I'm planning on offering to help register domains and setup hosting as one of my services. What do think is the best way to do this for a client? Should I just give support through the process (choosing who to register/host with, help picking domain name, etc.) or should I do the whole process for them myself?

I believe if I did it myself I would have to use their credit card information (at least all of the registrars and hosting companies I've used seem to prefer credit cards) and that would take a lot of trust on the client's part to share that info.

So what do you think?

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Katie B.
Helping Hands VA- Coming Soon!

Hi Katie,

I think you should offer all services and let the client decide if you should pay for the client or if he/she should pay for the hosting on their own.

Most of the clients I work with set up domain and hosting info themselves and then forward the confirmation emails to me to finish the set up in the hosts so that I have the passwords.

Janine

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I've always set everything up, up to a point, and then had the client go in and pay - then I take over again. In some cases where PayPal is an option I'll use the client's info to make payment with their funds.

Ultimately, I don't want to have anyone's credit card info and the few seconds it takes the client to pay is minimal.

Like Janine, then the client will forward me the information I need to continue.

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If you're registering thier websites be very careful of spam/bandwidth/downtime. If the website host goes down and the client contracted with you for the hosting fees it may end up being a pain. Also, if your client does any eCommerce you may find that the standard $5.00 a month hosting doesn't work well for them - and instead of negotiating with the host, they negotiate the price with you.

If you pay on their behalf, you may be the one absorbing the costs if they decide they want to move their website.

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WeeWebWork
Helping you grow your online presence--one step at a time.

Thanks everyone!

I really didn't want to have the responsibility of keeping someone's credit card info safe, so it's good to hear how other people handle things. I think I will probably just assist people with the process rather than doing the whole thing for them.

Emma: Good point. I had never thought of "me" paying for a client's hosting, it's definitely not an arrangement I want to get into. Ever.

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Katie B.
Helping Hands VA- Coming Soon!

I'm just curious, if you are providing web support for the client? Why wouldn't you set up the account so that the client pays you and you pay for the domain and hosting. In doing so you can charge a small up-charge for your services and you can make sure their payments for hosting do not slip through the cracks when a the customer is issued a new credit card.

All of my websites are hosted with the same provider. Some are in a bulk hosting package and some have individual hosting packages, but they are all hosted with on provider.

I see this as a means of revenue, client retention (not that I wouldn't let the client have the domain back if they wanted to leave) and it is easier not to have to get the client involved.

Let me know if I am not thinking of the negative, just in case I am looking at it wrong. ???