A service-level agreement (SLA) is the part of a hosting contract that sets measurable standards (like uptime and support response times) and spells out what you get if the provider misses them.
In plain terms, an SLA turns “we’ll keep your site up” into numbers, definitions, and a remedy. When we review hosting for Orlando businesses, we look for an SLA that matches how you actually make money online, whether that is appointment bookings, calls, form leads, or eCommerce. If you run WordPress, this is one reason we recommend reviewing the SLA details before choosing WordPress hosting.
What an SLA usually covers
Most hosting SLAs include a few common sections: an uptime target (often measured monthly), how “downtime” is defined, support availability and response-time targets, and any limits like scheduled maintenance windows. Some also spell out backup cadence, restore expectations, security incident handling, and how they monitor availability. If performance is your pain point, pair the SLA with a practical speed plan and fix the root causes described in what causes a website to load slowly.
| Uptime target | Max downtime in a 30-day month | Max downtime per year |
|---|---|---|
| 99% | About 7 hours 12 minutes | About 3 days 15 hours 36 minutes |
| 99.9% | About 43 minutes | About 8 hours 46 minutes |
| 99.99% | About 4 minutes | About 53 minutes |
What an SLA does not do
An SLA rarely pays you for lost revenue. Most remedies are service credits (for example, a partial month credit) and they often require that you file a claim within a set window. SLAs also have exclusions, like force majeure events, your own configuration changes, third-party DNS failures, plugin conflicts, or attacks that succeed because of weak passwords. If you handle regulated data, an SLA is not the same thing as compliance. For example, HTTPS is table stakes for trust and browser security, but it does not replace a formal security program, and you can see the basics in does HTTPS affect SEO.
How to read an SLA like a business owner
We suggest you focus on five items: (1) the exact uptime percentage and how it is measured, (2) what counts as downtime, (3) support hours plus response targets for urgent tickets, (4) exclusions and maintenance windows, and (5) the remedy and claim process. In Central Florida, ask one extra question during hurricane season: what happens if a data center region has issues, and what recovery steps exist if a server fails. If you want a second set of eyes on whether your current site setup matches your risk level, our website design and build work often includes stability, speed, and conversion checks so you are not relying on luck when traffic spikes.
