As you begin to shop around you’ll notice that some designers and developers offer convenient “in-house” hosting services. What does this mean? It means that you can make a payment directly to your web person to take care of your domain and hosting package – which is one of the key ingredients when setting up an online presence. Sounds peachy right? And I bet you’re wondering…”Gee, why doesn’t she do that?”. Let me share my secret with you.
When I started on this venture it was mainly for fun. I am a total computer geek at heart and fell in love with site building when the internet was created. As the years went on I was floored to see some of the sites that were being built and the rates that people were paying. I knew I could offer more bang for the buck and wanted to help people with their website projects without expecting an arm and a leg and their first born child. And so that’s what I did.
Now what does this have to do with hosting? Well “in-house” hosting is a way for web people to earn some extra income. While you may think that your hosting and domain services are being managed by the awesome web person that you’ve come to trust – it’s probably not. It’s likely being managed by a bigger company – something like GoDaddy, BlueHost or of course my favorite, SiteGround through the means of a reseller account. This allows one to sell hosting and domain packages at an inflated price (resellers choose their own price points) to keep the profits or receive kickback credits or payments based on their sales.
What does this mean? Bad for you – good for me. Now I’m not saying that all in-house hosting and domain packages are selling inflated plans, but this is one of the main perks of a reseller account. Since saving my clients money is an important part of my business plan, this just doesn’t jibe with me. So in case you were wondering , this is why I’ve chosen not to offer my clients in-house hosting and domain packages.
However, you may notice that I have SiteGround banners posted in various parts of my site. When new clients come my way – if they don’t have hosting, I definitely will recommend SiteGround. I will also provide them with my referral link. The referral link does not adjust the price at all nor do I get a commission on sales. But for each new sign up at SiteGround, they do thank me by adding on up to 3 months of service to my own hosting plan. Referral bonuses are available to every active customer with SiteGround, so if you happen to have a plan with them and you know someone who will be needing a site – be sure to get your referral link to them. If you need guidance on this just head over to their live chat.
WHAT I DO OFFER
Even though I do not offer hosting and domain plans for my clients, I do offer maintenance plans which is where many site owners will see the most value. My maintenance plans do not require any commitment, so you can pickup service if and when you need to. I do recommend that site owners have their websites updated at least every 2-3 months, but this isn’t a hard and fast rule. To learn more about my maintenance options available, please visit : Maintenance Plans
If you don’t want to worry about setting up a maintenance plan, I’m also available for hire if the need arises. Although maintenance plans are recommended, I also know that it doesn’t work for every budget and I am to offer flexible options as long as I am able to.
IN CONCLUSION
While “in-house” hosting isn’t a bad alternative from someone you trust working with you should always research your options before making a commitment. A good resource to compare hosts can be found here: http://www.whoishostingthis.com/hosting-reviews/
Hosting plans run annually so be sure to also check on cancellation and refund policies if things go south. For many site owners you may find that a maintenance plan to be more beneficial for your needs.
