is infringed, the location of the infringing material, a statement that you have a good-faith belief the use is not authorized, and a statement, under penalty of perjury, that your notice is accurate and that you are the owner or authorized to act for the owner. We will review every report and act on it when appropriate, including removing material and terminating repeat infringers.

9. Changes

We may update this policy as laws, our providers, or our services change. We will post updates on this page with a new effective date and notify hosting clients by email of significant changes.

10. Contact

Questions about hosting or domains? Email info@smithcd.com or call (813) 733-1582.