Terms of Service
1. Agreement
These terms govern your use of hosting, domain registration and related services supplied by IDLhost.com ("IDLhost", "we", "us"). By ordering a service you agree to them. If you do not agree, do not use the service.
2. Your account
You are responsible for keeping your account credentials secure and for all activity that takes place under your account. Tell us promptly if you believe your credentials have been compromised.
You must give us accurate contact details and keep them current. We use them for invoices, renewal notices and service announcements, so an out-of-date address can cost you your service or your domain.
3. Fees, billing and renewals
Service fees are payable in advance for the billing period you select. A one-time setup fee applies to new accounts:
- $20 — idl Small Biz and idl Fast Track
- $30 — idl Enterprise
- $30 — per VPS
- $50 — all reseller plans
- $99 — per dedicated server
The fee that applies to your plan is shown on its plan card before you order.
Introductory pricing. Some plans are offered at a promotional rate for an initial term. Shared hosting plans are currently discounted for the first 12 months:
- idl Small Biz — $5 per month, then $14
- idl Fast Track — $7 per month, then $17
- idl Enterprise — $9 per month, then $20
Reseller hosting, VPS, dedicated servers and colocation are not currently discounted.
The promotional rate, its term, and the standard rate that applies afterwards are all shown on the plan before you order.
A promotional rate does not waive the one-time setup fee, which is charged in addition unless a particular offer states otherwise.
Renewal. At the end of any promotional term the service renews at the standard rate for that plan, as published at the time of renewal. We will send a renewal notice before you are charged. Service fees may change over time; where they do, we will give you written notice before the change affects your account, and you are free to cancel rather than accept it.
Domain registration and renewal fees are set by the relevant registry and are outside our control. If a registry changes its pricing we will notify you before your renewal.
Invoices unpaid past their due date may result in suspension. We will attempt to contact you before suspending anything.
4. Domain names
Domain registration and transfer services are available only alongside an active hosting account with us. We do not register a domain, or accept the transfer of one, on its own, and any domain we hold for you must remain attached to a live hosting account.
You are not required to move a domain to us in order to host with us. You may leave it with your existing registrar and simply point it at your hosting account.
If your hosting account is cancelled, closed or terminated, you must transfer any domain we hold for you to another registrar within five business days. We will supply the authorisation code on request and will not delay a transfer. If the domain has not been transferred within that time, we will remove it from our systems ahead of its renewal date and will not renew it. It will then expire on its registry expiry date. Anything that happens after expiry — any grace period, redemption fee, or the name being released for someone else to register — is set by the registry and is outside our control.
If you want to keep a domain but not the hosting, transfer it to another registrar before the account closes. Please do not rely on recovering it afterwards: reclaiming a lapsed domain is expensive at best and frequently impossible.
You remain the registrant of your domains. Registry rules — including transfer eligibility, renewal periods and redemption — are set by the relevant registry and apply in addition to these terms.
5. Cancellation and refunds
There is no minimum term. You may cancel at any time through the billing area or by contacting us. Cancellation takes effect at the end of your current billing period unless you ask otherwise.
Setup fees and domain registration fees are non-refundable, because the work and the registry charge have already been incurred.
6. Acceptable use
Your use of our services is governed by our Acceptable Use Policy, which forms part of these terms.
7. Service availability
We target 99.9% network availability, measured monthly and excluding scheduled maintenance, which we announce in advance where practical.
No host can promise perfection. Where we fall short of our availability target we will discuss a credit with you in good faith.
8. Backups
We take nightly backups of hosting accounts and retain them off-server. These exist to help us recover from our own failures.
They are not a substitute for your own backups. You remain responsible for keeping independent copies of anything you cannot afford to lose. We will always try to help you recover data, but we do not guarantee that a backup will be available or complete.
9. Resource use
Shared hosting is shared. If an account consistently consumes resources that degrade service for others, we will contact you to discuss it — normally suggesting a plan that fits better. We suspend for resource use only where a server is genuinely at risk and we cannot reach you.
10. Your content
You retain ownership of everything you upload. You grant us only the limited permission needed to host, transmit and back it up in order to provide the service.
You are responsible for your content, including having the rights to use it and ensuring it complies with applicable law.
11. Suspension and termination
We may suspend or terminate service for non-payment, for breach of these terms or the Acceptable Use Policy, or where required by law. Except where a server or another customer is at immediate risk, we will attempt to contact you first.
On termination you may request a copy of your data within 30 days, after which it may be permanently deleted.
12. Limitation of liability
To the fullest extent permitted by law, our total liability arising out of or relating to the service is limited to the amount you paid us for that service in the twelve months preceding the claim.
We are not liable for indirect, incidental or consequential damages, including lost profits, lost business or lost data.
13. Changes to these terms
We may update these terms. Material changes will be announced in advance through the billing area or by email. Continuing to use the service after a change takes effect means you accept it.
14. Governing law
These terms are governed by the laws of the State of Wisconsin, United States, without regard to its conflict of law provisions.
15. Contact
Questions about these terms: email sales@idlhost.com. If you already hold an account, opening a support ticket keeps the exchange on your account record.