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A shared hosting acceptable use policy (AUP) is the set of rules that governs how you may use your hosting provider’s service and shared infrastructure. It can restrict content and activities, set resource or storage limits, and explain what the provider may do when an account causes problems. The terms are provider- and plan-specific, so check the policy that applies to your account rather than assuming one host’s limits apply everywhere.
What does a shared hosting AUP cover?
An AUP is part of the rules for using a hosting service. On shared hosting, your website and other customers’ accounts use infrastructure with finite capacity. As Web Hosting Canada explains, “In a shared web hosting environment, several clients must share limited infrastructure resources.” Its policy says its rules are intended to reduce negative effects on other clients.
Most AUP provisions fall into two broad groups: restrictions on what you do or host, and limits on how your account uses the service. The exact scope depends on the provider, service, plan, and current agreement.
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Content and activity restrictions
Policies may prohibit unlawful or infringing material, malware, spam, unauthorized access, disruptive activity, or other uses that affect the provider or its customers. The details matter: one provider’s listed restriction should not be treated as a universal hosting rule.
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For example, Namecheap’s Web Hosting Acceptable Use Policy includes restrictions on specified infringing, malicious, proxy, and spam-related uses. DreamHost says its listed hosting plans are intended primarily for websites and associated email, and identifies prohibited or unlawful uses. Read the policy for the particular service you bought to see what applies.
Resource and operational limits
A provider may limit CPU, memory, processes, storage, or input/output (I/O), or describe acceptable use in less numerical terms. Namecheap’s policy includes plan-specific CPU, physical-memory, and entry-process limits, as well as restrictions on stand-alone server processes and other activities. Its policy also describes backup conditions for accounts exceeding specified storage or inode thresholds.
Those figures and conditions are terms for Namecheap’s plans, not shared-hosting industry standards. Consult Namecheap’s Web Hosting Acceptable Use Policy and the terms for your own account; the policy was accessed October 7, 2026, and its live limits may change.
How do providers define excessive resource use?
Some policies identify a numerical threshold and measurement period; others prohibit disproportionate use when it interferes with normal service. The number alone is not enough to compare plans: check which resource is measured, the time window, the covered service, and the policy date.
Web Hosting Canada’s policy, last modified October 1, 2020, says use of more than 5% of total system resources for longer than 60 seconds may lead to suspension. This is a dated, provider-specific policy threshold, not a general benchmark or current rule for other hosts. Its policy also describes possible remedies such as repairing a faulty script, disabling a resource-intensive application, or moving persistent high-use accounts to a dedicated or private server. See Web Hosting Canada’s Acceptable Use Policy.
Namecheap’s policy states, “Your use of the server resources shall not endanger the capacity and operation of the shared server.” Its limits vary by account type. For example, the policy table accessed October 7, 2026 lists CPU limits of 50% for several account types and 100% for Business tiers, physical memory limits of 1–2 GB, and maximum entry-process counts of 20–40 depending on tier. These are Namecheap plan terms, not benchmarks for shared hosting generally.
Service type also matters. DigitalOcean’s AUP prohibits disproportionate use of a shared system when it interferes with normal operation and describes possible quarantine or deletion of infected or corrupted data. DigitalOcean’s infrastructure and service terms should not be assumed to match a traditional shared web-hosting plan. Its policy is at DigitalOcean’s Acceptable Use Policy.
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The policy controls the provider’s response. Depending on its terms and the situation, a provider may ask you to remediate a problem, restrict a service, suspend an account, terminate service, or require a move to a more suitable tier. Do not assume there will be advance notice, a cure period, or an appeal process unless your agreement says so.
Provider policies illustrate the range rather than establish a common procedure. Namecheap says it may suspend an account or require a package with higher resource availability in some circumstances. Web Hosting Canada describes possible suspension for excessive use and possible remediation or transfer for persistent overuse. DigitalOcean’s AUP describes quarantine or deletion for infected or corrupted data. The applicable policy and service agreement determine what the host may do in your case.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How to check whether your hosting use is allowed
- Identify the exact service and plan. A provider may have different terms for shared web hosting, cloud infrastructure, email, or other services.
- Read the current AUP and related terms. Check the policy’s update date and look for restrictions on content, applications, server processes, backups, and storage.
- Find the resource definitions. Note whether limits apply to CPU, memory, processes, storage, or I/O, and whether the policy gives a threshold, measurement window, or fair-use standard.
- Ask support about ambiguous workloads. Describe what your site or application does and ask which resource the provider monitors, what level is allowed on your plan, and what remediation it expects if usage is high.
- Keep a copy of the applicable terms and allowed backups. Retain the policy version relevant to your account and maintain backups in a location and manner permitted by your provider.
What to do when normal site traffic exceeds shared limits
First determine which resource is triggering the issue rather than guessing from a generic “high usage” notice. Review the provider’s usage information, identify recent application or traffic changes, and ask support for the measured resource, relevant time period, and any specific script or application causing the load.
If the cause is an inefficient script or resource-intensive application, remediation may bring use within the plan’s limits. If ordinary workloads repeatedly exceed those limits, ask whether the provider recommends a higher-capacity tier or a different hosting arrangement. A move may be appropriate, but the AUP itself does not establish that every provider offers the same upgrade path.
How to compare AUPs before choosing a plan
Compare the policy terms that affect your actual workload, not a single headline resource figure. These questions help distinguish meaningful differences:
- Coverage: Which service and plan does the policy apply to?
- Resource rules: Are limits numerical or framed as fair use, and which resources are measured?
- Measurement: Does the policy define how and over what period resource use is assessed?
- Prohibited uses: What content, applications, or activities are restricted?
- Enforcement: What detection, notice, remediation, restriction, suspension, or termination does the policy describe?
- Storage and backups: Are there storage or inode thresholds, or conditions that affect provider-managed backups?
- Next steps: Does the policy identify a higher-capacity plan or another service for persistent overuse?
Do not compare resource numbers without matching their plan, measurement window, and policy date. A threshold in one provider’s policy cannot establish what another provider permits.
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