Paying for web hosting accounts

[rpcarnell]

Sorry if this looks like a pricing discussion. I hope it isn't.

I am planning to start a webdesign business, but I have a question:

Can I do that without also owning a web hosting company? I think it'd be a problem for me to go around buying accounts in Hostmysite, hostgator, gate,com, etc, etc, and then charge my clients for these accounts while also maintaining them. Do I charge them monthly for the accounts I am paying for? I think keeping track of them all would be nightmarish.

Or should I ask them to pay for these accounts themselves and then get the login-passwords from them? Assuming they are willing to give them to me.

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http://www.carbotek.org

[JDM71488]

if you sign up for a hosting account that allows for multiple or unlimited domains you're all set. google them as they are plenty. windows and linux based, php, jsp, asp, etc.

you can do and charge what you wish as long as it works for you and you get business from it. i started out a few years ago being the middle man telling clients to buy a domain from here and sign up for a hosting account there. then i would log in, develop their Web site, and be done. but i quickly (after one) felt it was unprofessional and placed too much work on my clients. but i was 15 years old at the time.

now, i have a large hosting account that allows for multiple domains that i can add at any time. if the client has a domain already i'll give them instructions on pointing the dns to my server and i add a record for that domain request. if they do not have a domain, i walk them through buying one or if they want, or i'll buy it for them and put in their whois information so they have rights to it and add a record for that domain request.

i charge per year on hosting, but i also include content management. i could charge a smaller amount for hosting and charge an hourly fee for changes, but i think charging to change a block of text isnt' worth it so i wouldn't bill it anyway.

you can charge monthly as long as it works for your client and charge for each change or for x amount of changes, etc.

it's all up to you.

[braydond]

I run a successful design firm and by adding a hosting store to it clients assumed that i was a much large org and i was able to raise by design prices a whole lot and also make a nice supplimental income on hosting. I say start a full separate hosting company - check this out: www.5shadesreseller.com (http://www.5shadesreseller.com)