Hosting for a third party

[emte98]

Hi

This will probably seem like a real newbie problem so please go easy.

I've built 3 websites which were really redesigns of existing sites so therefore the web domain name and web space were already set up. I had no input into this.

I now have 2 sites to build where neither domain name or web space are setup and I have no knowledge of the best way of going about this for a client. Do I buy these for the client then transfer the details or is there a better way?

I don't feel ready to buy space and resell it as I would prefer to learn a few more things before going down that road.

Many thanks for your help.

[djb]

Unless the client’s a technophobe I’d recommend a couple of companies to them and get them to register the domain and buy the webspace themselves, giving you the login details so you can set the site up. This way they get the yearly bill and you don’t have to worry about anything other than building the site.

[Niv]

Well this is actually what I offer, My domain names start at around £1.28 a year for a .info and with every domain you get free 5 page website. My hosting starts at around £2.55 a month. I offer a huge range of products and prices are ever changing, feel free to check out my site and what I offer and if you have any questions drop me a private message and I'll be glad to help you with anything else you need to know.

www.FrogSplat.com

[Esvelte Digital Media]

Hello,

For a small web studio, I'd stay well clear of buying and managing domains on behalf of customers. The admin involved in re-billing to your clients for them wipes any chance of making profit on them due to the small amounts of money involved.

The same goes for hosting email; unless you fancy spending your days on the phone helping clients work out how to setup their email on the blackberry, iPhone, anti-virus-crippled Windoze machines etc. don't host client email either; put them on Google Apps or similar.

On the other hand, hosting the actual website (not domain or email) can be profitable and not too much admin, providing you resell via a reliable host who doesn't have servers that go down every 5 minutes.

Do, however, point the client to a domain registrar with a decent track record and powerful control panel area (i.e. so you can at least make DNS changes easily). I've always found 123-reg to be good for domains.

Hope that's of help.

Oskar