Service Level Agreements
Effective 2026-03-18. These SLAs define the service commitments for each plan offered by Terry Arthur Consulting.
General Definitions
The following definitions apply across all plans unless otherwise noted.
- Provider
- Terry Arthur Consulting, operating the SiteMind and ServerMind platforms.
- Client
- The individual or organization subscribing to a service plan.
- Uptime
- The percentage of time in a calendar month that the Client's monitored service (website or server) is reachable and returning a successful HTTP response or passing health checks. Calculated as: (total minutes - downtime minutes) / total minutes x 100.
- Downtime
- A period of 3 or more consecutive failed monitoring checks from the Provider's monitoring infrastructure. Scheduled maintenance windows are excluded from downtime calculations.
- Scheduled Maintenance
- Planned maintenance communicated to the Client at least 24 hours in advance via email. Scheduled maintenance windows are typically between 2:00 AM and 5:00 AM EST.
- Response Time
- The elapsed time between the Provider becoming aware of an issue (via monitoring alert or Client report) and the first meaningful action or communication to the Client.
- Business Hours
- Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM Eastern Standard Time, excluding U.S. federal holidays.
- Service Credit
- A percentage credit applied to the Client's next monthly invoice as compensation for failing to meet the guaranteed uptime target. Service credits are the sole and exclusive remedy for downtime.
SiteMind — Service Level Agreement
WordPress site management for individual sites.
1. Service Scope
SiteMind provides automated WordPress site management for a single WordPress installation, including:
- 24/7 uptime monitoring with 5-minute check intervals
- Automated WordPress core, plugin, and theme updates
- Daily automated backups with 7-day retention
- Weekly file integrity and malware scanning
- Daily credential verification — all service credentials are tested for validity, not just file existence
- Nightly visual regression monitoring — every page screenshotted and compared for unexpected changes
- Intelligent auto-investigation — automated root cause analysis and transient issue remediation with diagnostic reports
- Smart alert management — duplicate suppression, deduplication, and resolution notifications to prevent alert fatigue
- Monthly security scans including subdomain enumeration and credential audits
- Weekly database maintenance (transients, revisions, spam, trash, optimization)
- Daily domain and SSL certificate expiry monitoring with email alerts at 30, 14, and 7 days
- Weekly performance and health reports delivered via email
2. Monitoring Frequency
| Check Type | Frequency |
|---|---|
| Uptime checks | Every 5 minutes |
| Visual regression scans | Nightly |
| Credential verification | Daily |
| File integrity & malware scans | Weekly |
| Security scans (subdomain enum, credential audit) | Monthly |
| Domain & SSL expiry checks | Daily |
3. Uptime Target
The Provider targets 99.5% monthly uptime for monitored WordPress sites. This is a best-effort target and does not include service credits. The Provider will make commercially reasonable efforts to restore service as quickly as possible during any downtime event.
4. Update Policy
- WordPress core updates: applied within 7 days of stable release
- Plugin and theme updates: applied within 7 days of release
- Security patches (critical/high severity): applied within 48 hours
- All updates are preceded by an automated backup and visual regression baseline. If an update causes a site failure or visual breakage, the Provider will restore from the most recent backup within 4 business hours.
5. Backup Policy
- Frequency: daily automated backups
- Retention: 7 days of rolling backups
- Scope: full WordPress database and wp-content directory
- Restoration: upon Client request, restoration completed within 4 business hours
6. Incident Response
When a failure is detected, the Provider's automated investigation system will:
- Classify the error type and severity
- Attempt automated remediation for transient and known issues
- Generate a full diagnostic report with root cause analysis
- Escalate to human operators if automated remediation fails
- Send resolution notifications when issues are resolved
7. Support
| Channel | Availability | Response Time |
|---|---|---|
| Business hours | Next business day |
8. Exclusions
This SLA does not cover:
- Server-level infrastructure (covered by ServerMind)
- Custom development, theme design, or content changes
- Downtime caused by the Client's hosting provider, DNS provider, or domain registrar
- Issues caused by Client-initiated changes (code edits, plugin installs, configuration changes)
- Force majeure events (natural disasters, widespread internet outages, etc.)
- Third-party plugin or theme bugs that require vendor resolution
9. Termination
Monthly plans may be cancelled at any time. Service continues through the end of the current billing period. Annual plans are billed upfront; no partial refunds are issued, but service continues through the end of the annual term.
ServerMind — Service Level Agreement
Server infrastructure management for a single server.
1. Service Scope
ServerMind provides automated server management for a single Linux server, including:
- Real-time resource monitoring (CPU, memory, disk, network, swap) at 5-minute intervals
- OS and package patch management
- Daily server-level backups with 7-day retention
- Critical service monitoring and automatic restart (web servers, databases, application services, DNS resolvers, etc.)
- Security hardening: firewall configuration, SSH hardening, intrusion prevention
- Credential vault with geographic redundancy — credentials stored in two separate locations with automatic failover, synced every 6 hours
- Fleet-wide credential health monitoring — every API key and service credential verified daily for validity
- Monthly security scans: subdomain enumeration, credential audits, and security assessments with results visible in the ServerMind dashboard
- DNS management and resolver configuration
- Monthly server health and performance reports via email
2. Monitoring Frequency
| Check Type | Frequency |
|---|---|
| Resource monitoring (CPU, RAM, disk) | Every 5 minutes |
| Service health checks | Every 5 minutes |
| Credential verification | Daily |
| Credential vault sync | Every 6 hours |
| Security scans (subdomain enum, credential audit) | Monthly |
3. Uptime Target
The Provider targets 99.5% monthly uptime for monitored servers. This is a best-effort target and does not include service credits. The Provider monitors server availability and will alert the Client and take corrective action during any detected downtime.
4. Patch Management Policy
- Routine OS and package updates: applied within 14 days of release
- Critical security patches (CVE score >= 7.0): applied within 48 hours
- Emergency patches (actively exploited vulnerabilities): applied within 24 hours
- All patches are preceded by a server snapshot. If a patch causes service disruption, the Provider will roll back within 4 business hours.
5. Backup Policy
- Frequency: daily server-level backups
- Retention: 7 days of rolling backups
- Scope: full system backup including configuration files, databases, and application data
- Storage: encrypted off-site backup storage
- Restoration: upon Client request, restoration completed within 4 business hours
6. Credential Security
- All credentials stored in an encrypted vault with strict access controls
- Geographic redundancy: vault replicated to a separate server with automatic failover
- Vault synchronization every 6 hours with health monitoring — alerts if either location becomes unavailable
- Daily credential verification: every API key and service login tested for actual validity
- No single points of failure for credential access
7. Resource Alert Thresholds
| Resource | Warning | Critical |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | 80% | 95% |
| Memory | 85% | 95% |
| Disk | 80% | 90% |
| Swap | 50% | 80% |
8. Support
| Channel | Availability | Response Time |
|---|---|---|
| Business hours | Next business day |
9. Exclusions
This SLA does not cover:
- WordPress or application-level management (covered by SiteMind)
- Hardware failures at the Client's hosting provider or data center
- Network outages upstream of the server (ISP, data center, cloud provider)
- Issues caused by Client-initiated server changes (manual package installs, configuration edits, unauthorized access grants)
- Custom application deployment, development, or debugging
- Force majeure events
10. Termination
Monthly plans may be cancelled at any time. Service continues through the end of the current billing period. Annual plans are billed upfront; no partial refunds are issued, but service continues through the end of the annual term.
Peace of Mind — Service Level Agreement
Combined WordPress + server management for 1 server and up to 3 sites.
1. Service Scope
Peace of Mind combines the full scope of both SiteMind and ServerMind into a single plan:
- All SiteMind services (see SiteMind SLA above) for up to 3 WordPress sites
- All ServerMind services (see ServerMind SLA above) for 1 server
- Additional WordPress sites may be added for a small per-site fee
2. Uptime Target
The Provider targets 99.5% monthly uptime for all monitored services (sites and server). This is a best-effort target and does not include service credits.
3. Update & Patch Policy
The update policies from both SiteMind and ServerMind apply in full. WordPress updates and server patches follow the same timelines defined in their respective SLAs.
4. Backup Policy
- WordPress sites: daily backups, 7-day retention (per SiteMind policy)
- Server: daily full-system backups, 7-day retention (per ServerMind policy)
- Restoration: within 4 business hours upon request
5. Reporting
- Weekly reports for each WordPress site (uptime, security, updates, performance, visual regression status)
- Monthly server health report (resources, patches, backups, services, credential health, security scan results)
- All reports delivered via email to the Client's registered email address
6. Support
| Channel | Availability | Response Time |
|---|---|---|
| Business hours | Next business day |
7. Exclusions & Termination
All exclusions from both the SiteMind and ServerMind SLAs apply. Termination terms are the same: monthly plans cancel anytime; annual plans run through the end of the paid term.
MasterMind — Service Level Agreement
Enterprise-grade WordPress + server management with guaranteed uptime, priority support, and service credits.
1. Service Scope
MasterMind includes everything in Peace of Mind, plus enhanced commitments for mission-critical environments:
- All SiteMind services for unlimited WordPress sites on the managed server
- All ServerMind services for 1 server
- 1-minute uptime check intervals (vs. 5-minute on standard plans)
- Staging environment management and deployment support
- Quarterly security audits with written findings and remediation
- Monthly reports plus quarterly business review calls
2. Guaranteed Uptime & Service Credits
The Provider guarantees 99.9% monthly uptime for all monitored services. If uptime falls below the guaranteed threshold in any calendar month, the Client is entitled to service credits as follows:
| Monthly Uptime | Service Credit | Max Downtime |
|---|---|---|
| 99.9% – 100% | None (SLA met) | ~43 minutes |
| 99.0% – 99.89% | 10% of monthly fee | ~7.3 hours |
| 95.0% – 98.99% | 25% of monthly fee | ~1.5 days |
| Below 95.0% | 50% of monthly fee | > 1.5 days |
Service credits are applied automatically to the next invoice. Credits do not exceed 50% of the monthly fee. The Client must be current on all payments to receive credits. Credits are the sole and exclusive remedy for downtime below the guaranteed threshold.
3. Update & Patch Policy (Enhanced)
- WordPress core updates: applied within 48 hours of stable release
- Plugin and theme updates: applied within 72 hours of release
- Critical security patches (WordPress or server): applied within 24 hours
- Emergency patches (actively exploited): applied within 4 hours
- Staging environment testing prior to production deployment when available
4. Backup Policy (Enhanced)
- WordPress sites: daily backups, 30-day retention
- Server: daily full-system backups, 30-day retention
- Storage: encrypted off-site backup storage
- Restoration: within 2 hours upon request (any time, not limited to business hours)
5. Support (Priority)
| Severity | Description | Response Time | Channel |
|---|---|---|---|
| Critical | Site or server down, data breach, complete service failure | 1 hour | Phone, text, email |
| High | Major feature broken, significant performance degradation | 4 hours | Phone, text, email |
| Medium | Minor feature issue, non-critical error | Same business day | Email, text |
| Low | Questions, minor requests, cosmetic issues | Next business day |
Direct phone and text support: available 7 days a week, 8:00 AM to 10:00 PM EST for Critical and High severity issues.
6. Quarterly Security Audits
- Comprehensive security review of all managed WordPress sites and the server
- Written report with findings, risk ratings, and remediation steps
- All critical and high findings remediated within the audit cycle at no additional cost
- Covers: file integrity, user accounts, permissions, plugin vulnerabilities, SSL configuration, firewall rules, credential health, subdomain exposure, and server hardening
7. Staging Environment
- Provider manages a staging environment for the Client's primary site
- Major updates and changes are tested on staging before production deployment
- Client may request staging deployments for review before go-live
8. Exclusions
This SLA does not cover:
- Custom development, theme design, or content changes (available as a separate engagement)
- Downtime caused by the Client's hosting provider, DNS provider, or domain registrar
- Issues caused by unauthorized Client-initiated changes without prior coordination
- Force majeure events (natural disasters, widespread internet outages, government actions, etc.)
- Third-party service outages (payment gateways, CDNs, external APIs)
9. Termination
Monthly plans may be cancelled with 30 days written notice. Annual plans are billed upfront for the year at the discounted rate. Early termination of annual plans: service continues through the end of the annual term; no partial refunds. Upon termination, the Provider will deliver all current backups and credentials to the Client within 7 business days.
General Terms
Modifications
The Provider reserves the right to modify these SLAs with 30 days written notice to active Clients. Continued use of the service after the notice period constitutes acceptance of the updated terms. Material changes that reduce service levels entitle the Client to cancel without penalty.
Data & Privacy
The Provider accesses Client sites and servers solely for the purpose of delivering the subscribed services. All credentials are stored encrypted in a geographically redundant vault and never shared with third parties. Monitoring data is retained for 90 days. Backup data is retained per the plan's backup policy. Upon termination, Client data is deleted within 30 days unless a data export is requested.
Liability
The Provider's total liability under any plan is limited to the fees paid by the Client for the affected service in the 3 months preceding the incident. Service credits (MasterMind only) are the sole remedy for uptime failures. The Provider is not liable for indirect, consequential, or incidental damages including lost revenue, lost data, or business interruption.
Governing Law
These SLAs are governed by the laws of the U.S. Virgin Islands. Any disputes shall be resolved through good-faith negotiation. If unresolved within 30 days, disputes shall be submitted to binding arbitration in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Contact
For SLA-related inquiries or to report an issue:
Email: [email protected]
Phone (MasterMind): +1 (340) 725-1233
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