Website Hosting Agreement

This Website Hosting Agreement has been written for use by web hosting service providers. The terms of this document govern the provision of web hosting services to clients.

The data protection provisions in this document have been updated with reference to the UK GDPR.

This is a business-to-business (B2B) contract. Certain laws protecting consumers will therefore not apply and this document should not be used in a business-to-consumer (B2C) situation.

Detail is key in a document such as this. The host needs to know exactly what they are contractually obliged to provide as part of their hosting service to the client, and under what terms. Service levels also play an important role. A separate Hosting Specification and details of the applicable Hosting Service Levels should therefore be agreed upon between the host and the client and included in the schedule provided.

The service levels to which this document refers are left open for you, the end-user, to define and set out in the schedule provided. An alternative Web Hosting Service Level Agreement is available which takes a more prescriptive approach.

Before the website is ready to go live, the client should deliver all required materials to the host so that the host can set up the site and prepare it for testing. The exact details of the testing (and re-testing, in the event of failure) should be agreed between the client and host and then described in detail in the schedule provided. Various options are open to the client if the website is still faulty after re-testing.

Fees and payment terms should be set out in detail in the schedules provided. The main body of the agreement contains only the essential provisions.

Liability is another important area addressed by this document. The provisions included represent a reasonably standard position, but it is very important that the final terms are negotiated and agreed upon by both the client and the host.

The UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018 are addressed in this template in particular via an optional data processing clause. This provision assumes that the client is the data controller and the host is the data processor.

Please also note that the data processing provisions in this document have been designed to strike a reasonable balance between coverage, detail, and brevity. In some cases, more detail may be desirable in which case a separate data processing agreement is available. An optional alternative to the full-length data processing clause is included in this document which cross-refers to a separate processing agreement. If in any doubt, suitable legal advice should be obtained first.

Personal data relating to the parties’ staff will also be exchanged when using this agreement. A general data protection clause has been included, referring to each party’s adherence to the law and to their respective data protection policies.

A further set of provisions relates to the Network and Information Systems Regulations 2018 (also known as the “NIS Regulations”). As part of these provisions, the developer provides detailed information about its security arrangements, particularly as those arrangements relate to and affect the client. Undertakings to cooperate with the client with respect to the client’s own obligations under the NIS Regulations are also provided.

Please note that the NIS Regulations apply to certain ‘operators of essential services’ in key sectors such as energy, transport, healthcare, drinking water supply and distribution, and digital infrastructure, and to certain ‘Relevant Digital Service Providers’ such as online marketplace providers, search engines, and cloud computing services. This is a highly specialised area and it is strongly recommended that professional legal and technical advice be obtained.

Optional phrases / clauses are enclosed in square brackets. These should be read carefully and selected so as to be compatible with one another. Unused options should be removed from the document.

This Website Hosting Agreement contains the following clauses:
1. Definitions and Interpretation
2. The Hosting Services
3. Project Management and Reporting
4. Acceptance Testing
5. Fees and Payment
6. Website Hosting
7. Intellectual Property
8. Warranties
9. Liability
10. Data Protection
11. Data Processing
12. Network and Information Systems Security
13. Confidentiality
14. Term and Termination
15. Force Majeure
16. Audit
17. No Waiver
18. Further Assurance
19. Costs
20 Assignment and Sub-Contracting
21. Relationship of the Parties
22. Third Party Rights
23. Notices
24. Entire Agreement
25. Counterparts
26. Severance
27. Law and Jurisdiction

and the following schedules:
1. Hosting Specification & Hosting Service Levels
2. Website Specification & Site Software
3. Acceptance Tests & Acceptance Retests
4. Hosting Fees
5. [Host’s Data Protection Policy]
6. [Client’s Data Protection Policy]
7. Data Processing
8. Host’s Network and Information Security Systems

This Website Hosting Agreement is in open format. Either enter the requisite details in the highlighted fields or adjust the wording to suit your purposes.

Once you have purchased access to the appropriate document folder click on the “Download Document” link below. You will be asked what you want to do with the file. It is recommended that you save the document to a location of your choice prior to viewing.

Website Hosting Agreement is part of Business Documents. Just £35.00 + VAT provides unlimited downloads from Business Documents for 1 year.