How do you handle this?

[Evoir]

When you resell FQ hosting, do you tell your clients you are reselling? Or do you simply say that you are providing the hosting? I don't mind folks knowing that FQ is providing the base service, but it gets sticky if they then want to contact FQ for support in the future.

For folks who are really new to the whole webhosting thing, I never have a problem, but for the folks who have had their site for a while, they always ask me if they are my own servers. Once I tell them about FQ, they want to go check FQ out.... then, I am in the awkward situation of asking them not to contact FQ for support.

Also, you you have your own Web hosting agreement? Anyone willing to share what they use?

Thanks!

[Randall]

Even though I'm not officially a reseller, that is basically what I do for my small cadre of clients.

I give them the full details -- inclduing the FTP usernames and passwords -- just in case I get run over by a truck, or they decide to take their site somewhere else. Obviously I'm still their support contact, but I like them to know where they "are."

Which reminds me, I should do that for my two IRM clients too. I can't give them access to the master domain, but we do have that option to add FTP users to our accounts now...

Randall

[squillo]

I've always been completely transparent about it and bill them what it costs me (with the reseller discount) to host the site, though I won't send them the activation letter. But if they want direct support or manage the hosting themselves, I'm more than happy to hand the account over (though they rarely do, since they're getting 30-40% off by using me). Before, I used to set clients up with FQ directly and that was more trouble than it was worth since they would forget payments or whatever. It's easier just to manage the hosting for them by default, and definitely easier through FQ than from whatever provider they dug up.

squillo

[Matt]

Often, clients ask something along the lines of "what would you charge to host my web site on your servers." In this case I don't bother to try to delineate the details of what it means to be on "my servers." Sometimes I will mention the location of the data center and in rare circumstances I'll mention FQ. I get the distinct impression that most clients don't want to be bothered with the details... they just want to have a single point of contact if something goes wrong.

Yes, you need a hosting Agreement of some kind... even if it's along the lines of the less formal TOS that FQ uses... unless you include the hosting specs in your design Agreements.

-Matt