General Terms & Conditions

SmartHost Terms and Conditions of Service 

Last Updated: May 2025 

Welcome to SmartHost. These Terms and Conditions of Service (“these Terms” or “T&Cs”) constitute a legally binding agreement that governs your access to and use of all services we provide, including web hosting (shared and Virtual Private Servers), domain name registration, email services, and SSL certificates. By accessing, using, or purchasing any of our services, you agree to be bound by these Terms and all related policies. Please read them carefully. 

Definitions 

For the purpose of these Terms and Conditions: 

• “SmartHost,” “We,” “Us,” “Our” refers to SmartHost Web Services Ltd. 

• “Customer,” “You,” “Your” refers to the individual or legal entity accessing, using, or purchasing SmartHost services. 

• “Services” refers collectively to all web hosting, domain name registration, email services, SSL certificates, and any other related digital infrastructure services provided by SmartHost. 

• “Account” refers to your user account with SmartHost, including your login credentials and associated service subscriptions. 

• “Website” refers to SmartHost’s official website, located at smarthost.ie, where our services are offered and our policies are published. 

• “Content” refers to any data, text, software, scripts, graphics, photos, sounds, music, videos, interactive features, or other materials you upload, store, or transmit through the Services. 

• “AUP” refers to our Acceptable Use Policy, available as a separate document on our Website. 

• “Privacy Policy” refers to our Privacy Policy, available as a separate document on our Website. 

• “DPA” refers to our Data Processing Addendum, available as a separate document on our Website. 

• “SLA” refers to our Service Level Agreement, available as a separate document on our Website. 

• “Billing Policy” refers to our Billing Policy, available as a separate document on our Website. 

• “Domain Registration Policy” refers to our Domain Registration Policy, available as a separate document on our Website. 

 

1. General Terms of Service (Applicable to All Customers)

1.1. Acceptance of Terms & Age Requirements 

By accessing or using any of SmartHost’s Services, you (“Customer,” “You,” or “Your”) unequivocally agree to comply with and be bound by these Terms and Conditions. Your use of our Services constitutes your acceptance of these Terms. If you do not agree with any part of these Terms, you should not use our Services. 

You must be at least eighteen (18) years of age to enter into an agreement with SmartHost and use our Services. If you are under 18, you may not use our Services, and SmartHost reserves the right to terminate any Account found to be in violation of this age requirement. If you are entering into this agreement on behalf of a legal entity, you represent and warrant that you possess the legal authority to bind that entity to these T&Cs. 

By submitting an order and requesting immediate commencement of Services, you acknowledge that you may lose your right to cancel the agreement under applicable consumer protection regulations, particularly for Services that are immediately provisioned or personalised, such as domain name registration or SSL certificates. 

1.2. Service Description (General) 

SmartHost provides a comprehensive suite of digital infrastructure Services, including web hosting, domain name registration, professional email solutions, and SSL certificates. We are committed to maintaining high service quality and uptime, and will provide our Services with reasonable skill and care, and in conformity with these Terms. You acknowledge that occasional maintenance or unforeseen technical issues may arise, as further detailed in our SLA. 

1.3. User Account, Security, and Credentials 

You are solely responsible for maintaining the confidentiality and security of your Account login credentials, including usernames, passwords, and any API keys. We mandate the use of strong, unique passwords and strongly advise against sharing your credentials. You must promptly notify SmartHost of any suspected unauthorised access to your Account or any security breaches. We strongly recommend utilising two-factor authentication (2FA) for all Accounts where available for enhanced security. 

1.4. Payment, Billing, and Automatic Renewals 

You agree to pay the fees associated with your chosen hosting plans and Services, as outlined on our Website. Billing cycles (e.g., monthly, annually) and accepted payment methods will be specified during the order process. All pricing and billing details are further elaborated in our Billing Policy. 

Subscription-based plans will automatically renew for successive terms unless you cancel the Service before the renewal date, as detailed in our Billing Policy. Failing to make timely payments may result in the suspension or termination of your Services. 

Our refund policy, detailed in our separate Billing Policy document, distinguishes between initial Service periods (e.g., a money-back guarantee period) and renewal terms. Certain Services, such as domain registrations, are generally non-refundable due to their bespoke nature and immediate third-party costs. 

For consumers, you generally benefit from a 14-calendar-day cooling-off period for online purchases, allowing you to withdraw from the contract. However, for personalised Services like domain name registration and SSL certificates, by proceeding with immediate provisioning or registration, you may consent to waive your right of withdrawal, or the Service may be non-refundable due to its personalised or immediate nature. SmartHost will clearly communicate any such waivers or non-refundable conditions during the purchase process. 

1.5. Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) 

Your use of SmartHost’s Services is strictly governed by our Acceptable Use Policy (AUP), which is incorporated into these Terms by reference and available as a separate document on our Website. The AUP prohibits illegal, malicious, or harmful activities, including but not limited to: spamming, phishing, distribution of malware, hacking attempts, infringement of intellectual property rights, and any activity that violates applicable laws. 

The AUP also includes clear guidelines on responsible resource usage (e.g., CPU, memory, bandwidth, inodes) and explicitly reserves SmartHost’s right to monitor and take action (including suspension or termination) against excessive or abusive resource consumption. Prohibited resource-intensive activities include, but are not limited to, image hosting scripts, file dump/mirror scripts, commercial audio streaming (beyond reasonable limits), BitTorrent trackers, or cryptocurrency mining. SmartHost reserves the right to determine, acting reasonably and in good faith, what constitutes a violation of the AUP. 

1.6. Privacy Policy & Data Processing Addendum (DPA) 

Your privacy is paramount to SmartHost. Our Privacy Policy, available as a separate document on our Website, details how SmartHost collects, uses, stores, and protects your personal data (e.g., name, email, payment details, IP addresses), our data retention policies, use of cookies and tracking technologies, and how you can exercise your GDPR-mandated data subject rights (access, correction, deletion, portability). 

For our business Customers who process third-party personal data (e.g., customer data on an e-commerce site), a separate Data Processing Addendum (DPA) is mandatory. This DPA, also available on our Website, clearly defines SmartHost’s role as a data processor under Article 28 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). It outlines the subject matter, nature, and purpose of processing, types of personal data, categories of data subjects, SmartHost’s security measures, procedures for data breaches, and how SmartHost will assist you in fulfilling your GDPR obligations. 

1.7. Intellectual Property Rights 

You retain all intellectual property rights to the Content you upload, store, or transmit through SmartHost’s Services. You grant SmartHost a limited, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to use, reproduce, modify, and distribute your Content solely for the purpose of providing and maintaining the Services. You are prohibited from uploading or distributing any Content that infringes upon the intellectual property rights of third parties. 

1.8. Limitation of Liability and Indemnification 

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, in no event, and under no theory of law or equity, will SmartHost be liable for indirect, incidental, consequential, punitive, or special damages, including but not limited to loss of data, profits, revenue, or business interruption, regardless of the cause. Our aggregate liability will be limited to the total fees paid by you for the respective Services in the preceding twelve (12) months. These limitations do not apply where prohibited by law (e.g., for death or personal injury caused by SmartHost’s negligence, or for fraud). 

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold SmartHost harmless from any claims, damages, losses, or expenses arising from your use or misuse of the Services, your breach of these T&Cs, or your infringement of third-party rights. 

1.9. Suspension and Termination of Services 

SmartHost reserves the right to suspend or terminate Services for specific reasons, including non-payment of fees, violation of these T&Cs (especially the AUP), engagement in illegal activities, or excessive resource abuse. 

You have the right to terminate Services by providing the required notice as specified in your Service agreement and our Billing Policy. Upon termination, it is your sole responsibility for migrating or backing up your data prior to the cessation of Services. SmartHost’s data deletion policies post-termination will be specified in our Privacy Policy, which will detail retention periods and deletion processes. 

1.10. Dispute Resolution and Governing Law 

We encourage an initial phase of informal resolution, where both parties commit to resolving disputes amicably through direct communication. For formal disputes, we propose a multi-tiered approach: first, an internal complaints handling procedure, which includes a Notice-and-Action mechanism for illegal content as per the Digital Services Act; then, for consumer Customers, a reference to the availability of out-of-court dispute settlement bodies (e.g., the EU Online Dispute Resolution platform) for consumer disputes, and an internal complaint handling system for content moderation decisions. 

These T&Cs and any disputes arising from them shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of Ireland. For legal proceedings, you agree to the jurisdiction of the courts of Ireland. However, consumers retain the right to bring proceedings in the courts of their country of domicile within the EU, as applicable under EU law. 

1.11. Amendments to Terms and Service Features 

SmartHost reserves the right to update or modify these Terms and Conditions from time to time. We will provide reasonable notice for significant changes (e.g., 15-30 days) via email or a prominent notice on our Website. Your continued use of Services after such notice constitutes your acceptance of the updated Terms. 

SmartHost may also update or modify Service features, applications, or components to enhance performance, security, or functionality. For recurring digital services provided to consumers, any such changes will be made in accordance with the Consumer Rights Act 2022. You will be provided with a clear and timely notification of any changes to core Service features and, where required by law, you will have the right to terminate the contract without cost. 

1.12. Force Majeure 

Neither SmartHost nor you shall be liable for any delay or failure in performance of our obligations (excluding payment obligations) caused by events beyond our reasonable control (“Force Majeure Event”). Such events may include acts of God (e.g., natural disasters), war, terrorism, civil unrest, labor disputes, governmental acts, or widespread equipment failures affecting telecommunications services generally. 

2. Service-Specific Terms (Separate Sections/Annexes)

The following terms apply specifically to the respective Services and supplement the General Terms of Service. If there is a conflict between these service-specific terms and the General Terms, the service-specific terms shall prevail for that particular Service. 

2.1. Shared Hosting Specifics 

Shared hosting environments are designed to serve multiple users efficiently. To ensure fair resource allocation and optimal performance for all Customers, your use of shared hosting Services is subject to specific resource limits. These may include limitations on CPU usage (e.g., 25% of one core), RAM (e.g., 512MB), inode count (e.g., 250,000 for Linux, 500,000 for Windows), database size (e.g., 1GB per database), Website connections, active processes, and disk I/O. Detailed resource usage guidelines and consequences for exceeding them are provided in our AUP and Billing Policy. 

“Unlimited” plans are subject to a fair use policy, meaning that while no hard cap is set on bandwidth or disk space, usage that risks the stability or performance of shared servers may require an upgrade or resource restriction. Such usage is generally not intended for large media repositories, extensive file sharing, or other highly resource-intensive operations unsuitable for shared environments. Specific resource-intensive scripts or activities unsuitable for shared environments are prohibited, including but not limited to image hosting scripts for anonymous uploads, file dump/mirror scripts, commercial audio streaming (beyond one or two streams), Bittorrent trackers, or any script that degrades server performance. 

SmartHost provides courtesy daily backups for Shared Hosting accounts. While we take reasonable measures to ensure data integrity, these backups are provided without warranty, and Customers remain solely responsible for maintaining their own independent backups of their Content. 

2.2. VPS Hosting Specifics 

Virtual Private Server (VPS) hosting provides you with enhanced control over your server environment, including administrator (root) access. With this increased control comes a corresponding increase in your responsibility for server management, including security patching, software updates, and the compliance of hosted applications. 

SmartHost generally does not provide backups for VPS environments. You are solely responsible for implementing and maintaining your own data backup strategy, unless a specific backup Service is purchased as an add-on. IP addresses assigned to your VPS may change due to server migrations, and SmartHost does not guarantee the consistent maintenance of given IP numbers. 

2.3. Domain Name Registration Specifics 

Domain name registration Services are subject to and require your compliance with the terms and conditions of third-party entities, including ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) and the specific domain registry (e.g., Nominet for .uk domains). 

Policies regarding WHOIS information will be detailed in our Domain Registration Policy, including its public availability, options for privacy Services, and your obligation to ensure accuracy and prompt updates. 

The processes for domain renewal, expiry, grace periods, and redemption periods will be clearly outlined in our Billing Policy and Domain Registration Policy, stressing your sole responsibility for timely renewals to prevent loss of the domain. Procedures and potential locks associated with domain transfers will be explained in our Domain Registration Policy. Applicable domain name dispute resolution policies (e.g., UDRP for gTLDs, Nominet’s DRS for .uk domains) will be referenced. 

Domain registrations are considered bespoke purchases. By proceeding with a domain registration, you acknowledge that you may waive any right to a cooling-off period, or that the Service is non-refundable once registered with the applicable registry. 

2.4. Email Services Specifics 

Your email Services are subject to mailbox storage quotas. Exceeding these limits may result in incoming emails being returned as undeliverable, content deletion, or a request for an upgrade. 

Robust anti-spam and anti-virus provisions are included, explicitly prohibiting the use of SmartHost’s servers for sending unsolicited bulk email (spam) and mass mailing/mailing lists. Violation of this policy may lead to immediate deactivation of your email Services without warning, and may be subject to fines and administrative fees as detailed in our AUP. 

Email data backup and retention policies is clarified in our Privacy Policy, stating whether SmartHost performs backups and for how long, and emphasising your responsibility for critical email data. Webmail account activity requirements (e.g., monthly login) and the policy for permanent deletion of inactive webmail Services and their Content are also defined in our AUP. 

2.5. SSL Certificate Specifics 

SmartHost offers various types of SSL certificates (e.g., Domain Validation (DV), Extended Validation (EV)) with differing security levels and verification requirements. The processes for SSL certificate installation, validation (which may involve Customer action), and automatic renewal will be outlined. 

The provision and validity of SSL certificates are subject to the terms and conditions of the respective third-party Certificate Authority (CA) (e.g., Let’s Encrypt, Sectigo). SmartHost’s role is primarily facilitative in the issuance and management of these certificates. 

Free SSL certificates (e.g., Let’s Encrypt) are often included with our hosting plans and are typically configured for automatic renewal. 

3. Separate Policy Documents

The following documents are integral parts of these Terms and Conditions and are available separately on our Website for your detailed review: 

• Acceptable Use Policy (AUP): Outlines prohibited activities, resource usage guidelines, content restrictions, security measures, and consequences of violations, including specific fines and administrative fees. 

• Privacy Policy: Details how SmartHost collects, uses, stores, and protects your personal data, your rights regarding your data, our data retention practices, and email data backup and retention policies. 

• Data Processing Addendum (DPA): A mandatory agreement for business Customers processing third-party personal data, clarifying roles and responsibilities under GDPR. 

• Service Level Agreement (SLA): Provides specific uptime guarantees for our Services, compensation mechanisms for downtime, maintenance windows, and details on hardware replacement. 

• Billing Policy: Details our payment terms, refund policy (including the money-back guarantee), billing cycles, account renewals, chargeback policy, and specific charges for resource overages. 

• Domain Registration Policy: Provides specific details on domain name registration, WHOIS information, renewal processes, transfer procedures, and dispute resolution for domain names. 

Contact Us 

For any questions or concerns regarding these Terms and Conditions, please contact us through the methods provided on our Website. For formal legal or authority communications, please refer to the specific contact points outlined in our Website’s footer and About Us section.