I usually have my clients register their own domains then send me login credentials to set nameservers, but how do you guys handle the hosting aspect of it?
I usually have them sign up with a host then send me the welcome email. I dont want to start hosting myself with a reseller account at this time… But I feel like im leaving too much in their hands… What do you do?
[FONT=Verdana]We had a local web designer who registered all his clients’ domains for them and arranged all their hosting - all in his own name. Not a problem - until he died suddenly. None of his clients had log-in details to their own accounts and “their” domains were not in their own names. It was sorted out eventually, but only after a lot of unnecessary hassle all round.
I vowed I would never risk leaving my clients in the same mess, so I either do as you do, or I register the domain and take out the hosting for them, but using their names and contact details. I also ensure the client has a copy of the account log-in details. (My clients are all very small businesses or voluntary/charitable groups.) [/FONT]
Rather than a reseller account, I have a VPS, on which I can place as many sites as I like. And I have a simple domain reseller account, too; and like TechnoBear, I register the domains for the clients in their own name. However, I only do all of this if the client hasn’t a clue about all this stuff, because I find it’s a hassle for them if I tell them it’s their job to sort it out. Other clients already have organized their own domain and hosting before they get to me, which is fine (although often the hosting is rubbish, which makes life harder for me, so I’ve basically decided to reject some jobs if the client isn’t willing to move to better hosting).
Thanks for the replies guys…
So when you secure the hosting for them, you use all their info, including signup email? And how about the payment? You just get their credit card info and use it to sign up for the hosting so the monthly bill goes to them?
No. All the hosting I used is paid annually. I pay for the initial registration/hosting and pass the charges on to the client with my invoice. After that, because the account is in their name and has their contact details, the renewal e-mail goes to them and it’s up to them to deal with it. The only exception to this is a small voluntary group that doesn’t have a card payment facility. The account is still in their name, but with my e-mail address. I pay the account for them and they reimburse me.
In my case, I’m just using my own web hosting, so none of that is needed. I just bill them once per year for the hosting that I effectively provide by sharing my VPS (virtual private server) account with them.
Awesome, thanks for the tips guys.
Reseller Account is a much more hands off and if you select a good host the load of your sites and services should be spread over multiple servers, much more efficient then a single vps running all the services you need (single point of failure). Some places do it right like ResellerChoice or you can go the budget host route but I think a reseller hosting is better suited for most developers or small business not looking to get there hands dirty.