Guidelines for reasonable use of our failover service.
Siteavail's failover service runs on shared infrastructure with finite bandwidth and capacity. This policy exists to ensure that all customers have reliable access to failover when they need it most. It supplements our Terms of Service and is written in plain language so you know exactly what to expect.
Failover is designed to keep your site online while you resolve your primary hosting issue — whether that's a server crash, a hosting provider outage, a failed deployment, or any other situation that takes your site offline.
Failover is not a replacement for web hosting, a content delivery network (CDN), or a long-term serving solution. It serves a static copy of your site's front-end content. We expect failover events to be temporary — typically lasting hours to a few days while you restore your primary hosting.
If your site remains in failover for more than 7 consecutive days, we may reach out to discuss a resolution plan. We understand that some outages take time to resolve — migrating to a new host, recovering from a major incident, or dealing with a hosting provider dispute can take more than a week.
This is a conversation, not an automatic shutoff. We'll work with you to understand your situation and find a path forward. Our goal is to help you get back on your primary hosting, not to cut you off during a crisis.
If your site generates unusually high traffic during a failover event — for example, due to viral content, news coverage, or a marketing campaign — we may need to work with you to manage the load. This could include:
We'll communicate proactively if your traffic levels are approaching the limits of what our shared infrastructure can handle, and we'll work together to find a solution.
Our infrastructure includes DDoS protection that automatically mitigates most attacks. However, if your site is under an active DDoS attack that threatens service quality for other customers, we may need to take immediate action, which could include:
We'll make every effort to keep your site online, but protecting the broader service for all customers takes priority in severe cases.
We will always contact you first. We don't suspend service without a conversation, except in cases where immediate action is needed to protect other customers (such as an active DDoS attack). Here's what you can expect:
Our aim is to be a reliable partner during your worst day — not to nickel-and-dime you during an emergency. This policy exists to prevent abuse and ensure fairness, not to limit legitimate use.
If you have questions about this policy or want to discuss your specific situation, contact us at contact@siteavail.com.