LOL, ???

My intent in posting wasn't to compare hosts with resellers. To each his own.

I just can't believe that HG has that policy in place. I wonder how many hosts have this type of policy versus a policy of absorbing clients when the reseller has canceled the account, like GoDaddy.

Even though I would never recommend GoDaddy or Yahoo hosting.

Why would you never recommend GoDaddy? They are the largest web host in the WORLD, with 26 million domains hosted to date... the second largest web host (Enom) has only 3 million domains hosted, so GoDaddy has COMPLETELY blown away all their competition. They didn't get there by of offering bad hosting. So, I'm just curious, why don't you like them?

I agree with you about Yahoo, but I only wouldn't recommend them because their control panel is so dang confusing.

Microsoft has completely blown away the competition in the area of operating systems and desktop publishing systems. They didn't get there by of offering bad software. Yet, many people don't like them.

I just don't prefer Godaddy. I don't like their mail script restrictions for one thing. And I don't like their sales department selling people extra things they don't need, like an ssl certificate for a simple static site with absolutely no need for it.

Tom, you got in ahead of me with that one.

I started out using a small company because (1) I'm a 1-man low-budget outfit and my needs are basic, (2) they were cheap, (3) they were local and (4) they were there.

The proprietor developed a serious illness and closed down, she asked my permission to arrange hosting with another company they were sure would suit my needs, I assented and voila it was done.
Whether she was a reseller or the original provider didn't matter to me, I liked the "personal touch".
The same sort of feeling I get with the CC forums.

I am VERY glad that you got your needs met and were taken care of exceptionally well. But I hear SO many horror stories from people whose web designers "forgot" about them... continued charging a monthly maintenance fee but, when the client asked for changes, they would take FOREVER to make changes (if they made them at all).

I also have many clients who web designers fell off the face of the planet... collected a large sum of money for the initial design of the web site and then, within just a few months became completely unreachable, leaving the client with no FTP information or recourse of any sort to even hire someone else to make the changes (lest they just copy the source code from the existing web site).

And the worst one of all, when people are SO fed up with their web designers poor service that they try to switch, but the web designer refuses to release the domain name because he believes it is HIS property. Technically, if he purchased and registered the domain in his own name, it IS his! And he has absolutely no legal obligation to turn it over to the client, thus he can use his ownership of the domain to bribe his clients into keeping him as their web designer, even though he sucks. These aren't abstract stories that are "out there" somewhere, this is the kind of stuff that caused many, if not most, of my clients to come to me for help.

That is exactly why I insist that my clients purchase their own domain and hosting (with my help if need be), then provide me the account log-in details to set it up things and get the FTP info I need. I explain it's not in their best interest to be lazy. After all, it's their brand.

I purchase the domain for them and host the sites myself, that way I can make a profit on the domain and the hosting, as well as the web design. But I also make it clear to my clients that I will not hijack their domain name, and its spelled out clearly in my TOS so they aren't just taking my word for it.

Hey, if it works for, it's all good.

How are you liking that VPS, by the way?

I don't have the VPS yet. The reason I fell in love with the Dreamhost model for VPS is that you START with a shared hosting account (for just 8 bucks a month). Then when/if you outgrow your shared account, you can upgrade to VPS with one click and Dreamhost does ALL the work for you transferring the files.

Dreamhost will let you know when your sites start bumping up against the resource limit of their shared servers. Not only that, but when you do activate the VPS, Dreamhost will monitor the traffic you get your first month and then set your resources exactly where they belong, so you're not left to try and figure out on your own what to set your resources to.

I am currently doing fine with shared, but I keep adding more sites; and not only that, but adding sites with resource intensive scripts, dynamic pages, and high traffic, so I fully expect to outgrow their shared model very soon, which is exactly why I went with them.

My OTHER option was to go ahead and purchase VPS right away since I knew I would need it soon, but with the Dreamhost model I don't have to pay for it until I know that I need it, and I don't have to worry about transferring any files when the transition is made.

I read a lot of complaints on other forums about hosters registering domains to themselves - I have 2 domain names, drivingnt.com and drivingnt.com.au, the former holds my site and was registered for me by my original hoster - not laziness on my part but because I was a timid newbie and didn't envisage a possible ownership problem (it's a pity Tom wasn't around to advise me back then).

I have control over the .com.au name, is there a site where I can access ownership info on domain names?

Considereing their attitude to their clients, if I need to change my hoster I will consider Chad or Tom.