Rules and limits for sending e-mails
Information about the rules and limits for sending e-mail messages from Web Hosting, WebSite, Mailhosting, and from virtual or dedicated servers.
In order to prevent and curb the sending of unsolicited e-mail messages (spam), certain rules are in place for all our hosting services. These limits serve to protect the reputation of our shared mail servers, especially in the case of compromised mailboxes or web forms.
Web Hosting, WMS, WebSite, Mailhosting
Sending any kind of bulk e-mail messages from the Web Hosting, WMS, WebSite, and Mailhosting services is strictly prohibited, regardless of whether the messages are solicited or unsolicited. This includes bulk commercial offers as well as newsletters sent to subscribed recipients.
If you need to send this kind of mail, set up a service that specializes in bulk mail sending (VEDOS does not offer, broker, or recommend any such service), or you can set up your own mail server on a VPS or dedicated server.
Web Hosting, WMS, and WebSite send e-mails in two ways:
The mail() function in PHP
From the web hosting server using the mail() function in PHP. This includes many contact forms, WordPress password recovery, and various other, at least partially automated, messages.
Sending via SMTP
From e-mail software via our SMTP server. To send an e-mail this way, you need to log in to the mailbox with a username and password.
Mailhosting allows sending e-mails only via SMTP. With Web Hosting and WMS, it is not possible to send unauthorized e-mails via the SMTP protocol (an outbound connection cannot be established via TCP port 25). To send mail via the SMTP protocol from a web application, you need to send it in an authorized manner (i.e. after logging in) via our mail server or a third-party server on port 587.
Limits on sending e-mails for hosting services
The following table summarizes the limits on sending e-mails for hosting services:
| Limit | Web Hosting NoLimit/Extra, WebSite (except Free), WMS |
Web Hosting LowCost | Mailhosting Individual | Mailhosting Business (can be activated for any Web Hosting) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maximum number of e-mails sent via PHP per day | 500 | 50 | – | – |
| Maximum number of e-mails sent via SMTP per day | 500 | 50 | 500 | 2500 |
| Maximum size of an e-mail sent, including attachments (MB) | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
If you try to send an e-mail above the set limit
- The
mail()function in PHP returnsfalseand the server discards the message. - The SMTP server rejects the message with an error message informing you that the limit has been exceeded.
The limit applies to a calendar day; the counter resets every day at midnight (CET/CEST).
The stated limits on sent e-mails can only be increased by purchasing the add-on service Upgrade to the Business variant. There is no entitlement to a limit increase, and the provider reserves the right to refuse a request for an increase (or for provision of the add-on service) even without giving a reason. Increasing the limit does not permit bulk sending of e-mail messages, nor does it justify it in any way.
Virtual and dedicated servers
You can use VPS and dedicated servers for the bulk sending of solicited messages, provided you meet the following conditions:
- The messages must be solicited, meaning the recipients must be aware that they have signed up to receive these messages.
- Messages must be sent in a non-intrusive volume.
- Messages must be sent in reasonably small batches, never all at once in large quantities.
- The message must include a procedure for unsubscribing, and the sender must accept and respect unsubscribe requests.
Information the customer is required to provide at our request
- How the recipients’ e-mail addresses are obtained and how consent to send messages is obtained.
- What messages are being sent.
- How often the messages are sent.
- In what volume they are sent (total number, sending rate).
- How recipients can unsubscribe.
- Any other information at our request.
If the customer violates these conditions or fails to provide us with the required information, we are entitled to completely block e-mail sending or suspend the entire server.
Why these limits?
First of all, it should be emphasized that these limits are not primarily aimed at our customers. Common causes and sources of spam include:
- A security hole in a PHP script that allows it to be exploited, for example the bulk insertion of posts into a discussion forum (the forum then sends these new posts to its members), a bug directly in a contact form, and similar.
- Theft of the FTP password for a website (usually from an infected home PC); the attacker then places a malicious PHP script on the customer’s website, through which they then send bulk spam. The customer may have no idea this is happening.
- A bug in the customer’s PHP script that, for example, gets stuck in a loop and starts sending e-mails unexpectedly and intensively.
Deliberate sending of spam by our customer is the last thing that happens and the last thing we deal with.
So why these limits? The e-mail services of Web Hosting, WMS, WebSite, and Mailhosting are shared. A single server hosts the websites or mailboxes of several hundred customers. If such a server starts (for whatever reason) sending bulk messages and is subsequently blocked by the recipient’s e-mail server, all other customers on the same server will also be temporarily or even permanently blocked (because they all share the same IP address).
If such a block is set by a major e-mail service provider such as Seznam, Gmail, or Outlook, a large number of users and customers will not receive even legitimate messages from that server until the situation is remedied and the address is unblocked. This can take hours, or even longer.
Why aren’t the limits addressed only once something happens? The solution must be preventive. If an attacker finds a security gap in a website or e-mail account and starts exploiting it for bulk spamming, it is already too late. Sending tens of millions of messages is a matter of a single script and a relatively short amount of time. By the time we received and processed a report, such a server would already be blocked in various places across the Internet.
This solution is not a bad thing. Don’t take it as a restriction aimed against you. Think of it as your protection against your website being misused for illegal activities. Thanks to this preventive measure, we are able to ensure that the right, solicited e-mails always reach your customers, friends, visitors, and so on from your website. Without this limit, that might not be possible.