WordPress Website Hosting Agreement

This agreement governs the provision of website hosting and related services by Peabody Digital (we, us, our) to the client (you, your). By subscribing to our services, you agree to be bound by the terms below.

1. About this agreement

1.1 This agreement applies to all website hosting services and any additional services we provide to you. Your continued use of the services constitutes ongoing acceptance of these terms.

1.2 This agreement is the entire agreement between us relating to the services. It supersedes any prior agreement or arrangement. No other terms presented by you will apply. No employee, agent, or contractor has authority to vary this agreement orally or in writing unless they are an authorised representative of Peabody Digital.

1.3 We may update this agreement at any time. We will publish the updated version on our website and will notify you directly by email where we consider the change to be significant. If you do not accept the changes, you must cancel your subscription within ten business days of being notified. Continued use of the services after that period constitutes acceptance.

1.4 Nothing in this agreement limits or excludes any rights you may have under applicable consumer protection laws, including the Australian Consumer Law.

1.5 Unless we have agreed otherwise with you in writing, the pricing and plan features that apply to your subscription are those published on our website on the date you accepted this agreement.

2. Eligibility

2.1 You must be at least 18 years old to use our services. By subscribing, you confirm that you meet this requirement.

2.2 Where our services are provided to a business, that business must be a legally registered entity. We reserve the right to refuse service if we are unable to verify registration.

2.3 By accepting this agreement, you confirm that you have authority to bind the business or organisation on whose behalf you are acting.

3. Your responsibilities

3.1 You must use our services in accordance with our acceptable use policies as published on our website.

3.2 You are responsible for obtaining all licences and permissions required to upload or transmit content through our services.

3.3 Your personal information is handled in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

3.4 You are solely responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of any passwords or login credentials we provide to you. You must take reasonable steps to prevent unauthorised access.

3.5 You are responsible for ensuring that our services are configured to meet your own operational, privacy, and security requirements. Your hardware, software, and any other systems you use must be compatible with our services. We are not obliged to modify our services to accommodate your specific requirements.

3.6 You must maintain independent backup copies of all your data. You must not rely on our backup services as your sole means of data protection.

3.7 Where you have end users who access or benefit from your use of our services, you are responsible for ensuring they are bound by terms consistent with this agreement.

3.8 Certain components of the services are licensed to you, not sold. These licences are non-transferable and end upon termination of this agreement or the relevant service.

3.9 By using our services, you agree that we may update or upgrade service software and configurations at any time. Hardware configurations may vary, and we may migrate your account to different servers or data centres as reasonably required. These changes may result in minor variations to service performance.

3.10 Third-party software included in our services is provided on an as-is basis and may be subject to additional terms from those providers. By accepting this agreement, you also accept the applicable terms of our third-party providers.

4. Pricing and plans

4.1 Current pricing and plan details are available on our website.

4.2 We reserve the right to change pricing, plans, and features at any time. Where we increase pricing, we will provide you with reasonable notice prior to the change taking effect.

4.3 All hosting services are provided as part of a managed WordPress care plan. The minimum available plan is the Essentials plan. The inclusions of each plan are described in the Website Care Plan Schedule, which is published on our website and forms part of this agreement.

5. Payment

5.1 Services are billed monthly or annually in advance, as selected by you. Subsequent payments are charged on the monthly or annual anniversary of your initial billing date.

5.2 Plan upgrades take effect immediately. A pro-rata billing adjustment will be applied for the remainder of your current billing period.

5.3 Plan downgrades take effect at the end of your current billing period. You may notify us of your intention to downgrade at any time. We may decline a downgrade request if the lower plan is not suitable for your account’s requirements.

5.4 If you believe there is an error in your billing, contact us in writing. We will work with you in good faith to resolve the dispute promptly. We may suspend services during unresolved billing disputes. Services will be reactivated once any outstanding amounts are paid.

5.5 We do not offer refunds except where required by law, including under the Australian Consumer Law

6. Cancellation and suspension

6.1 You may cancel your subscription at any time. Cancellation takes effect at the end of your current billing period. You will retain access to services until that date.

6.2 If you change your mind after requesting cancellation and your billing period has not yet expired, notify us in writing and we will reinstate your subscription.

6.3 Upon cancellation taking effect, you will lose access to all hosted services, including your website and email. We reserve the right to permanently delete all website files, email accounts, and user data from our servers at that point. It is your responsibility to retrieve any data you need before cancellation takes effect.

6.4 Domain names you have registered with us remain yours until the end of their registration period. You may renew with us or transfer to another registrar at any time.

6.5 We have no obligation to forward email following cancellation.

6.6 If a renewal payment becomes overdue, we may suspend your services at our discretion. We will notify you by email to the address you have provided.

6.7 If a renewal payment remains overdue for 14 days or more, we may terminate your account. Termination in these circumstances will be treated as a client-initiated cancellation under clauses 6.3 and 6.4, including permanent deletion of all data.

6.8 Domain names not included free with a subscription will be suspended upon expiry of their registration period unless renewal payment has been received and confirmed.

7. Technical support and content editing

7.1 Technical support is available to registered clients via email during normal business hours. Support is provided on a reasonable-efforts basis.

7.2 Technical support covers issues relating directly to hosting, email, and domain services. It does not extend to issues arising from your own configuration choices, third-party applications, or development work outside the scope of your plan.

7.3 If your support requests significantly exceed normal usage, or if support is required for work that falls within our paid development services, we will notify you and obtain your consent before charging additional fees.

7.4 By requesting technical support, you authorise us to access all relevant aspects of your hosting account as necessary to address your request. You are responsible for any changes made to your account after we complete the requested work.

7.5 We may decline to provide support where issues arise from misuse, neglect, or actions that violate this agreement. If we agree to rectify issues caused by misuse, we will charge for the time involved.

7.6 We do not provide administrator-level access to third parties — including IT contractors, marketing consultants, or agencies engaged by you — without your written request specifying the scope of work required. Approval is at our sole discretion. Where access is granted, it will be limited to the minimum permissions and time necessary. We may revoke such access at any time if we consider it necessary to protect the security or stability of our services. We may elect to perform the requested work on your behalf rather than granting direct access. You remain responsible for any actions taken by third parties to whom you have requested access be granted, and you agree to indemnify us against any resulting damage, disruption, or security risk.

7.7 Where your plan includes a monthly content editing allowance, that allowance covers minor updates such as text changes, image updates, and basic layout modifications. Unused allowance does not carry over from one month to the next. Content editing requests must be submitted in writing and are handled in order of receipt during business hours. Work beyond your monthly allowance will be charged at our standard rate.

8. Intellectual property

8.1 We retain all intellectual property rights in the services and any materials we create. We grant you a limited, non-transferable licence to access and use the services during the term of this agreement. This licence ends upon termination.

8.2 You own all content and data you upload to our servers. By submitting support requests or feedback, you grant us the right to use that information to improve our services. No intellectual property rights in resulting improvements pass to you.

8.3 You are responsible for ensuring you hold all necessary rights, licences, and consents for content you upload or transmit through our services. If we become aware of a dispute regarding intellectual property in content you have uploaded, we reserve the right to remove or suspend that content without notice pending resolution.

8.4 If we have not provided a licence for particular software as part of your plan, you are responsible for obtaining the necessary licences independently.

9. Warranties and disclaimer

9.1 You confirm that:

(a) you have the knowledge and experience necessary to use the services;

(b) you understand the risks associated with operating on the internet;

(c) your use of the services will comply with all applicable laws and regulations; and

(d) you own or are licensed to use all content you provide to us or transmit through the services.

9.2 To the maximum extent permitted by law, and without limiting your rights under the Australian Consumer Law, our services are provided on an as-is basis. We make no representations or warranties — express or implied — regarding fitness for purpose, merchantability, uninterrupted operation, or freedom from error.

9.3 No employee or agent is authorised to make any warranty on our behalf.

10. Limitation of liability

10.1 To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, and without limiting your rights as a consumer under the Australian Consumer Law, our total liability to you for any claim arising under or in connection with this agreement is limited to the fees actually paid by you to us in the three months preceding the event giving rise to the claim.

10.2 We are not liable for any indirect, consequential, incidental, or punitive loss or damage, including loss of profits, loss of data, loss of revenue, or loss of business opportunity, regardless of how that loss arises.

10.3 Nothing in this agreement limits our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, fraud, or any other liability that cannot be excluded by law.

11. Indemnity

11.1 You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Peabody Digital and its officers, employees, contractors, and agents (together, the “indemnified parties”) from and against any and all claims, demands, actions, losses, damages, liabilities, costs, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising out of or relating to:

(a) your use of the services, or use by any end user or third party accessing the services through your account;

(b) any content you upload, transmit, or make available through the services;

(c) any breach of this agreement by you;

(d) any breach of applicable law by you or your end users;

(e) any act or omission by a third party to whom access to the services has been granted at your request; or

(f) any claim by a third party that your content, or your use of the services, infringes their intellectual property rights, privacy rights, or other legal rights.

This indemnity applies regardless of whether the relevant act or omission was intentional, negligent, or inadvertent. It survives termination of this agreement.

11.2 We are not obliged to indemnify you in respect of any claim. To the extent we choose to do so voluntarily in any particular circumstance, that does not create any ongoing obligation to do so in future.

11.3 If a claim is made against the indemnified parties to which clause 11.1 applies:

(a) we will notify you promptly in writing;

(b) you will, at your own cost, take over the conduct of the defence or settlement of the claim if we request you to do so;

(c) you will not settle any claim in a way that imposes any obligation, restriction, or liability on any indemnified party without our prior written consent; and

(d) we may, at our election, participate in the defence of any claim using legal representatives of our choice, at your cost.

11.4 Our decision to participate in or oversee the defence of a claim does not reduce your indemnity obligations.

12. Confidentiality

12.1 Each party agrees to keep confidential any non-public information received from the other in connection with this agreement, and not to disclose it to third parties except as necessary to perform obligations under this agreement, as required by law, or with the other party’s prior written consent. This obligation does not apply to information that is publicly available or was already known to the receiving party at the time of disclosure. This clause survives termination for a period of three years.

12.2 We may reference your name as a client in our marketing materials only with your prior written consent.

12.3 If we are required by law to disclose information relating to your account, we will notify you as soon as practicable, unless prohibited from doing so by law. We are not required to respond to litigation-related account requests from you, but if we agree to do so, we reserve the right to charge an administrative fee for the time involved.

13. Notices

13.1 Notices may be sent by email. Notices to you will be sent to the email address registered on your account. Notices to us must be sent to the contact details below. You are responsible for keeping your contact details current.

13.2 Cancellation notices must be given as set out in section 6.

13.3 Legal notices to us are effective only upon acknowledged receipt and must be directed to:

Peabody Digital
admin@peabodydigital.com.au

14. Disputes and governing law

14.1 If a dispute arises, each party will nominate an authorised representative within five business days. Those representatives will meet and negotiate in good faith to reach a resolution before either party commences formal proceedings.

14.2 This agreement is governed by the laws of Tasmania. The parties submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Tasmania.

15. Miscellaneous

15.1 Severability. If any provision of this agreement is found to be void or unenforceable, it will be severed and the remaining provisions will continue in full force.

15.2 Assignment. Your rights under this agreement are personal to you and may not be assigned or transferred. We may assign or subcontract our obligations under this agreement without your consent.

15.3 Force majeure. Neither party is liable for delay or failure caused by events beyond their reasonable control, including natural disasters, war, cyberattacks, telecommunications failures, or government action. The affected party must notify the other as soon as practicable and within ten days of the event beginning. Payment obligations are not excused by force majeure events.

15.4 Waiver. A failure by either party to enforce any provision of this agreement at any time does not constitute a waiver of that party’s right to enforce it in the future.

15.5 Relationship. This agreement does not create any agency, partnership, joint venture, or employment relationship between the parties.

15.6 Headings. Section headings are for convenience only and do not affect interpretation.

15.7 Survival. Clauses 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, and 15 survive termination of this agreement.

16. Definitions

“Consumer” means an individual acting wholly or mainly outside their trade, business, or profession.

“End user” means a person or entity who uses the services via your account, or to whom you provide services using our platform.

“Server” means the computer server infrastructure used by us to deliver the services.

“Services” means website hosting, domain registration, email hosting, and any other services provided by us under this agreement.

“Term” means the prepaid period for which services are provided.

“You” / “your” means the person, firm, or company that subscribes to the services.

Website care plan schedule

This schedule forms part of the Website Hosting Agreement between Peabody Digital and the client. It describes the services included in each care plan tier and the conditions that apply to them.

Current pricing for each plan is published on our website. This schedule may be updated from time to time. We will notify you of material changes in accordance with clause 1.3 of the hosting agreement.

About our plans

Peabody Digital provides managed WordPress hosting only. We do not offer bare or unmanaged hosting. Every client is subscribed to a care plan, and the Essentials plan is the minimum available tier. All plans include a baseline level of managed care — you are not paying for server space alone.

Higher-tier plans include everything in the tier below, plus additional support capacity and content update hours.

Essentials

Foundational protection and essential maintenance.

Ongoing updates to WordPress core, plugins, and themes
Email delivery powered by Amazon Web Services for improved reliability
SSL certificate provisioning and uptime monitoring
Malware and spam protection
Nightly backups with monthly off-site recovery copies, securely stored for 12 months
Email support during business hours
Additional design and development work available at $120/hr, subject to the Website Design and Development Agreement

Support Plus

Enhanced care with content updates.

Everything in Essentials, plus:

Priority email support
Update compatibility monitoring
Performance optimisation
Broken link checking
Up to 30 minutes of content updates per calendar month
Additional design and development work available at $110/hr, subject to the Website Design and Development Agreement

The Works

Advanced care with extensive updates.

Everything in Support Plus, plus:

Up to 60 minutes of content updates per calendar month
Monthly website report and performance review
Priority turnaround on urgent requests
Additional design and development work available at $100/hr, subject to the Website Design and Development Agreement

Content update hours

The following conditions apply to plans that include a monthly content update allowance.

Content update hours cover minor changes to existing website content, including text edits, image swaps, and basic layout adjustments. They do not cover new feature development, structural changes, or work that falls within the scope of the Website Design and Development Agreement.

Hours are provided on a use-it-or-lose-it basis and do not carry over from one calendar month to the next
Requests must be submitted in writing — email is acceptable — and are handled in order of receipt during business hours
Where a request would consume your remaining monthly allowance, we will notify you before proceeding and allow you to decide how to proceed
Work exceeding the monthly allowance is billed at your plan’s standard hourly rate and invoiced separately

Backup services

We perform nightly backups of your website as part of all care plans. The following conditions apply.

In the event of a server-wide failure, we will restore from the most recent available backup at no charge to you. The maximum data loss window in this scenario is 24 hours.

Individual site restores outside of a server-wide failure may be requested at any time. Any data created since the last backup will be lost. We reserve the right to charge at your plan’s standard hourly rate for individual restore work.

Certain file types may be excluded from backups at our discretion, including large media files and archives. You are responsible for verifying whether specific files are covered.

You must not rely on our backup service as your sole means of data protection. We strongly recommend you maintain independent backup copies of your website and data.

Fair use policy

Our services are shared resources. You must ensure that neither you nor your end users consume server resources in a manner that unreasonably affects the performance of services for other clients. What constitutes excessive use is assessed by reference to our experience with similarly situated clients, and is determined at our sole discretion.

If we identify a fair use breach, we may issue a warning and allow a period for correction. If the issue is not resolved, we may apply corrective action including resource limits, suspension, or account termination. We will not be liable for data loss resulting from termination for fair use violations.

Renewals

All services renew automatically at the end of each billing period:

Monthly subscriptions renew on the same day each month
Annual subscriptions renew on the same date each year

You may choose to renew manually at any time. Promotional pricing may apply to manual renewals from time to time.

Uptime

We will make every reasonable effort to maintain service availability. However, you acknowledge that we procure server infrastructure from a third-party hosting provider, and that uptime is ultimately subject to that provider’s performance.

Downtime in the following circumstances is excused:

Scheduled or emergency maintenance
Hardware or software failure
DDoS attacks or other malicious events outside our control
Downtime caused by your own configuration or third-party applications
Downtime resulting from a breach of this agreement by you
Downtime during active work on a support request
Force majeure events

To the maximum extent permitted by law, and subject to your rights as a consumer, our liability for downtime is limited as set out in clause 10 of the Website Hosting Agreement.

Additional services

Any work outside the scope of your care plan — including new features, design work, development projects, or ad hoc support exceeding normal usage — will be scoped and quoted separately and is subject to the Website Design and Development Agreement.