No. All of our a la carte hosting plans are offered on a month-to-month basis with no contracts.

If you purchased a website with us, you may have a 2-year commitment (paying for the website and hosting over time) until the website is paid back in full. Please refer to your client documentation for details.

All customers regardless of hosting package are provided with access to the customer portal. The portal is available 24/7 to enter a ticket which will be answered within 24-48 hours. The portal does not require a login after entering your ticket, allowing you to easily reply from your phone on-the-go from the authorized email on your account.

Starcresc support is also available via phone. You may call the office via the number on our contact page at any time and leave a message to be returned within 48 business hours.

Working business hours are:
Mon – Fri: 9AM – 5PM
Sat: 12PM – 4PM

Starcresc is usually closed on all federal banking holidays.

No. We allow monthly, quarterly, and annual payment options for hosting fees and termed website packages.

We encourage clients to keep their website up-to-date with new info, specials, and product offerings which is why we offer one hour of FREE changes as a perk with certain hosting plans.

Quarters are defined as

• Spring – Mar, Apr, May
• Summer – Jun, Jul, Aug
• Fall – Sept, Oct, Nov
• Winter – Dec, Jan, Feb

Updates can be requested through the customer portal.

Note: Credits have no monetary value and do not stack or rollover. More info can be found in your client documentation.

We encourage users to pay monthly with a stored credit card on file. A notification invoice will be sent a few days before, payment will automatically be completed on the due date, and a successful transaction receipt will be updated in the customer portal and sent directly via email. 

Check payment is also accepted as some customers may prefer to pay via postal mail. We cannot accept cash payment through postal mail.

Please note we will not ever send invoices via regular mail. Invoices are delivered via the customer portal, and sent via email. It is the customer responsibility to ensure invoices are paid which may require periodically checking the customer portal.

Payments are handled through a secure, encrypted, third-party payment processing provider. We do not currently accept Paypal or Venmo, however these options are being actively investigated to offer for our clients. We do not accept wire transfers or bank account details, trade, credit, promotional advertising, or any other payment methods.

We encourage users use a credit card payment option to ensure mail delivery times do not cause any service outages. Our billing system is managed automatically, and due dates and service terminations are enforced by automation.

Due to the nature of digital hosting, we do not offer refunds. However, we do not require contracts and users are free to not renew at any time.

Disk space is the amount of storage space your website takes up. For example, if you are a typical website hosting client, will have your website files for all your pages, images, videos, and documents. Your site will also consist of a database, this is the backend that manages the configuration of your website and stores the data that makes up the site. Additionally, if you are a webmail user, you will find that your webmail also takes up part of your diskspace.

Each package comes with its own disk space limits. If you approach your disk space limit, you will receive a warning. Additional disk space can be purchased in blocks as an add-on for an additional charge.

A bandwidth limit is essentially a cap on the amount of visitors your site can have per month. Technical limitations require us to enforce a limit, but we will generally increase it, at no extra charge, for typical usage scenarios.

Each package comes with its own default bandwidth limits.

Starcresc stores redundant backups of your website. These backups are made automatically and incrementally, although we encourage users to take manual backups themselves at regular intervals.  Starcresc stores at least 3 backups of your site at all times including the last week, last month, and last years backup.

Our specific backup schedule can be found in your client documentation.

If you have your own web developer, or wish to technically maintain the website on your own, you will look to an unmanaged hosting package. Unmanaged websites still require active maintenance to be performed by a qualified web developer such as security and content management system updates. Additionally, in most cases Starcresc will not provide assistance with content or technical updates, you would reach out to your web developer for that.

A managed website means that Starcresc will actively update and maintain the website infrastructure on your behalf.

Regardless, Starcresc will always provide free technical assistance for your hosting package and will interface with your developer in instances where server-level troubleshooting may be required.

Starcresc employs strict security practices to keep your website safe. All Starcresc developed websites include a WAF (Web Application Firewall) that regularly scans for and blocks malicious traffic. We employ a server-level firewall which blocks bad actors and aggressive bots. We use encryption for all billing systems and customer data, and encourage all customers to use strong passwords and 2-factor authentication. In addition, we maintain a comprehensive backup schedule and regular maintenance on our systems to ensure our servers are up-to-date and secure with the latest stable versions of software.

Starcresc welcomes clients from all backgrounds, industries, viewpoints, and identities. We believe the internet should be a place for businesses, organizations, and individuals to express themselves responsibly, and we do not routinely moderate lawful website content, including opinion-based blogs, editorials, or news articles for content or accuracy.

However, all content hosted on our servers must comply with applicable laws and our Acceptable Use Policy. The following types of content are prohibited on Starcresc-hosted services:

• Pornographic or sexually explicit material;
• Content that is unlawful or promotes illegal activity;
• Copyright infringement, software piracy, or unauthorized distribution of copyrighted media;
• Malware, phishing pages, scams, or other malicious content;
• Fraudulent, forged, or intentionally deceptive documents or media;
• Inflammatory content that incites violence or constitutes unlawful harassment or discrimination;
• Content that violates the rights of others or exposes Starcresc to legal liability.

In short, if prohibited content is discovered or reported to us, Starcresc will investigate and, at our sole discretion, reserves the right to immediately remove access to the content by deleting, suspending, or terminating services with us.

More information coming soon. This exciting perk is in development – a Starcresc member database exclusively available to our customers to find the best and most trusted businesses in WNY.

There is no cost to this platform for use or for listing. (Customers can opt-out of listings). More details to come.

We do! We offer non-profits a credit off our normal website development package prices, with a discount for life on the hosting fee. Essentially, giving users the STAR treatment with a $5 discount per month.