ok ive been asked to make a website for a client... what do i do about hosting?

[iminimac]

this is a imaginary question as i may start trying to get clients.
lets say i have a client adn ive made their website. it now exists as a html file and images on my desktop.
lets say i charged 100 pounds for it
if they want a domain name does some of the 100 pounds cover that?
for hosting if i go with non free hosting does some of the 100 pounds cover that?
if not do I have to ask them for extra money or do I say please buy this and make them buy the services themselves.
also could anyone tell me some more about content management systems
and suggest any good ones.
thanks

 

[tektonnic]

Hiya,

Regarding the hosting, what I do is when asked for a quote I ask what they want and then work out a. what I will charge and then b. what the host will charge, for example if they need multiple databases the hosting is more expensive than a simple html hosting package. I add the two together and then say to the client, it will cost you £XXX including hosting, or if you want to differentiate jsut tell them £XXX + hosting costs.

also could anyone tell me some more about content management systems

I would suggest an open source one, such as Joomla or Mambo, both are really easy to install, configure and customise. They are both free too and have excellent communities of support forums full of knowledgable Joomlers and Mambo'ers!

 

[iminimac]

Hiya,

Regarding the hosting, what I do is when asked for a quote I ask what they want and then work out a. what I will charge and then b. what the host will charge, for example if they need multiple databases the hosting is more expensive than a simple html hosting package. I add the two together and then say to the client, it will cost you £XXX including hosting, or if you want to differentiate jsut tell them £XXX + hosting costs.



I would suggest an open source one, such as Joomla or Mambo, both are really easy to install, configure and customise. They are both free too and have excellent communities of support forums full of knowledgable Joomlers and Mambo'ers!

Thanks
So lets say they pay me
Do I then myself pay for the hosting? Also when the hosting comes to end its time do I contact them again saying that they need to pay me the hosting fee or their website will be shut down?

 

[jsw]

The people I know who do such things clearly differentiate between hosting a site and creating/modifying a site.

So I'd either make it two separate quotes or let them figure out the hosting and billing themselves (which is a lot less headache for you). Don't merge it into one single quote.

 

[raddsigns]

Design vs. Hosting

I ALWAYS separate the costs of the design and the hosting. I always give my clients the option to provide their own hosting as well.

If they ask me to setup the hosting account and take care of annual billing (and in turn bill them annually), then the minimum markup on the hosting fees will be 25%. I generally will bill a one time setup fee of $100 as well.

You have to figure thats money out of your pocket while you're paying the fees up front, plus you have to factor in the billable time that goes into creating the account with the hosting company, and any troubleshooting you may have to do to get the account setup and get the domain name resolving to the right place, etc.

Bottom line is if you are going to offer hosting as a re-seller (buying it and then passing on the charge to your client) you are entitled to a markup on the cost of the hosting, and the time that goes into the initial setup.

I wouldn't suggest eating the cost of hosting - there are many problems with that approach that I don't think I even need to get into - first and most importantly, you're cutting into your own profit margin for an expense that is clearly the clients responsibility.

I also agree with what others have said - its important to separate the billing costs for the design and hosting. This way the client isn't being taken advantage of - they know exactly what they are being charged for what.

And finally - don't let the annual hosting cost more than your design fees - web design is worth more than any annual hosting package, and you should be paid fairly for your time.

I hope this helps and gets you on the right track. I remember just entering the freelance world and any advice I could get my hands on was worth its weight in gold - so I hope this is beneficial in some manner!

 

[iminimac]

but can the average joe set up their website on a hosting site?
i dont know about that but one idea i do have is im sure most people know of www.freewebs.com and I could set up the clients free site and host it on there
so automatically its hosted and then the client is able to then upgrade with a domain name and hosting package if they want to
is that a sensible idea?

 

[raddsigns]

but can the average joe set up their website on a hosting site?
i dont know about that but one idea i do have is im sure most people know of www.freewebs.com and I could set up the clients free site and host it on there
so automatically its hosted and then the client is able to then upgrade with a domain name and hosting package if they want to
is that a sensible idea?

I'm not sure I understand your question here - but I think you're asking if an average person (client) would know how to get the files you give them to the hosting company servers.

As the designer/developer I feel it is very much your responsibility to get the site setup on the hosting provider servers whether that be one that you buy for them and resell or one they pick and setup themselves. As the designer you are responsible for getting the site transferred to the hosting environment and making sure that the site sitll functions properly outside of your local machine.

Hope that addresses your question. I think its always best to get the hosting and domain name squared away up front before ever publishing a site - I would think very hard about using a free hosting service. Free is free - and isn't going to come with much, if any, support for issues you may encounter. Just something to keep in mind.

 

[iminimac]

so overall
in general
am i supposed to just give the client the images and html
or set up a hosting account (which i pay for and then ask them yearly for costs)
or i ask them to sign up to a hosting account and then set their website up on there

thanks for everyones advice

 

[Coolnat2004]

Explain to them why hosting is necessary and ask them what they want to do. Generally, my clients already have hosting or they buy it themselves, then they just give me access to set up the site on their server.

 

[tektonnic]

I've always found that if I offer them the option to get the hosting there are issues,

"I found one for £10 per year, that'll do yeh?"
me:"well does it have any MySQL databases and support PHP?"
"Erm, let me check,...no, can we go without those things"
me:"How about I sort out the hosting..."

 

[iminimac]

ah ok. I think what I would do after reading your posts (thanks by the way everyone) is either see if they already have a hosting site or I will say to them can you buy your hosting site and give a list of a few good hosting sites which would work in their case.
Thanks very much for everyones help.
David