Website Hosting & Support Terms & Conditions

These Terms & Conditions apply to all Hosting & Support services provided by apluskdesign. By subscribing to our hosting plan, you agree to the following:

1. What is Hosting?

Every website needs two things to appear online:

A Domain Name — like your street address, so people know where to find you.
Hosting — like the house itself, where all your website files, images, and content live.

When someone types your domain (e.g. www.yourwebsite.com) into their browser, hosting is what delivers the site to their screen. Without hosting, your website simply wouldn’t exist online.

At apluskdesign, we provide secure hosting through trusted UK-based servers. We manage the hosting company on your behalf, so you don’t have to deal with technical support or complex server settings.

2. Why Updates & Reviews Are Essential

Websites are built using Content Management Systems (CMS) along with specialist software and tools that control their design and functionality. These elements need to work together smoothly, and that requires ongoing management.

The internet is constantly evolving — new operating systems, devices, and browser updates are released all the time. A browser (such as Chrome, Safari, Edge, or Firefox) is the software people use to view websites. Without regular updates, your website can quickly become outdated or incompatible.

Security: Updates fix vulnerabilities that hackers may exploit.
Performance: Updates keep your site fast and compatible with the latest technology.
Stability: Outdated software can conflict with newer systems, causing errors or downtime.

At apluskdesign, we don’t just “apply updates” — we review and test them to ensure your website continues to run reliably in a changing online world. This proactive approach protects your investment, your reputation, and your customers’ trust.

3. Hosting & Account Management

Your website is hosted with GURU Hosting on secure, UK-based servers.
The hosting account is held under apluskdesign. We manage the service directly with the hosting company so you don’t have to.
You will be provided with relevant account information on request, but you do not need to contact the hosting provider directly.

3a. Clients with Individual Hosting Accounts at GURU Hosting

Some clients choose to host their websites on their own individual accounts with GURU Hosting rather than under the apluskdesign account.

In this case, you are billed directly by GURU Hosting for hosting.
Your monthly apluskdesign fee covers support and maintenance only (updates, monitoring, security checks, and technical support).
You are not paying twice — hosting charges are separate from support charges.
Any issues relating directly to the hosting account (e.g. billing, server upgrades, password resets) are managed between you and GURU Hosting. apluskdesign can advise, but responsibility rests with the account holder.

apluskdesign uses GURU Hosting because they are a reliable UK-based provider, with excellent technical support and a strong working relationship built over many years.

If you wish to host your website with a different provider, this will require further discussion. Please note that using an alternative hosting company may affect the level of support and response time apluskdesign can provide.

If you host with GURU Hosting on your own account, you can add apluskdesign as a support contact. This simple process gives us access only to GURU Hosting’s technical support team — not your billing or account details — so we can deal with GURU Hosting directly on your behalf.

4. What’s Included in Your Monthly Fee

Secure hosting with SSL certificate and daily backups.
CMS, software, and essential tools updated and tested regularly.
Security monitoring and uptime checks.
Basic technical support (minor fixes under 30 minutes, assessment will be required first and please provide as much information as possible).
Email support during business hours.
Website restoration from backups (for hosting/server-related issues only).

5. What’s Not Included (Charged Separately)

Content updates (text, images, products, blog posts), unless specifically included in your monthly hosting fee.
New design work or development features.
SEO or digital marketing services.
Advanced troubleshooting or third-party integrations.
Rolling back client-made changes that cause errors.
Major restores caused by user actions or external factors.

6. Website Downtime & Support

In the event your website is unavailable online, please call Allan directly on 07736820173 for the fastest response.
Email support is available at allan@apluskdesign.com, but response times may be longer.

Before contacting support, please check:

Test another website to confirm it isn’t your internet connection.
Clear your browser cache and refresh.
Restart your device or try a different one.
Test on mobile data instead of Wi-Fi.

If your website went down immediately after you carried out a particular action, please provide as much information as possible (including a screenshot or error message). This is especially vital if the issue occurred during a payment transaction.

7. Website Access & Logins

You may request an admin/editor login for your website.
If you choose to make your own changes, apluskdesign is not responsible for issues caused.
Any corrective work required due to client changes may incur an additional fee.
If you prefer, apluskdesign can manage all updates and changes on your behalf.

8. Communication & Response Times

Support is provided during business hours unless otherwise agreed.
We aim to respond to all support requests within 24 hours.
Urgent issues such as downtime will be treated as priority.

9. Extra Work & Rates

Any requests outside of the Hosting & Support package will be quoted and agreed before work begins.
Standard hourly or project rates apply.

10. Liability

While we take every precaution to secure and maintain your website, apluskdesign cannot be held liable for:
- Issues caused by third-party software, services, or updates.
- Losses resulting from downtime, security breaches, or user error.
Our liability is limited to the fees paid for hosting/support services.

11. Termination

Either party may terminate hosting with 30 days’ written notice.
Upon termination, all relevant website files and backups will be made available for transfer.

12. Email Accounts

Email services may be included as part of your hosting package, depending on your requirements.
If apluskdesign manages your hosting, we can create and support basic email accounts (e.g. name@yourdomain.com).
apluskdesign does not provide ongoing support for third-party email services such as Gmail, Outlook, or Microsoft 365, although we can advise on integration if required.
If you require advanced email solutions (such as Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace), these will need to be set up separately and may involve additional costs.

13. Domain Names

Your domain name (e.g. yourwebsite.com) can be registered either through GURU Hosting or another provider of your choice.
If your domain is registered with a provider other than GURU Hosting, it can still point to your website hosting at GURU Hosting without issue.
apluskdesign is happy to update your current domain settings so that they point to GURU Hosting. For this, login details for your domain provider may be required, and we will first need to assess that the settings can be changed successfully.
You are responsible for ensuring your domain registration is renewed on time if it is not managed by apluskdesign.
If your domain expires or lapses, this can take your website offline until it is renewed. apluskdesign cannot be held liable for downtime caused by non-renewal.

Updates to These Terms

These Terms & Conditions are reviewed and updated regularly to reflect changes in technology, hosting providers, or service levels. Please check back periodically to ensure you are familiar with the latest version.