Knowledge Base

Acceptable Use Policy & Service Guidelines

Acceptable Use Policy & Service Guidelines

WebhostingNZ provides web hosting services to numerous clients and has a responsibility to protect each client, our network, and the quality of service we provide.

The following guidelines are designed to help ensure these obligations are met.


Content

All services provided by WebhostingNZ may be used for lawful purposes only.

The transmission, storage, or presentation of any information, data, or material that violates New Zealand or overseas law is prohibited.

This includes, but is not limited to:

  • copyrighted material used without permission
  • material we consider threatening or obscene
  • material protected by trade secret or other statutes
  • content that promotes illegal activity
  • content that may damage WebhostingNZ servers, systems, or any other server on the internet

The account storage space may only contain website-related material.

Our Unlimited plan may only be used for hosting a single live website. It may not be used to create multiple separate websites, test sites, staging sites, or non-website file storage.

Clients agree to indemnify and hold harmless WebhostingNZ from any claims resulting from use of the service that causes damage to the subscriber or any other party.


Web Hosting and Reseller Hosting

Our standard web hosting plans are intended for a single customer and are not to be used to host multiple different customer websites.

If you wish to host websites for your own customers, you must use one of our Reseller Hosting plans.

If we believe an account may be in breach of this condition, we reserve the right to limit, suspend, or terminate the account.


Adult Content

Adult content and adult-related merchandising are prohibited on all WebhostingNZ servers.

This includes websites that may infer adult content, link to adult content elsewhere, or promote adult-related products or services.

Links to prohibited material are also not permitted.


Unsolicited Email and Commercial Advertising

The sending of unsolicited email is strictly prohibited.

This includes unsolicited email sent:

  • from a WebhostingNZ server
  • using an email address hosted on a WebhostingNZ server
  • using a domain hosted or maintained on a WebhostingNZ server as a reference

Accounts involved in spam or unsolicited bulk email may be suspended or terminated.


IRC and Bots

IRC services or IRC bots may not be operated on our web hosting servers.


Refusal of Service

We reserve the right to refuse, cancel, suspend, or terminate service at our sole discretion.

All sub-networks, hosted sites, reseller accounts, and dedicated services operated by or through WebhostingNZ must comply with these policies.

Failure to follow any term or condition may result in immediate account deactivation.


Staff Abuse

Abuse towards WebhostingNZ staff will not be tolerated.

This includes abusive, threatening, harassing, or offensive communication by ticket, email, phone, or any other method.


Data Loss and Human Error

WebhostingNZ cannot be held responsible for the loss of data for any reason.

WebhostingNZ cannot be held responsible for human error.

Customers are responsible for keeping their own independent backups of important website, database, email, and account data.


Ongoing Fees

For your convenience, ongoing fees for Web Hosting Plans may be automatically charged to the same debit or credit card used when the service was started.

This card may be held on file for recurring billing and charged according to the billing period selected during the order process.

Payment options may include monthly, quarterly, or annual billing depending on the service selected.

If you registered your domain name through WebhostingNZ, your domain name may also be automatically renewed and charged to the same card.

If you paid using PayPal, an invoice will be sent near the renewal date with payment options.

You can also pay by direct bank payment.

Bank account:
02-1291-0644029-000

Account name:
WEB HOST SERVERS LTD

Please use your invoice number as the payment reference so we can match the payment to your account.

If any changes are required, or you wish to cancel at any time, please contact the WebhostingNZ Support Desk through our contact page or by emailing:

support@webhostingnz.com

Please include your full identifying details so we can locate your account.


Refunds

Hosting fees may be refunded back to the original payment method if the hosting account is cancelled within the first 30 days of ordering.

Domain registration and domain renewal fees cannot be refunded once the domain has been registered or renewed, as the registrar does not permit a refund or cancellation.

SSL certificate fees cannot be refunded, cancelled, or amended once processed.


Domain Name Registrations

From 1 January 2014, ICANN requires verification of newly registered domain names. This does not apply to .nz domain names.

If we register a domain name for you, you may receive a verification email from the registrar shortly after registration.

You must use the link within that email to verify your registered details.

If verification is not completed within the required timeframe, the registrar may place the domain name into a suspended state. The domain will not be usable until the details have been verified.


Domain Name Transfers

WebhostingNZ is a hosting provider, not a domain registrar.

We generally only manage domain names that are hosted with us.

If you wish to move a domain name away from WebhostingNZ, or change the nameservers so we no longer host it, you may need to transfer the domain name away. This is done by requesting the domain transfer key, such as the EPP code or UDAI key.


Network Uptime Guarantee

We guarantee that our network will be available at least 99.9% of any full month.

If this goal is not met, we will provide a credit of one month of free web hosting.


Scheduled Updates

Notification of scheduled updates will be posted in the Announcements section of the client area.

Updates may also be posted on our Facebook page:

www.facebook.com/webhostingnz


Backups

We normally keep weekly offshore hosting backups in case of serious server failure.

These backups are not guaranteed to be taken.

We recommend generating a full backup from the hosting control panel before making any major changes to your website files, database, or application.

We generally hold backups for up to one month, but backups may be removed when accounts are cancelled, terminated, or removed due to non-payment.

We do not back up:

  • emails
  • plans with unlimited disk space
  • suspended accounts

We do not permit the storage of backups on our hosting accounts.

You may use backup software to back up your account outside of the backups we already take, but those backup files must be stored outside of your hosting account and removed from the server.

If a backup system is installed on the hosting account, we may disable our weekly backups for that account.

This includes:

  • backup plugins installed through a CMS such as WordPress
  • software such as BackupBuddy or similar tools
  • custom backup scripts
  • scripts that back up part or all of the website

You may still run a manual backup through cPanel at any time.


Resource Fair Usage

Our web hosting plans are designed for normal website usage.

Resource allocations are based on typical spike usage that occurs when websites are viewed and used normally.

Continued high usage of resources, or use of the hosting account for applications other than normal website viewing, may result in automatic lowering of allowed resources, suspension, or a requirement to upgrade to a more suitable plan.


Server Software and Updates

WebhostingNZ is committed to maintaining a secure, stable, and high-performance server environment.

To achieve this, we regularly update core server software, including but not limited to PHP and MariaDB/MySQL.


PHP Versions

We will endeavour to provide clients with access to the latest actively supported versions of PHP as defined by the official PHP development team.

You can view the current supported PHP versions here:

https://www.php.net/supported-versions

It is the user's responsibility to ensure their website code, themes, plugins, and scripts are maintained and remain compatible with current supported PHP versions.

Legacy PHP Versions

We may, at our sole discretion, provide access to older end-of-life PHP versions.

These legacy versions are provided as-is and without warranty.

End-of-life PHP versions no longer receive security patches and may be removed from our servers at any time, for any reason, and without prior notice.


MariaDB / MySQL Versions

Our database servers, including MariaDB/MySQL, are updated as required for security patches, performance improvements, compatibility, or new server deployments.

It is the user's responsibility to ensure their website and applications remain compatible with these database updates.


Liability for Software Compatibility and Maintenance

WebhostingNZ Ltd will not be held liable for website errors, malfunctions, downtime, data loss, loss of email history, or other issues resulting from a user's failure to maintain compatibility with:

  • server software updates
  • PHP updates
  • MariaDB/MySQL updates
  • security updates
  • emergency server maintenance
  • server rebuilds
  • migrations
  • restorations from backup
  • security incidents
  • zero-day vulnerabilities
  • other events outside our reasonable control

It is the user's responsibility to keep their own website software up to date and to maintain independent backups of important website, database, email, and account data.


Changes to this Policy

This Acceptable Use Policy and Service Guidelines document is subject to change at any time by WebhostingNZ.

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