Glossary: Web hosting
What do Uptime and SLA Mean in Web Hosting?
Uptime is the share of time a service is available. An SLA, or service level agreement, sets out what a provider commits to.
What they mean
Uptime is usually shown as a percentage. An SLA, or service level agreement, is the part of a contract that says what level of service you can expect and what happens if it isn't met.
What 99.9% means in practice
In a 30-day month, 99.9% uptime allows for about 43 minutes of downtime. It sounds small, but the timing matters: 43 minutes during your busiest hour costs more than at 3am.
What to check
Look for whether planned maintenance counts, how downtime is measured, and what you get if the target is missed. Don't rely on the provider alone to tell you about downtime, as your own monitoring shows what your visitors experience.
At Host Dada
Our uptime target is 99.9% a month, as set out in our terms. Our Uptime Monitor emails you if your site goes down, wherever it is hosted.