All hosts I've signed-up with (shared, VPS and dedicated server) have charged by month. The dedicated server providers did make me sign a contract for a year however.
I would never sign up with a host for a full year. I've had a ton of bad hosts over the years and I'm glad I could leave them when I wanted.
My dedicated server host had a lot of plans (they waive the setup fee if you signed on for a full year). I still choose the more expensive monthly plan just so I could leave if they weren't very good.
I tend to think if they make you sign on for a full year, they are worried about loosing you after a few months. And why would they be worried about that if they provide good service?
Quote: I tend to think if they make you sign on for a full year, they are worried about loosing you after a few months. And why would they be worried about that if they provide good service?
Another possibility is people (and I have known a few) who will jump ship and run to another host just becasue it is a $1/ month cheaper.
Also it is business sense, they run a business, for finacial reasons it is their benefit to show they have customers "locked in" for a year. (ie, they need to finance more equipment, etc), they can show more cash in their accounts earlier. There are several business reasons why that would not have to do with worried about loosing to bad service (besides, most offer a money back guarantee anyhow). Not saying your reason isn't valid, just offering that there is more to it than that.
Most sites that do offer both monthly and other terms (quarterly, etc) will offer a discount for longer periods. Some cheaper sites ($1/month) will only do a year becasue it is more cost effective billing wise (figure they loose around $.20-$.30 fee PER credit card transaction PLUS a percentage of each one... in processing fees)
I have been with the same hosting company since 1997. I have yearly billing as it saves me money. I understand starting with someone new, you may be gun shy, but IMO after a year, you should be comfortable with your host, and not needing to jump ship.
I have just recently started using a second hosting company, becasue quite frankly, it is for a church, with low traffic, and after several months, their service seems reliable enough for a "cheap site", ($1/month) and to be honest I'm still using this site to monitor the consistency of the hosting company for possible use of more visited site.
Now, for the company I work for, we have a dedicated server. Although we pay monthly, we did have to sign a contract for a 1 year period. They do this becasue after all they are buying the equipment and setting it up, they don't want to do it one month and take it back down the next..
Many pay a monthly plan, but it is probably more expensive per month. There could also be billing cycles where you sign up for two years, or one year, or 3 months, and pay for everthiny up-front.
The same can be true for domain registrations as well.
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JeevesBond posted this at 14:05 — 12th March 2008.
He has: 3,956 posts
Joined: Jun 2002
All hosts I've signed-up with (shared, VPS and dedicated server) have charged by month. The dedicated server providers did make me sign a contract for a year however.
a Padded Cell our articles site!
teammatt3 posted this at 15:52 — 12th March 2008.
He has: 2,102 posts
Joined: Sep 2003
I would never sign up with a host for a full year. I've had a ton of bad hosts over the years and I'm glad I could leave them when I wanted.
My dedicated server host had a lot of plans (they waive the setup fee if you signed on for a full year). I still choose the more expensive monthly plan just so I could leave if they weren't very good.
I tend to think if they make you sign on for a full year, they are worried about loosing you after a few months. And why would they be worried about that if they provide good service?
Greg K posted this at 19:16 — 12th March 2008.
He has: 2,145 posts
Joined: Nov 2003
Another possibility is people (and I have known a few) who will jump ship and run to another host just becasue it is a $1/ month cheaper.
Also it is business sense, they run a business, for finacial reasons it is their benefit to show they have customers "locked in" for a year. (ie, they need to finance more equipment, etc), they can show more cash in their accounts earlier. There are several business reasons why that would not have to do with worried about loosing to bad service (besides, most offer a money back guarantee anyhow). Not saying your reason isn't valid, just offering that there is more to it than that.
Most sites that do offer both monthly and other terms (quarterly, etc) will offer a discount for longer periods. Some cheaper sites ($1/month) will only do a year becasue it is more cost effective billing wise (figure they loose around $.20-$.30 fee PER credit card transaction PLUS a percentage of each one... in processing fees)
I have been with the same hosting company since 1997. I have yearly billing as it saves me money. I understand starting with someone new, you may be gun shy, but IMO after a year, you should be comfortable with your host, and not needing to jump ship.
I have just recently started using a second hosting company, becasue quite frankly, it is for a church, with low traffic, and after several months, their service seems reliable enough for a "cheap site", ($1/month) and to be honest I'm still using this site to monitor the consistency of the hosting company for possible use of more visited site.
Now, for the company I work for, we have a dedicated server. Although we pay monthly, we did have to sign a contract for a 1 year period. They do this becasue after all they are buying the equipment and setting it up, they don't want to do it one month and take it back down the next..
Just my $.02 worth.
-Greg
tummy posted this at 15:12 — 13th March 2008.
They have: 121 posts
Joined: Mar 2007
Thanks for that detailed reply, Greg.
Bjørk posted this at 09:02 — 14th March 2008.
They have: 118 posts
Joined: Oct 2006
I's good to pay in advance once you are settled and have spent some time with your hosting company, but not at some initial stage.
Freedom posted this at 15:48 — 18th March 2008.
They have: 110 posts
Joined: Oct 2006
Do you think it's possible?
lweeks posted this at 17:55 — 27th March 2009.
They have: 23 posts
Joined: Jan 2009
Many pay a monthly plan, but it is probably more expensive per month. There could also be billing cycles where you sign up for two years, or one year, or 3 months, and pay for everthiny up-front.
The same can be true for domain registrations as well.
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