How do you host your clients sites?

I would think the best option is not to take their credit card information because it would not be professional especially if you are setting up the account for them. What you can do is to recommend them to sign up with some host, let them deal with payment directly with the host and grant you the administrative permission to ftp and the control panel so you can set up the site. This way, you do not get tied into anything.

Do this until you have enough money to set up your own reseller's account or something. Use my site FindMyHosting.com , some of the web hosts in there do offer referral income. If you sign up with their program and refer them to your customers and when they sign up, you get a referral fee. Not a bad deal, really. When you do not, the web host is fully responsible for the hosting part, you just need to worry about the web content and designs.

Revealing credit card details is a very sensitive thing and then using it to help them buy hosting may not be deem to look legal. Of course in the future if you collect payment then you pay the hosting with your own credit card then it would be better.

 

what about this idea....
instead of having the customer set up hosting with his credit card, how about I buy a basic hosting plan, set it all up, then bill them for it. That way, the only difference is that instead of sending godaddy their renewal check each year, they'd send it to me.

what's wrong with this plan?

 

Nothing wrong with that idea. By using your idea, you are inevitably taking on the responsibility of providing technical support for your clients as far as web hosting is concerned.

If they know you are hosting at Godaddy for them, they can find out how much it cost you to set up their website and may insist on not paying you more than what GoDaddy charges, assuming you want to make a small profit or something for your service.

Of course, the idea would be beneficial for people who cannot pay Godaddy directly like for those who do not have credit cards, paypal accounts or belong to a country which Godaddy doesn't deal with.