Is there a minimum time contract commitment required

No. We do not require a minimum term. You pick the billing period at sign-up and you can cancel at any time. Services run and renew until you request cancellation in your Hostworld client area at portal.hostworld.uk (WHMCS).

That applies across our VPS and hosting ranges. Our site and product pages state this clearly. When you are ready to leave, cancel in WHMCS and we will stop future invoices for that service. If you choose Immediate, the service can be removed very quickly, so back up first.

Before you start

• No contract, ongoing billing. Plans are contract-free. All services automatically renew unless stated otherwise. Billing continues until you submit a cancellation request in WHMCS.
• Invoice timing matters. Invoices generate 7 days before the due date and our system attempts to charge the default card when the invoice is created. To avoid an automatic charge, submit your cancellation before the invoice is generated.
• Service suspension and termination if unpaid. If a renewal invoice remains unpaid, services are suspended 3 days after the due date and terminated after 5 days overdue. Termination can remove the VPS or cPanel account and its data.
• Immediate cancellation deletes data. Choosing Immediate in WHMCS can run the module Terminate command at the next cron run. That will deprovision a VPS or delete a cPanel account. Back up everything first. Choose End of the Current Billing Cycle if you need time to migrate or download backups.
• PayPal subscriptions are separate. If you pay via a PayPal subscription, you must cancel that in PayPal as well. Payments received from an active subscription you did not cancel may be refunded to your Hostworld account balance only.
• Domains are separate from hosting. Cancelling hosting does not cancel a domain name. Domains auto-renew 14 days before expiry and are billed 28 days in advance. Manage each domain’s renewal setting separately.
• Refunds are a different question. A 30‑day money‑back guarantee applies to the first purchase of eligible services. Dedicated servers, domain registrations and third‑party control panel licence fees are excluded. A cancellation request alone does not trigger a refund. You must open a support ticket to request one.
• Access you will need. Your Hostworld client area login for WHMCS at portal.hostworld.uk, and the login to the service you are backing up: SSH for a VPS, or cPanel for shared, reseller or WordPress hosting.

Step 1: Check your renewal date and recent invoices

You are going to time the cancellation so you avoid an unwanted charge but keep enough time to migrate. The details you want are Next Due Date and whether an invoice has already been generated this period.

1. Log in to the Hostworld client area at portal.hostworld.uk.
2. Open the service you plan to cancel and note the Next Due Date.
3. Check the Invoices section for any open invoice for that service. If an invoice has been generated this cycle, the default card may already have been charged. You can still request cancellation. WHMCS will stop future invoices and can cancel unpaid invoices for the cancelled service. If you need a refund and your service is eligible, open a support ticket.

Step 2: Choose the right cancellation timing

You will be prompted to choose Immediate or End of the Current Billing Cycle when you request cancellation.

• Immediate: The request is processed the next time the WHMCS cron runs. The module Terminate command can run and remove the VPS or cPanel account. Use this only if you have already backed up and are ready for the service to be removed.
• End of the Current Billing Cycle: The service remains active until the end of the paid period. This lets you migrate, take backups and confirm everything is working elsewhere before it is removed.

If in doubt, pick End of the Current Billing Cycle. Data deleted by an Immediate termination cannot be recovered.

Step 3: Back up your data before cancelling

Backups protect you from accidental deletion, migration issues and timing mistakes. Use cPanel’s backup tools for shared, reseller and WordPress hosting. Use SSH on a VPS to export databases and archive files. Store copies off the server.

cPanel accounts

Log in to cPanel. Use the Backup interface to generate a full account backup that includes home directory, databases and email. Download it to a safe location. If you only need part of the data, you can generate database dumps and home directory archives instead. Do not leave the only copy on the same server you are cancelling.

Linux VPS: take filesystem and database backups over SSH

The examples below create a compressed archive of common locations and a MySQL or MariaDB dump. Adjust paths for your setup. Replace usernames, hostnames and destination paths to match your environment.

Check disk usage

This shows free space to ensure you have room for a backup archive.

AlmaLinux 9:

df -h

Ubuntu 24.04:

df -h

Create a compressed archive of key directories

This creates a gzip-compressed tar archive of configuration and web content. It preserves permissions and timestamps.

AlmaLinux 9:

sudo tar -czpf /root/server-backup-$(date +%F).tar.gz /etc /var/www /home

Ubuntu 24.04:

sudo tar -czpf /root/server-backup-$(date +%F).tar.gz /etc /var/www /home

Dump MySQL or MariaDB databases

This exports all databases to a single SQL file. You will be prompted for the database user’s password. Use a user with permission to read all databases, for example root on the database server.

AlmaLinux 9:

sudo mysqldump -u root -p --all-databases --single-transaction --routines --events > /root/all-databases-$(date +%F).sql

Ubuntu 24.04:

sudo mysqldump -u root -p --all-databases --single-transaction --routines --events > /root/all-databases-$(date +%F).sql

Copy backups off the server

This uses scp to copy the archives to another server. Replace user, host and path with your details. You can also use rsync if you prefer incremental transfers.

AlmaLinux 9:

scp /root/server-backup-*.tar.gz /root/all-databases-*.sql user@backup-host:/backups/$(hostname)/

Ubuntu 24.04:

scp /root/server-backup-*.tar.gz /root/all-databases-*.sql user@backup-host:/backups/$(hostname)/

Optional: sync a specific site directory

This uses rsync to copy a single site directory to a remote host while preserving permissions.

AlmaLinux 9:

rsync -avz /var/www/html/ user@backup-host:/backups/$(hostname)/var-www-html/

Ubuntu 24.04:

rsync -avz /var/www/html/ user@backup-host:/backups/$(hostname)/var-www-html/

Check you can read the archives on the destination. Keep at least one copy outside the server you plan to cancel.

Step 4: Request cancellation in your Hostworld client area (WHMCS)

This stops future renewals and sets the service to be removed on your chosen schedule. Follow the WHMCS flow. The buttons are WHMCS standard.

1. Log in at portal.hostworld.uk.
2. Open the service’s Product Details page.
3. Click Request Cancellation.
4. Enter a brief reason. Select either Immediate or End of the Current Billing Cycle. Confirm.

What happens next:

• If you chose Immediate, WHMCS will process the cancellation the next time the cron runs. The module Terminate command can run and remove the VPS or cPanel account.
• If you chose End of the Current Billing Cycle, WHMCS will cancel the service after the paid period ends.
• WHMCS stops generating further invoices for the cancelled service. It will cancel any unpaid invoice that only contains that service. If the invoice contains other items, it credits that line and leaves the rest of the invoice intact.

If anything does not look right, open a support ticket.

Step 5: If you pay with PayPal, cancel the subscription in PayPal

Cancelling in WHMCS does not cancel a PayPal subscription. An active subscription will continue to send payments.

1. Log in to your PayPal account.
2. Find the automatic payment to Hostworld and cancel it. PayPal’s wording and screen order can change. Look for Automatic payments or Subscriptions.
3. Keep the confirmation from PayPal for your records.

If a subscription payment is sent after you cancelled in WHMCS, our Terms state refunds of those payments may be issued as account credit. If you need help, open a support ticket.

Step 6: Manage any domains separately

Hosting and domains are distinct services. Cancelling hosting does not stop a domain from renewing.

• Domains auto-renew 14 days before expiry and are billed 28 days in advance. Plan changes with those dates in mind.
• Decide if you want each domain to renew, transfer, or expire. Update its renewal setting in your Hostworld client area.
• Record any EPP codes or transfer locks if you are moving a domain elsewhere. Changes to domain registration often have waiting periods.

This avoids unwanted renewals or unexpected expiry.

Step 7: Confirm the outcome

After submitting the cancellation request, check for these confirmations:

• A confirmation email from WHMCS acknowledging the request.
• The service’s status showing Cancelled, or set to cancel at the end of the cycle.
• No new invoices for that service in future cycles.
• Any open invoice for only that service cancelled if it was unpaid. If it was paid and you believe you are eligible for a refund, open a support ticket.

Step 8: Change of plan? Adjust instead of cancelling

You can upgrade, downgrade or cancel at any time. If what you need is a smaller VPS or a different location, you may prefer to move plan rather than cancel. Start with our UK Linux VPS or our New York Linux VPS ranges. If you decide to cancel anyway, follow the steps above and keep your backups safe.

What next

If you only wanted to know whether there is a contract, here is the short version in our support article: Is there a minimum time contract commitment required.

Choosing a new VPS after cancelling? Compare our KVM VPS hosting options. For a UK location, see Linux VPS. For a US location, see Linux VPS in New York. When you are ready, order through your Hostworld account at portal.hostworld.uk.

If anything in this guide leaves you unsure, please open a support ticket. Tickets go to the right team and are tracked against your account.