For the umpteenth time, today I have had not one but two calls from people who have had their web provider hold them to ransom over changes to the website, or preventing the client from changing host provider. Usually this is because the client has been tied into a hosting agreement and without knowing has then become part of a shared hosting pool paid for by the web designer, and then charged back at super inflated prices.
The problem comes when the web developer decides that they aren’t earning enough, and then extorts the client. One today was about to be charged £150 for a few simple updates – half an hour’s work.
So, the lesson: Always have your own hosting You pay for it, you renew it, and you have the admin passwords. Agree up front that you will own the site, and hosting in it’s entirety from day 1, and that all access codes for all levels will be passed to you on completion of the site.
Now if any web developer says that hosting costs more than £100 a year, then you are either after something very special, or they are ripping you off! Hosting with 1and1 internet costs £8 per month incl VAT for unlimited domains, emails, web space. Yes, you’ll pay an admin fee to the developer, but I have just taken someone’s site on who was paying £300 a year for single domain hosting.
Rant over!