Service Commitments
This page describes the targets and operational practices we commit to in delivering ModHost services. It supplements our Terms of Service and is incorporated by reference into them.
We use the term "commitments" rather than "service level agreement" deliberately. The targets below describe what we aim for and how we operate. Where we fall short, we work to fix it. We do not offer automatic service credits when targets are missed, but we take any sustained shortfall seriously and address it directly with affected customers.
On this page
1.Service availability
Target uptime: 99.9% per calendar month, measured at the server level for the hosting service itself.
This corresponds to roughly 43 minutes of downtime per month, or 8 hours and 45 minutes per year. Our actual historical uptime, averaged across servers over the past ten years, has been higher than this target, but 99.9% is the number we commit to.
What counts as downtime. Periods during which the hosting service for your website is unavailable due to issues with ModHost-managed infrastructure.
What does not count as downtime.
- Scheduled maintenance announced in advance
- Issues caused by your own code, plugins, themes, or applications
- Resource overages on your part (bandwidth, disk storage)
- DDoS or other attacks specifically targeting your site or account
- Issues with third-party services you have integrated (external CDNs, APIs, payment gateways, etc.)
- DNS issues at the registry or registrar level outside our control
- Force majeure events as defined in our Terms of Service
- Periods during which a service is suspended for AUP or billing reasons
2.Scheduled maintenance
We perform routine maintenance during a defined window: 06:00 to 10:00 UTC, which corresponds to overnight hours for most of our US customer base.
We announce maintenance at least 48 hours in advance for routine work, by email to active customers and through the customer area. Emergency maintenance — for example, in response to a critical security advisory — may occur with shorter notice when the alternative would create greater risk for customers.
We aim to keep maintenance windows brief and to perform updates with the minimum disruption necessary.
3.Support response targets
Standard support requests are acknowledged within one day. In practice, our recent average initial response time is well under one hour.
General inquiries (sales questions, billing questions not requiring immediate action, general information) are acknowledged within two business days.
Critical incidents — server-level outages, mass site unavailability, security incidents affecting customer data — are responded to as quickly as possible at any time of day, including weekends and holidays. We commit to acknowledging critical incidents within an hour, with the understanding that faster response is the norm rather than the exception.
4.Backups
Frequency. Customer accounts are backed up daily to two separate datacenter locations. Both copies are retained on a rolling 30-day basis.
Restoration. Most customer accounts can be restored from backup within a few minutes. Larger accounts may take up to 30 minutes. Customers can perform self-service restores from the customer control panel without contacting support.
Customer responsibility. As described in the Terms of Service, our backup service is intended as a recovery aid. Customers remain responsible for maintaining their own copies of any data critical to their operations.
5.Security and incident response
We monitor ModHost infrastructure for security events continuously. If we detect an incident affecting customer data or services, we will:
- Take immediate action to contain the incident
- Notify affected customers within a reasonable period — under 72 hours where the incident affects personal data, in line with our Privacy Policy and GDPR requirements
- Provide updates as the situation develops and a post-incident summary once resolved
Customers should report suspected compromises of their accounts to support@modhost.com immediately.
6.What this page does not commit to
To be clear about scope:
This page describes targets and operational practices, not contractual guarantees. Except where specifically stated, falling short of a target does not entitle a customer to compensation, service credits, or refund.
These commitments do not override the warranty disclaimers, limitation of liability, or other provisions of our Terms of Service.
These commitments do not extend to:
- Software you have installed (WordPress core, plugins, themes, custom code)
- Your own application performance, regardless of cause
- Third-party services you have integrated with your hosted environment
- Email deliverability to specific recipient mailboxes (which depends on factors outside our control)
Our service is not a substitute for your own backups, security practices, or due diligence. It is a managed hosting service, not an insurance policy.
7.Reporting issues
If you experience a service issue, contact us at support@modhost.com.
For confirmed downtime affecting your site, we encourage you to report it even if our monitoring has already detected it — the report helps us correlate symptoms and confirm scope.
For sustained or recurring issues that fall short of the commitments on this page, contact us directly. We will investigate, explain what happened, and where appropriate take steps including service credits, plan adjustments, or migration assistance.
8.Changes to this page
We may update these commitments from time to time. Material changes — such as a change to the uptime target or the scope of supported services — will be communicated to active customers by email at least 30 days before they take effect. The current version is always available at modhost.com/service-commitments.
9.Contact
For service issues: support@modhost.com
For general questions about these commitments: support@modhost.com