Terms for a web agency reselling hosting

A web agency that hosts its clients' sites is reselling someone else's servers with its own name on the invoice, and its terms have to be honest about that while keeping the agency in control of the relationship: what the agency does and what the provider does, whose availability commitment applies, who owns the domain name, what happens when a client stops paying, and how a client leaves with its site intact. I draft those terms for a fixed fee of £995, delivered in five working days.

Who this is for

Web design, development and digital agencies in England and Wales providing hosting, domain registration, SSL and email to clients as part of their service, on a third-party hosting provider's infrastructure, billed annually or monthly.

What matters in terms for an agency reselling hosting

What the agency provides and what the provider does

The terms should say that hosting is provided on infrastructure operated by a third-party provider, that the agency manages the account, configuration, updates and support as the terms describe, that the provider's terms and acceptable use policy apply to the client's site, and that the agency does not warrant the provider's infrastructure beyond passing through its commitments; the agency's own obligation is reasonable care and skill under section 13 of the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 in what it manages. Backups, updates to the site's software and security monitoring should be listed as included or as separate services, because clients assume all three.

Availability, support and the pass-through

The terms should state the availability the provider commits to and that the agency passes it through, with the agency's own support hours and response times for the things it controls, exclusions for the provider's outages, the client's own changes and third-party services, and a remedy limited to credits the agency receives from the provider; an agency that promises its clients uptime the provider has not promised it is promising its own money.

Domain names and who owns them

The terms should say that domain names are registered in the client's name as registrant, or if in the agency's name for convenience, are held on trust for the client and transferred on request, and that the client is bound by the registry's terms; an agency that registers a client's domain in its own name and refuses to release it on a dispute is the story every web client has heard. Renewal of domains, the consequences of lapse, and the fees for transfer should be stated.

Renewals, invoicing and non-payment

The terms should state the hosting term and renewal, invoicing in advance, price changes on notice before renewal, the notice a client must give to cancel, and the agency's right to suspend hosting for non-payment after notice, with the site taken offline rather than deleted and a period before deletion; where the client is a consumer, the renewal terms must be fair under Schedule 2 to the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and the subscription rules under Part 4 of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 apply, while business clients are governed by the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 test. Interest under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 applies to business clients.

Data protection and the provider as subprocessor

The agency processes personal data in the client's site, forms and email as the client's processor, and the hosting provider is the agency's subprocessor, so the terms must contain the provisions Article 28 of the UK GDPR requires, name the provider and its locations, address transfers under Article 46 where servers are outside the UK, state security under Article 32 at the level the agency controls, and provide breach notification; the agency's access to the client's site and email should be limited to what the service requires.

Leaving the agency and moving the site

The terms should say that the client may leave at the end of a term and take its site, that the agency will provide a copy of the site files and database and cooperate with the transfer of the domain and email at stated rates, that the client's licence to the site design and code is as the development terms provided, and that hosting ends on a stated date after which data is deleted. Liability should be capped at the hosting fees paid in the year, with loss of data limited to restoration from the last backup, and third-party rights excluded under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999.

What it costs

SaaS or technology contract, £995. One contract drafted for how your product or service is sold, delivered and supported. Five working days.

Buying online forms the engagement on payment. The scope is what the saas and technology contracts page describes, you accept the Terms of Service at checkout, and I email you within four working hours to get started. If you would rather ask something first, email me.

What you get

• A bespoke contract drafted for how your product is sold, delivered and supported
• Service levels you can meet, with remedies that are proportionate rather than aspirational
• A liability position that is defensible and will survive enterprise procurement
• IP and data provisions that fit together rather than contradicting each other
• A commercial note on where you will get pushback and what is worth conceding
• One round of amendments

What is not included

• Negotiating individual enterprise deals, which I quote separately
• Advice on the law of jurisdictions outside England and Wales
• Technical security certification or audit
• Regulatory advice for regulated sectors such as financial services or health

Questions I am often asked

A client has not paid for a year and wants their site files. Do we have to hand them over?

The site belongs to the client under the development terms, and the terms provide for a copy on leaving; the agency can require outstanding hosting fees first and may charge for the transfer work. Holding the domain hostage is a different matter, and the terms do not permit it.

The hosting provider had an outage and our client lost sales. Are we liable?

Only to the extent of the credits the provider gives the agency, if the terms pass through the provider's commitment and exclude its outages from the agency's own. That is why the pass-through is drafted rather than assumed.

Should domains be in our name or the client's?

The client's, as registrant, with the agency as technical contact. Where the agency holds a domain for convenience, the terms say it is held for the client and transferred on request.

Related guidance and services

• SaaS and technology contracts, £995, the service this page describes
• Contract review, £495
• Data protection agreements and privacy terms, £795
• Terms and conditions for a web design and development agency
• Managed hosting agreement

This page is general guidance for businesses in England and Wales, not advice on your own circumstances. Last reviewed: September 2026. Email geoffrey@caesar.co.uk.