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course, the hosting. This is
quite popular as it whittles down the process of getting a site up and running
for many new to the Internet and online marketing.
However, with the convenience
of Web-hosting packages of this sort, there also can be inconveniences. No road
is paved "with gold" and this type of registration, hosting and design package
deal is no exception. There can be problems that surface later on when
purchasing a Web design and hosting package that also includes registration.
These problems usually present themselves in the following forms:
1. Once a Web site becomes
popular, the hosting charges may rise exorbitantly, as the "special" that was
presented initially can become inapplicable once a certain amount of traffic or
the size of the site changes. This is more of a problem for larger business
sites than for smaller business sites or "personal" or "theme" sites.
2. Some "specials" only exist
for a limited amount of time, and the charges can rise steadily after that
period.
3. A Web site owner may have
different needs as time goes on, and the "package" no longer suits the needs of
the owner. This can include the inability to change the pages on one's own, or
the inability to effectively track traffic, as some come with traffic statistics
packages.
4. Downtime (when a site is
down and can't be viewed) can be significant enough to warrant a change of hosts
or domain name registrars.
5. A Web site, registration,
and web hosting package company may go out of business, leaving a client with no
way to contact them, and three services to quickly replace. This also leaves a
site open to loss of the registered domain name, as well as loss of revenues
while the site is "down".
6. A contract may exist which
states that the "special" prices are only offered contingent on remaining with a
certain company for a specified amount of time (which may be years).
7. The actual "name" of your
site may not even be registered to "you" the perceived "owner", but to the
hosting and registrar company that initiated the purchase through the package
deal. This how the Web site hosting, design and registrar packages "save" money
many times for consumers, as they "buy in bulk", registering hundreds of sites
per month.
All the above seem simple
enough to rectify. Simply "switch" the Web site, hosting, and domain name
registrar to that of other companies.
This is the point, however, in
which "trouble" can rear its ugly head. Some hosting and domain name registrars
seem reluctant to "hand over" a site to any other company, as it does mean the
loss of a customer and therefore, revenue, for themselves. The current hosting
company and registrar may likewise delay a transfer, or refuse to provide
sufficient information to a new host or registrar to effectively conclude a
transfer. It becomes even more tangled, if the name of a site has been
registered to them.
This is where it is possible
for a "nightmare" of subterfuge regarding a site to begin. Sometimes, after
numerous contacts, with no reply, a Web site owner will realize that the
switching of the site has become a real battle.
Here's an actual real life
example of a friend of mine, Katheryn:
After much downtime had
occurred, Katheryn wrote to the initial hosting company, and domain name
registrar, stating her disappointment in the service. A rather nasty letter was
received in reply, telling her that she could either "like it or lump it" and
that there was not anything they could do, as a contract was in place that could
not be "broken" by any means. The language of the e-mail correspondence was rude
and uncalled for, and a phone number was not provided anywhere for more personal
contact, neither was the name of the support person that wrote the e-mail.
The site remained down
consistently, as well, over the next few weeks, forcing Katheryn to sign up for
a different hosting plan with a different host, and also re-register the domain
with another registrar. Luckily for Katheryn, the registration of the site was
in her name, and a new name did not need to be purchased. At the time of import,
however, the previous "problem" host refused to initiate a transfer, claiming
that the contract remained intact, and therefore the site could not be
transferred. The new hosting company had to "maneuver" the site onto it's own
servers without the cooperation of the previous company, costing the client more
time and money than was necessary.
For months afterward, Katheryn
was billed repeatedly by the previous hosting company for monthly hosting, even
though a site no longer existed on their servers, and they were in essence
hosting "air" at this point. Copies of all correspondence had to be sent to the
billing service to "dismiss" this recurrent billing, which was the only option
left to Katheryn at this point.
I'm sure there are many people
like Katheryn who at one time or the other have gone through such ordeal.
Some possible methods of
avoiding the "trap" of packages such as this:
1. Read all paperwork and
contracts thoroughly. The fine print is indeed, very "fine" sometimes, for a
reason, and reading everything thoroughly will save frustration and
misunderstandings later.
Above all, make sure that the
registration will be done in "your name", as the loss of a popular name, with a
large amount of traffic, is a HUGE loss. Or better still, register your domain
name yourself. With so many online domain registrars, it's very simple to
register a domain name online. The only thing you need to do once you have
bought a hosting package is change the "name servers" through the control panel
provided by your domain registrar.
If at all you are not satisfied
with your hosting company and would like to shift to a different company, simply
change the name servers to point to the new company. That's it!
2. Make sure there is a contact
phone number and physical address for correspondence with the companies if the
need should arise. As in the case of Example #1, the lack of a phone number and
physical address was detrimental to effective correspondence and resolution.
3. Take the time to research
different plans and different companies. If at all possible, ask to speak to
some of their other clients to ensure that they are indeed sensitive to the
needs of their own customers and are flexible enough to adapt to changes in a
site over time.
4. Take the time to correctly
ascertain your own needs and the needs of any site you'll be building. The
package needs to "fit your needs" explicitly.
5. If at all possible, use
different providers for each stage of a Web site: hosting, domain-name
registrar, site building. It does take longer to get a site up and running with
this method, but the overall control that you will have over the site is well
worth the extra effort, usually. If one provider proves to be a disappointment,
it is easier to replace one service, rather than try to replace everything at
once.
As you can easily see,
sometimes "time saving" strategies are not really that, and can lead to
heartbreak and headaches. As with everything else, "slow but steady" wins the
race, and it does pay to take the time to initiate each stage of a Web site
individually. |
