Billing Issues of Web Hosting Companies

One of the first things to look at when selecting a plan from a web hosting company is the billing cycle. Web hosting companies offer billing cycles ranging from weekly fees to charging the customer every other year. In most cases, web hosts will offer monthly, semi-annual, and annual billing cycles, giving the customer the choice of which period to choose. Since web hosts want to collect their money quickly and easily, most will put slight discounts on the longer billing period. For instance, if hosting company A offers a plan for $5 per month, they might want to offer the same plan for $50 per year, giving the client a $10 discount if they pay for a year in advance. The disadvantage to paying for more than one month at a time is that if you are unsatisfied with the service after a month or two, the company might have a strict refund policy and cause you to lose your money or force you to bear with the host for the remaining payment term. Overall, you should choose your payment term depending on how confident you are that you will like the web host. It is usually a good idea to purchase one month of the web host and if you are satisfied after the month, invest in a yearly plan to save some money.

To attract customers, web hosting companies will do anything necessary. Many hosts offer either free trials or money back guarantees. Free trials are probably the best way to go because you do not have to give any money to the company and can just evaluate the services without any risk. Even if a free trial offer is not posted on a web hosting site, it is always a good idea to ask if they would offer one to an interested customer.

A money back guarantee is also a good idea to have when purchasing a web host because it gives you something to fall back on if the host is not satisfying. However, sometimes amateur hosting companies will question clients when they ask for their money back. Some even will try to find a way out of refunding any money. That is why it is a good idea to look for a no questions asked money back guarantee, which means that all you have to do is ask for your money back and the company cannot deny you a refund.

In normal cases, the more organized a web hosting company is, the better client relations and service it will offer. Since lots of companies believe in this principle, they are willing to invest money into organizational systems that will improve their business. That is why it is a good idea to look for those companies who have bought systems such as PerlBill or ModernBill. These two programs serve as client databases, providing order forms for clients and a registry of every client currently buying hosting from the provider. The way to spot these is to look for similar order forms. These programs usually also come with support desks, which will be discussed in a later article. The more money that a company is willing to invest in their business, the more they want to please their clients.

Accepted methods of payment can be the deciding factor for many people. One of the most popular methods of payment among web hosts is PayPal, which is an online credit card processor and bank transfer system. Although PayPal transfers $16 million every single day, it is not available in several countries so it does not always serve as a sole payment method. PayPal has a unique feature, which allows users to sign up for subscriptions and automatically be billed for something monthly, daily, or for any term chosen by the company. This is particularly useful in the web hosting industry because it allows both the company and the client to forget about billing had not have to worry about being overcharged. And at any time the client can log into PayPal and choose to cancel their subscription. Another method of payment is credit card.

Direct credit card payments require the company to have a merchant account, which can be purchased through companies such as 2Checkout or PaySystem, allowing web hosting companies to receive payments via credit card.

Merchant accounts cost the companies money so these are not seen as much in rather small companies. The simplest form of payment is sending check, cash, or a money order through the mail to the web hosting company.
This however can be a major hassle because you will need to remember to send the money every payment term and if you forget, the company has the capability to suspend your account. Also, most people looking to buy web hosting want to get started immediately, and sending money through the mail can take days, and sometimes weeks.