If truth were to be told, an awful few people ever read the terms and conditions on any website. A common habit is to scroll past the terms and conditions and click on the “accept” at the bottom of the page. You must be wondering why it is so important to read through the terms and conditions. Here is why.
1. Avoid being taken advantage of
Companies can hide whatever they want in the terms and conditions, like hidden charges, impractical conditions and more. This is because they are sure that no one really ever bothers to read them. You should, therefore, take a terms and conditions page as seriously as you would any real life contract. Read it and understand it. This will help you avoid being on the receiving end of a scam and you will click the accept button knowing what you are getting yourself into.
2. What to look out for in a web hosting terms
– The maximum number of inodes (files) they allow
– Maximum allocation of CPU and RAM resources
– Maximum number of MySQL databases or tables you are allowed to create and manage per hosting account
– Any limitations on the number of simultaneous connections to the server or your databases.
3. Hidden Charges and fees
Imagine a scenario where you scrolled down the terms and conditions page not giving a hoot to what was contained in it, and clicked on accept. After a while, you want to cancel the service and you get charged for that. Given the fact that you did not bother to read the terms and conditions, you had no idea that the web host had actually clearly stated that you will be charged for cancelling the service, but you still agreed to it. If by any chance you complain to the web host about this charge, you may end up feeling like a big fool when they point this out. Additionally, someone went through a lot of trouble to write that content. All you can do is at least give them due credit. You might just catch something in the process.
4. Unlimited Disappointment
The internet is full of host providers offering a plethora of unlimited features. These could be disk storage space, bandwidth, email and FTP accounts, and more. These are the ones you need to wear your reading glasses and carefully go through their terms of service. Even though you may get lots of storage space and bandwidth, in most cases, it will be far from being unlimited. In a few cases, you may find something precise and to the point like is the case with DreamHost's Unlimited Policy. They, however, do not allow copyrighted content that you do not have usage or distribution rights, file uploads, sharing or backup. Unfortunately for you, if you even accidentally violate this policy, DreamHost retain the right to delete your account and data too as stated in their Unlimited Policy.
5. The ground is the limit
There is always a love hate relationship with limits. We all love to hate them. But we all deserve some level of freedom. Unfortunately, this is not the case with some web host providers who are hell bent on limiting as much as they can on what you can do with your own website. A perfect example is CrazyDomains. A keen analysis of their terms and conditions reveals a list of things you should not do if you do not want to risk termination of service, which could lead to possible loss of data. What is even more interesting is that these conditions are placed under a heading that reads “You also agree not to attempt any of the following”. This is a very ambiguous statement. There is really no defined line between intentional and accidental. This means that the company can decide that a breach of agreement has occurred whether you did it accidentally or intentionally.
6. Something you can do
When we say you should read the terms and conditions, we do not mean it will be a crime not to read each and every word in the terms and conditions. That is plain exhausting. You should, however, skim through the headings and read through the ones that you feel matter to you. Payment section, restrictions, and service cancellation sections are however sections that you should always make a point of going through. Terms and Conditions are usually not created just for the sake of it, they serve a purpose. They are online contracts and as such, tie with the law. You should, therefore, know what you are getting yourself into when you decide to agree to them.
