1. Definition and scope of the upgrade

If the characteristics of the purchased Service are no longer adequate for the Client’s needs, or if the Client wishes to use resources or features not included in the current plan, the Client may request a Service upgrade.

An upgrade consists in replacing the current plan or configuration with a higher-level or otherwise different service, according to the options made available by Hosting Solutions.
Where available, the upgrade request may be submitted directly by the Client through the control panel.

2. Types of upgrade

Upgrades are divided into two categories:

• Easy Upgrade: an upgrade that does not require a new activation procedure nor the transfer of the Service to a new infrastructure, and which involves only an administrative or functional change to the active plan;
• Hard Upgrade: an upgrade that requires a new Service activation procedure and may involve additional technical or administrative activities, such as, by way of example, activation of a new environment, transfer to another server, software installation, or setup operations.

The applicable type of upgrade is determined by Hosting Solutions based on the characteristics of the current Service and the destination Service.

3. Execution procedures

An Easy Upgrade is carried out without the need for a new Service activation and, normally, without migration to a new server. It does not involve setup costs but only the payment of the price difference between the current Service and the upgraded Service, recalculated for the remaining period until the Service expiration date.

A Hard Upgrade, on the other hand, involves a more complex procedure both technically and administratively, as it may require activation of a new Service and the subsequent decommissioning of the previous one. In such cases, in addition to the price difference, a one-time setup fee may apply for the related activities.

4. Execution time

The time required to complete an upgrade procedure may vary approximately from 1 to 5 business days, depending on the characteristics of the Service involved and the technical complexity of the operation.

5. Upgrade costs

The cost of an upgrade may consist of the following elements:

• price difference, calculated proportionally to the remaining period until the Service expiration date;
• one-time setup fee, applicable only in cases of Hard Upgrade.

Where applicable, the setup fee covers the technical and administrative activities required to perform the Hard Upgrade, including, by way of example, activation of the new Service and decommissioning of the previous one. Unless otherwise specified, this fee is generally €10.00 + VAT, one time.

5.1. Easy Upgrade

The cost of this type of upgrade consists of the difference between the new and the previous service fee, calculated proportionally to the remaining period before the expiration of the original service.

Example: Upgrade from a Hosting Silver plan to a Hosting Gold plan.
Hosting Silver: annual cost €69.00, used for 8 months
Hosting Gold: annual cost €135.00

This is an Easy Upgrade. The cost will be the difference between the two plans for the remaining period, i.e. 4 months:
price difference * remaining period
(135 - 69) × (4 / 12) = €5.5

At the next annual renewal, the Service will be renewed at the full price of the new active plan.

5.2. Hard Upgrade

The cost of this type of upgrade consists of the difference between the new and the previous service fee, calculated proportionally to the remaining period before the expiration of the original service, plus a setup fee.

Example: upgrade from a Host Pointer to a Hosting Gold plan
Host Pointer: annual cost €36.9, used for 6 months
Hosting Gold: annual cost €135.00

In this case it is a Hard Upgrade, therefore the cost will be calculated as follows:
price difference * remaining period + setup fee
(135 - 36.9) * (6 / 12) + 10 = €59.05

At the next annual renewal, the Service will be renewed at the full price of the new active plan.

6. Limitations and notices

The Client acknowledges that the upgrade operation may involve technical or operational limitations, including, by way of example:

• transfer of the Service to a new server, resulting in a change of IP address and access credentials;
• activation of a new web space or a new instance of the Service;
• interruption or reset of services or data linked to the original server, such as statistics or other server-dependent programs.

Unless expressly stated otherwise, the transfer of the website or content from the old plan to the new plan remains the sole responsibility of the Client.

Once the access credentials for the new Service have been provided, the data of the old plan and any associated additional services may be removed from the Provider’s systems. The Client is therefore required to make any necessary copies or backups of the content beforehand.

Recovery of data from any backup media after the deletion of the old Service is not guaranteed, unless otherwise provided by specific agreements or additional services.

The old plan may be deleted once the technical time required to complete the upgrade procedure has elapsed.

7. Service continuity during upgrade

During upgrade procedures, email services associated with the domain may remain active, except in the event of unforeseen technical impediments.

The website may instead experience temporary interruptions or inconsistencies due to DNS updates or network propagation times.

Hosting Solutions may temporarily keep the old website active in order to minimize service disruptions caused by DNS propagation; however, the Client remains responsible for promptly publishing the content on the new environment in order to avoid possible periods of website unavailability.