Effective date: August 22, 2026. This version supersedes all earlier Domain & Email Hosting Terms of Service.
These Domain & Email Hosting Terms of Service ("Email Terms") govern the domain registration and custom-domain email hosting services ("Email Service") provided by Artisan Hosting, LLC, a Wisconsin limited liability company ("Artisan Hosting," "we," "us," or "our"), to the client identified on the applicable order or subscription ("Client," "you"). These Email Terms supplement, and are incorporated into, the General Terms of Service (the "General Terms"). In the event of a conflict between these Email Terms and the General Terms as applied to the Email Service, these Email Terms control. Capitalized terms not defined here have the meaning given in the General Terms.
Our Acceptable Use Policy and Privacy Policy are incorporated into these Email Terms by reference and apply to your use of the Email Service.
1. Service Description
Artisan Hosting provides domain registration and custom-domain email hosting as a bundled monthly service. This includes:
- Registration and DNS management for one (1) domain per base subscription
- Custom-domain mailboxes, in the quantity and with the storage allowance set by the Client's subscribed tier
- Ongoing monitoring, support, and plan adjustments as usage changes
Underlying infrastructure. Mailbox hosting and mail delivery are provided using third-party infrastructure operated by MXroute; DNS and domain registration are managed through Artisan Hosting's Cloudflare account. Artisan Hosting configures, monitors, and supports this infrastructure on your behalf, but does not own or operate the underlying mail servers. Your use of the mailboxes must also comply with MXroute's Terms of Service (https://mxroute.com/terms), which govern our upstream account with that provider.
2. Domain Registration & Ownership
Domains are registered with Artisan Hosting as the registrant of record (WHOIS) for administrative and billing simplicity while the Client is an active subscriber.
Artisan Hosting pays all domain renewal invoices directly for the duration of the Client's active subscription. No separate renewal bill will be sent to the Client.
The Client is the beneficial owner of the domain. Artisan Hosting does not claim ownership rights to the domain name, its use, or its associated goodwill. This beneficial ownership vests upon payment of the Client's first invoice for the Email Service; see Section 4.2 for how the period before that payment is handled.
If the first invoice is never paid, the domain remains registered to Artisan Hosting, which may hold it, release it, or allow it to lapse at its sole discretion. If the Client later wants the domain, Artisan Hosting will transfer it once the Client covers the registration cost.
Domains are managed through Artisan Hosting's Cloudflare account for DNS and registration purposes.
3. Mailbox Storage & Plan Tiers
Each subscription tier includes a fixed number of mailboxes and a per-mailbox storage quota.
Artisan Hosting monitors mailbox storage usage on behalf of active clients.
Clients will receive an automatic notification when a mailbox reaches 80% of its storage quota.
If a mailbox reaches its storage limit and email delivery is at risk of being disrupted, Artisan Hosting may proactively upgrade the Client to the next applicable tier to preserve uninterrupted email service, and will re-invoice the Client at the new tier's rate starting the next billing cycle. Clients will always be notified when this occurs and may downgrade or cancel at their next renewal if the upgrade does not suit their needs.
4. Billing & Payment
Subscriptions bill monthly, in advance, to the payment method on file.
Invoices are due on receipt. Payment is considered late if not received within 7 calendar days of the invoice date (the "Grace Period").
4.1 Late Payment & Suspension Schedule
Because domain and email continuity matters more here than in most services, suspension is staged rather than immediate. This staged schedule applies to invoices after the Client's first invoice, which has no payment history yet; see Section 4.2 for how the first invoice is handled.
- Days 1 to 7 (Grace Period): No action taken beyond a payment reminder. Domain registration, DNS, and mailbox service continue normally.
- Day 8: A late fee of the greater of $15 or 1.5% of the overdue balance is applied, once per unpaid invoice. Domain registration and DNS remain active.
- Day 30: Outbound mail sending and, if necessary, mailbox access (webmail/IMAP/SMTP) may be suspended until the account is brought current. Inbound mail is queued or bounced with notice to the Client; domain registration and DNS are not affected at this stage.
- Day 60: The account becomes eligible for termination. Before the domain is released or allowed to lapse, Artisan Hosting will send at least one written notice to the Client's account contact and, where practical, to the affected domain's own mailbox.
- Reactivation: once the outstanding balance (including any accrued late fee) is paid, service is restored on the same day where possible. Artisan Hosting does not charge a separate reactivation fee.
Domain registration and DNS are treated as a protected, higher-priority service than mailbox access, see the schedule above, because losing a domain is harder to undo than a paused mailbox.
4.2 Access Before the First Invoice Is Paid
Artisan Hosting will often finish provisioning, registering the domain, configuring DNS, creating mailboxes, before the Client's first invoice is paid, and may give the Client working access at that point rather than waiting on a billing cycle.
This is a courtesy, extended at Artisan Hosting's sole discretion. It is not part of the Email Service being purchased, is not something the Client can require, and Artisan Hosting may decline or withdraw it at any time for any reason. Nothing in this section changes when the first invoice is due.
If the first invoice is unpaid four (4) days after its due date, access is revoked and the provisioned mailboxes and the data in them are deleted. Artisan Hosting will send one written notice to the Client's account contact before doing so; the Client may export mailbox contents by IMAP up until access is revoked. The staged schedule in Section 4.1 does not apply to the first invoice, that schedule exists for established accounts with a payment history, which a first invoice does not yet have.
Artisan Hosting is direct about why this window is short. Carrying provisioned resources for an account that has never paid is a real cost Artisan Hosting absorbs, and releasing them quickly is part of how this service stays priced the way it is. Artisan Hosting extends the courtesy anyway, because a Client trying to get a business running shouldn't have to wait on billing administration. If the courtesy is abused, access taken and the invoice left unpaid, Artisan Hosting will not extend it to that Client again, on this or any future engagement.
5. Offboarding & Domain/Data Transfer
If a Client discontinues service with Artisan Hosting, for any reason:
- Artisan Hosting will unlock the domain and provide the EPP/authorization code needed to transfer the domain to a registrar of the Client's choosing.
- Artisan Hosting will export and provide the Client's DNS zone file.
- Artisan Hosting will provide an export of mailbox data (or a defined transition window to allow the Client to migrate mail via IMAP) for all active mailboxes on the account.
This transfer process will be completed within 5 business days of the final invoice being paid and a written offboarding request being received.
Once transferred, Artisan Hosting retains no further access to or responsibility for the domain, DNS, or mailbox data.
This mirrors Artisan Hosting's broader no-lock-in commitment: your domain, your mail, and your data leave with you, in standard formats, without an offboarding fee.
6. Acceptable Use
Mailboxes are for legitimate business or personal correspondence only. Use of the Email Service is governed by Artisan Hosting's Acceptable Use Policy (the "AUP"), incorporated into these Email Terms by reference. Prohibited uses include bulk/unsolicited marketing email, spam, malware distribution, phishing, and abuse of outbound sending limits. A violation of the AUP is a violation of these Email Terms and may result in suspension or termination as described in the AUP.
7. Limitation of Liability
The Email Service depends on third-party infrastructure Artisan Hosting does not control, including MXroute (mailbox hosting and mail delivery), Cloudflare (DNS and registration), and the domain name registry system generally. Artisan Hosting is not liable for outages, data loss, or delivery failures caused by the unavailability or malfunction of that third-party infrastructure, to the extent outside Artisan Hosting's reasonable control.
Artisan Hosting will use commercially reasonable care in handling the Client's mail, DNS, and account data, and will not be grossly negligent or reckless in doing so.
Artisan Hosting performs reasonable monitoring and takes commercially reasonable steps to safeguard mailbox data, but does not guarantee against data loss. Backups, where available, are provided as a courtesy and are not guaranteed; their availability or unavailability does not itself expand Artisan Hosting's liability beyond the limits in this Section 7.
Except for a party's indemnification obligations under the General Terms, a breach of confidentiality, or gross negligence or willful misconduct, and to the maximum extent otherwise permitted by law: Artisan Hosting's total liability arising out of or relating to the Email Service will not exceed the fees paid by the Client for the Email Service in the three (3) months preceding the event giving rise to the claim, and Artisan Hosting will not be liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, including lost profits or lost data, even if advised of the possibility.
Nothing in this section limits liability that cannot be limited under applicable law.
8. Term & Termination
These Email Terms remain in effect for as long as the Client maintains an active Email Service subscription.
The Client may cancel at any time effective at the end of the current billing cycle; no partial-month refunds are issued unless required by law.
Artisan Hosting may suspend or terminate the Email Service for non-payment (per Section 4.1), a violation of the AUP, or a violation of these Email Terms, following notice where practical.
Either party may terminate immediately if the other party materially breaches these Email Terms and fails to cure within a reasonable period after written notice.
9. Privacy
Artisan Hosting's handling of Client and end-user data in connection with the Email Service is described in the Privacy Policy, incorporated into these Email Terms by reference.
10. Changes to These Terms
Artisan Hosting may update these Email Terms from time to time. Material changes will be communicated by email to the Client's account contact at least 14 days before taking effect. Continued use of the Email Service after that date constitutes acceptance.
11. General Provisions
Governing law. These Email Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Wisconsin, without regard to conflict-of-laws principles.
Entire agreement. These Email Terms, together with the General Terms, AUP, Privacy Policy, and any applicable order or subscription confirmation, constitute the entire agreement between the parties regarding the Email Service.
Severability. If any provision is held unenforceable, the remaining provisions remain in effect.
Notices. Notices to Artisan Hosting should be sent through our contact form. Notices to the Client will be sent to the account contact email on file.
Contact
Questions about these Email Terms: use our contact form. Billing questions: billing@artisanhosting.net.