Continuation Guarantee

[siteseer]

Let's say the bottom falls out and the host decides to move to greener pastures.
What guarantees do i have if I prepay a year in advance your company will still be hosting then?

 

[dacsoft]

Short answer: none

 

[Corey Bryant]

Usually the new owners will honor the agreement - I know we did and I have not really heard of new owners not honoring it. Plus depending on the time frame, you might be able to request your money back if you paid with a credit card if it is not honored.

 

[dacsoft]

Usually the new owners will honor the agreement - I know we did and I have not really heard of new owners not honoring it. Plus depending on the time frame, you might be able to request your money back if you paid with a credit card if it is not honored.

Maybe I misunderstood the OP. If the company is sold or taken over, then they will normally continue to honor your contract. But if the hosting company just quits, then you are normally out of luck.

 

[wetalkhosting.com]

You risk when hosting with any company. As I tell people, you always need to make local backups just incase the impossible happens!

 

[Corey Bryant]

Maybe I misunderstood the OP. If the company is sold or taken over, then they will normally continue to honor your contract. But if the hosting company just quits, then you are normally out of luck.

Well I was thinking of selling it I guess. I see your point as well if the hosting company just fails and the owner negelcts the client totally.

 

[dacsoft]

Well I was thinking of selling it I guess. I see your point as well if the hosting company just fails and the owner negelcts the client totally.

It is strange when a host just closes up and ignores their customers. You can always find somebody to buy (or at least take over) your paying customers.

 

[Corey Bryant]

Exactl and I guess that was where my mind was. We just boaught about 20 clients a few months back. They wanted to get into Windows hosting but found it to be too much for them & decided they only wanted UNIX.

Since that was all that we did - we offered them a price. I think about 9 months and all but once customer stayed with us.

I guess when I first answered it, the glass was half full that day

 

[marker]

This is a risk of course. You may lower this risk by checking out the number of years that the hosting company in business. If they are in business around 5 years, they could be considered as a reliable company in my opinion.

Be sure to read reviews on that company as well by researching hosting related forums.

 

[mobiuz]

If you are just starting out alot can happen before the year is over. It is definitely a gamble you should not take. I have been offering month to month hosting with no contracts since I started in this business. My clients ask me why I don't do yearly hosting contracts; I tell them the truth. If your clients know you well enough, have been loyally to you (even newcomers), most will appreciate sincerety such as that.

The web hosting industry isn't a solid bet anymore with a web host camping out on every corner of the market. Trends change as well, be smart, be prepared; do month to month. You will thank yourself, but most impportantly, your clients will thank you in the event something does happen.

 

[eleven]

Look at it like this:

I would be more then prepared to prepay a large hosting company such as hostgator, site5, surfspeedy, webfusion etc..

but a small one man operation i'd be wary about paying monthly lol... how about daily?

 

[WhereTolook]

Let's say the bottom falls out and the host decides to move to greener pastures.
What guarantees do i have if I prepay a year in advance your company will still be hosting then?

I guess I would answer "Why would anyone pay for a year in advance?"

I don't think it is sound business at all unless you have already been with the company and tried the services and felt really secure.

Otherwise, anything you do that is untried for long periods of time is going to be a risk... anything. I don't care if Google is the sponsor, I would still try it out to make sure it fits with my business plan.

.02

 

[TheBrigade]

Sometimes that's just it. Say Goodbye, pack your things, we are done with you. However, the right way to go about it would be to provide the user with some other companies you know, and point them in the right direction, or find a new home for your clients. It's not always going to work, but some companies might want your clients even though they know they might not get anything off of the customer until next year, or whatever.