Hosting/Email Packages (Full Version)

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shawna -> Hosting/Email Packages (5/30/2007 8:50:55)

Hi - I am looking for new ideas for my web design business. I have approximately 80 clients that I have designed sites for and keep very busy with new clients continuously.

I have a very very inexpensive hosting package at a reliable host that allows me to host unlimited domain names and offers great support and uptime. I have been with them for years.

All the domain names are registered at Enom/Bulk Register.

I know I have a great thing going but the problem I am seeing repeatedly is EMail Packages (which I do not offer). My host does offer EMail, but I would have to set things up technically and I admit I do not want to be responsible for things screwing up and clients not receiving their emails.

I looked into Enom/BR for email boxes, but what I found is that the boxes are small - only 10 mb each and I know each client would use that up quickly. Network Solutions looks like it has terrific space and a pretty reasonable cost per box. I am wondering if that would be good to do because it looks like I would have to transfer the domain name to them and then I could still use my own host to host the website.

I just wondered what everyone else does. Do you offer a complete package for domain, hosting, email? Are you the support person if someone does not receive all their email or if the sites go down? What is your monthly charge to resell services?

I don't understand email enough to tackle this part of it and really don't want to be responsible for it.

I just want to design websites and make a little $$ for the hosting/domains that I take care of but I would also like to offer email. Right now, I am losing out on hosting a lot of clients because when a person is insistent that they want the personalized domain name email, I am telling them to sign up at godaddy.com or network solutions for everything and then I design and upload their site. Right now, I don't have any reseller fees. I only a pay a monthly hosting charge and that's it. It seems the more I look into this, I am going to make less money by offering email.

Any ideas or advice or help is appreciated.



coreybryant -> RE: Hosting/Email Packages (5/30/2007 14:57:19)

OK, here is my opinion. Email is not meant to be used as a storage facility. Do we do it, yes. And when GMail came aboard, the 1G was just "great". But emailing a 10M file is not that great - it's not the best protocol.

Having said this, have you considered offering email plans and a one page website? We did this for a few clients when we were hosting and they loved it. After explaining the reasons why email should not be used for storage, etc, they seemed to understand and went along with it.

Of course, that's just my opinion. And yes, I use Exchange 2007 and have a few months online. All other email is archived locally.



shawna -> RE: Hosting/Email Packages (5/30/2007 17:44:12)

Thanks for the input Corey!

The main problem I am dealing with is not having the ability to offer clients an email that is branded with their domain. Therefore, if this is something they want, I have been sending them to godaddy or NS so they can sign up for their own package which includes the domain/hosting/email that they need and want and I can still design the site for them but I lose the residual income for the hosting year after year. I know there are designers out there that are resellers of these services, too, and do offer everything in a package and just wondered what and/or who other designers use when they design sites for their clients.

So isn't there something out there that would not cost me an arm and a leg to join as a reseller that would enable me to offer a client a nice hosting/email package and designing their website?



coreybryant -> RE: Hosting/Email Packages (5/30/2007 18:32:04)

Ah I thought you had hosting already with someone when you said you had a very inexpensive hosting package.

Or are you looking for a new hosting provider?



Reflect -> RE: Hosting/Email Packages (5/31/2007 7:37:54)

Most hosts offer you the ability to do just what you want. Normally I create my domains e-mail accounts via the control panel the host provides.

I have looked into reseller accounts, which is what you are eluding to, they will give you a finite amount of domains that you can setup under one "root" folder. They also offer a finite amount of pop3 e-mail accounts that you can setup. You create the e-mail accounts for each domain and then the host supports the functionality. So if the pop3/e-mail server at the host has issues you do not troubleshoot, the host does.

Sounds like you need to seek a new host using a reseller account.

Take care,

Brian



Tailslide -> RE: Hosting/Email Packages (5/31/2007 7:43:48)

I agree with what Brian said - I've got a reseller account and do just that - set up the emails via the control panel.

Try to find a host that offers Cpanel as it's a nice easy to use control panel. You can also offer the added benefit of webmail for the client when they're away from their computers and Cpanel usually offers AWSTATS statistics as well which always proves popular.

I'm basically lazy and I hate email as it has so many different places it can go wrong so I tend to avoid hosting/email for larger companies - I'll recommend them to a host that I trust and let it be their problem. I will host smaller sites myself and deal with the email for them - odds are better that nothing goes wrong!



shawna -> RE: Hosting/Email Packages (6/1/2007 12:22:29)

I appreciate the input from everyone. I guess I am just dense! My host does use cpanel but I never really went in there and did anything except check stats.

I played around with my own cpanel this morning and set up emails for myself using Horde mail. So if I do this for a client, where do I tell them to go to check their email? Keep in mind some clients are 100% used to using their AOL or hotmail accounts and do not know anything about Outlook or logging in somewhere else to get email. Am I on the right track?

Thanks!



Tailslide -> RE: Hosting/Email Packages (6/1/2007 12:34:15)

Two choices;

1. They can then set it up in their own outlook accounts to come straight into outlook. This can sometimes be complicated but clients generally prefer it.

2. If they just want webmail then with the hosting I generally use and offer they type in their url into their browser adding /webmail onto the end. They get a password/username request box where they fill in their email addy as the un and the password you used in cpanel to set it up as the pw. Then they get to the Horde page where they click the horde logo, then click another login button finally arriving at their inbox.

There are slight variations depending on how the hosts have it set up but that's the general idea anyway.



Reflect -> RE: Hosting/Email Packages (6/1/2007 12:49:33)

quote:

I guess I am just dense!


Never say that. If you don't ask you can't learn something different.

Take care,

Brian



shawna -> RE: Hosting/Email Packages (6/1/2007 13:55:29)

This is true, Reflect - thanks for that - I will just call it a 'duh' moment!

Tailslide - this is exactly what I thought they would need to do and having something else tell me the same thing makes me feel better. I will explain this again to one particular client, although I have already asked them if they had Outlook and their reply was "What's that?" I actually thought Horde was pretty easy to use. And they get confused in Hotmail and AOL, too about downloading and forwarding. Eventually they just told me to leave it alone and they would continue to use their ISP email because they know how to do it. I also told them an email forwarder would work for the 'send' part of it but that even confused them.

Anyway, thanks so much for clearing this up for me. I really feel like I learned something great today!!!!!



treetopsranch -> RE: Hosting/Email Packages (6/1/2007 15:56:17)

I have also set up Horde email for a client and there is a way to set up Outlook to download their mail.

On my Cpanel, when I set up a email account for a client, there is a Configure Outlook button. I have not used it yet as my client wants to do the webmail thing as they travel all the time.



shawna -> RE: Hosting/Email Packages (6/1/2007 21:24:39)

Thanks Treetop! I have been playing around in my horde account. I am just so excited about this! I think I will set this up for my client after I see how many email boxes he wants and then before I start using the email address on his website, I can show him how it works! Why didn't I look into this 5 years ago? And here I go and on about not being to offer email and it was always there.



Tailslide -> RE: Hosting/Email Packages (6/2/2007 3:07:02)

Yeah I find that the "configure Outlook" button doesn't always work - the real issue about getting it to work in Outlook is that sometimes their ISP will require them to use their SMTP details instead of the domain's info. It's not a disaster but it can take some fiddling.

If they're really struggling with all of it then actually the easiest answer is to forward the emails from their shiny new email address to their old ISP's email address - you can do this within Cpanel (think it's called set up forwarder).

The only possible issue that I can think of is that I know my hosts won't forward stuff to an AOL email due to AOL's systems which I think tend to identify this as spam.



treetopsranch -> RE: Hosting/Email Packages (6/2/2007 13:01:28)

That's correct Tailslide and auto-responders don't seem to respond to AOL addresses also. Any solution for that?



SEOMAN -> RE: Hosting/Email Packages (6/2/2007 17:38:18)

I had few problem weith cheap hosting also. but after I moved to a not cheap one all my problems were solved.



shawna -> RE: Hosting/Email Packages (6/2/2007 20:34:22)

All of my emails are coming and going fine using outlook. I set up both the pop3 and smtp and using my webmail address as default is working great and really fast, too. This was so easy I am smacking myself for not having done it before. So another plus I am realizing is IF we change our ISP, I won't have to keep changing my own email address with my clients and family, etc.

Another question: What is the standard or basic size of a box per email address to use at least to start out? This particular client would like 6 or 7 boxes if he likes how this works. Do you all charge a bit more for hosting if it includes this many boxes??

I know AOL is weird about email, but maybe he can pull everything into his hotmail acct. OR he could bite the bullet and get outlook which is awesome!




Reflect -> RE: Hosting/Email Packages (6/4/2007 7:58:58)

quote:

So another plus I am realizing is IF we change our ISP, I won't have to keep changing my own email address with my clients and family, etc.


Actually, and I hate to say it, you will sort of.

You will always own the domain. However you may not always stay with the same host. Normally when I get a new site setup I take note/record a few things. The "welcome" e-mail from the host (this has a lot of needed information), what DBs I setup where and how, what e-mail accounts (read the address) I setup and their passwords.

So if you move hosts, prior to the domain name being transfered, you would need to recreate the e-mail accounts on the new host. Now they won't get any e-mail until the DNS records/hosting records point to the new host. This would be a necessary step.

<edit>
quote:

Another question: What is the standard or basic size of a box per email address to use at least to start out? This particular client would like 6 or 7 boxes if he likes how this works. Do you all charge a bit more for hosting if it includes this many boxes??


For that amount, no. However make them aware they CAN NOT blast an e-mail list via those accounts. Meaning if they have a newsletter they should use an off site service for those types of e-mail sends.
</edit>

Take care,

Brian



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