The fine print!

WEB HOSTING TERMS OF SERVICE

This Agreement is made between:

1. Exclusive Web Services trading as ByteWrite (hereafter referred to as “the Provider”, “we”, “us”, or “our”).
2. The Customer (hereafter referred to as “the Customer”, “you”, or “your”), being the individual or entity ordering web hosting services from the Provider.

By activating, paying for, or using the Web Hosting Services provided by us, you agree to be bound by the terms and conditions outlined below.

1. DEFINITIONS & SCOPE OF SERVICE

• 1.1 Scope: This Agreement applies strictly to the provision of retail Web Hosting Services and Managed WordPress Hosting Services. It explicitly excludes domain name registration, domain renewal, and domain management services, which are governed under separate arrangements.
• 1.2 Wholesale Infrastructure Platform: The Customer acknowledges that the Provider operates as a partner and reseller of infrastructure supplied by Synergy Wholesale (the “Upstream Supplier”).
• 1.3 Dependency: The Customer accepts that our ability to provide the Web Hosting Services is dependent upon the continuous operation, infrastructure availability, and service level agreements (SLAs) enforced by our Upstream Supplier.

2. SERVICE LEVEL EXPECTATIONS & UPSTREAMS

• 2.1 Target Availability: In alignment with our infrastructure network, we aim for high-availability website performance. However, you acknowledge that 100% continuous uptime cannot be guaranteed due to dependencies on upstream telecommunications network stability, routing, and unscheduled infrastructure maintenance.
• 2.2 Upstream Modifications: Any modification, suspension, or alteration enforced by Synergy Wholesale on our wholesale infrastructure may result in a corresponding adjustment to your hosting environment or retail service parameters. We will endeavour to provide reasonable notice where possible.

3. TECHNICAL SUPPORT & HOURS OF COVERAGE

• 3.1 Regular Support Hours: Standard technical support is available from Monday to Friday, 8:00am until 5:30pm AEST/AEDT (excluding Victorian public holidays).
• 3.2 Standard Requests: Standard assistance requests (such as account setup assistance, configuration queries, or general troubleshooting) must be submitted via our official support email or billing/ticketing portal during Regular Support Hours.
• 3.3 After-Hours Support: Outside of Regular Support Hours, limited emergency technical support is available exclusively for critical service outages (e.g., complete server failures). Operational after-hours engineering, diagnostics, and infrastructure restorations are subject to the restrictions and operational timelines dictated by the emergency escalation pathways provided by Synergy Wholesale. Non-critical issues reported after-hours will be handled on the next business day.

4. MANAGED WORDPRESS HOSTING PROVISIONS

If the Customer subscribes specifically to a Managed WordPress Hosting Plan, the following supplemental services apply:

• 4.1 Maintenance Windows: The Provider will perform routine, automated, or semi-automated updates to the WordPress Core software, active plugins, and active themes on a quarterly schedule, or more frequently at the Provider’s sole technical discretion if an exploit is found.
• 4.2 Firmware and Security Monitoring: The Provider continuously monitors server environment firmware, PHP versions, and security patches on the underlying Synergy Wholesale environment, executing upgrades to maintain environment stability and software compatibility.
• 4.3 Exclusion of Code-Level Liability: While we execute core and plugin updates to preserve environment security, WordPress ecosystems rely heavily on third-party developers. The Provider is not responsible, nor liable, for visual layout breaks, plugin feature regressions, script conflicts, database errors, or site functionality issues caused by incompatibility between outdated themes/code and updated plugins or core files. Remediation of update-induced software faults is billable outside standard hosting fees.

5. CUSTOMER RESPONSIBILITIES & ACCEPTABLE USE

• 5.1 Data Backups: While we utilize automated server snapshots and backup tools provided by our wholesale network framework, the Customer retains sole ultimate responsibility for maintaining local, independent, off-site backups of all website files, databases, and emails. The Provider is not liable for data loss or operational disruption under any circumstances.
• 5.2 Application Maintenance: For non-managed hosting services, or for code elements falling outside Section 4, the Customer is strictly responsible for ensuring all scripts, CMS applications (WordPress, Joomla, etc.), and custom code are kept up-to-date. Outdated, insecure code that threatens server platform stability may lead to immediate suspension.
• 5.3 Prohibited Content: The server network must not be used to store data unrelated to the public function of the website, including the storage of mass system backups, pirated software, malicious code, scripts intended for spamming, or content that breaches Australian law. Excessive resource utilization that degrades neighboring cPanel environments will result in resource throttling or suspension.

6. FEES, BILLING & CANCELLATION

• 6.1 Payment Terms: All web hosting services are billed in advance according to the annual billing cycle. Failure to settle invoices by the due date may result in automated suspension of the website hosting account.
• 6.2 Cancellation by Customer: The Customer may cancel their hosting account at any time by providing written notice prior to the commencement of the next billing cycle. No pro-rata refunds are provided for early termination of an active billing cycle.
• 6.3 Suspension and Termination: We reserve the right to suspend or terminate access to the hosting services immediately if you breach this Agreement, or if our Upstream Supplier requests a termination of the service due to an Acceptable Use Policy violation.

7. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY & INDEMNITY

• 7.1 Exclusion of Damages: To the maximum extent permitted by Australian Consumer Law, neither Exclusive Web Services (trading as ByteWrite) nor its infrastructure providers (including Synergy Wholesale) will be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, punitive, or consequential damages. This includes, but is not limited to, loss of profits, loss of business revenue, loss of data, or operational downtime resulting from server interruptions.
• 7.2 Indemnity: You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the Provider, its contractors, and its wholesale supplier from any third-party claims, liabilities, costs, or losses arising directly out of your use of the hosting platform or the nature of the content displayed on your website.

8. GOVERNING LAW

• This Agreement is governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Victoria, Australia. Both parties submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Victoria.