Web Hosting Policies

The Cloud Web Services group offers multiple hosting services, each with its own policies. Before submitting a request, carefully consider what resources will be required to fulfill the needs of the site/application being developed. Please consider the following Web Hosting Policies before submitting your request:

  • Determine which programming language will need to be supported (PHP, .NET, and Plain HTML are available)
  • Will the site host restricted information? If so, please reach out to our HIPAA Privacy office to complete an Institutional Review board assessment prior to requesting a site. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/institutional_review_board/hipaa_research/contact.html
  • Access will only be provided for required resources. It is the decision of the Web Hosting Group to determine which resource is best suited for the users need.
  • The Web Hosting Group reserves the right to restrict access to resources based on the user’s classification.
  • In accordance with Johns Hopkins Medicine Administration, all Web sites affiliated with Johns Hopkins Medicine should be hosted by the Web Center, a division of the Office of Corporate Communications. Contact [email protected]
  • All JHU sites must conform to the branding and design requirements of the Johns Hopkins University Office of Communications. Contact [email protected]
  • Information stored on Enterprise Web Hosting servers is backed regularly for disaster recovery purposes only. These backups are not intended to roll back file level code updates or accidental deletions. Please ensure you are maintaining your own copies of files prior to editing them.
  • Additional software will not be installed on shared Hosting Servers in order to support a user’s application. Users are limited to using the software currently installed on the server. This includes the installation of Custom Components.
  • If a site requires a separate DNS name, a request must be made by using the DNS Request Tool.
  • Websites should adhere to the ICSC Web Application Best Practice Guidance found HERE
  • Web Site and Application code must be regularly maintained and updated to use the vendor supported software versions. Web Services reserves the right to disable a site for not being able to run on the latest versions of WordPress, PHP, Java, etc.
  • Web Applications/Sites that utilize third party solutions such as out an out of the box software product or contracting a third party to design a site/application, should maintain support contracts with those providers. This ensures that the site will be maintained to run on the latest technology versions and that technical support for a custom app is available if needed.
  • All new sites must undergo a web security scan prior to being published externally. Any vulnerability found will need to be addressed and a new scan performed. It is important that you build in several weeks into your site go live timeline to account for this process

Cloud Web Hosting servers are intended to host Web sites for departments or organizations affiliated with the Johns Hopkins Institutions.  They are not intended to host personal sites. Many Web based applications require devoted servers and specialized software that are not appropriate for a shared hosting environment.  Small, client-developed Web-based applications are supported.  Enterprise Web Hosting provides managed server space and does not create, author, program, or maintain the Web sites hosted on its servers.