hosting and contracts.... would you sign one?

Naked Hosting does not require contracts. If you want one, we are more than happy to create one...but we do not require one

We believe you will be happy with our services and want to stay for years to come!

I would never sign a 2-3 year contract, but six months or maybe even a year would be OK if the deal was sweet enough and the company has a good reputation.

never heard of hosting contracts...

I personally think its bs.
I've seen a fairly large number of people who received shitty service
from their company and couldn't move because of the contracts they signed.

I signed a one year contract once but I wouldn't sign any again. It's better to have the freedom to change hosts immediately without having to pay some sort of penalty.

As long as there are reputable companies out there offering similar deals with no contract, you'd be a fool to sign a contract.

That's my 2cents.

Hell NO.... Dont sign it.

They will fuck ya in the end. Real Hard.

If a hosting company makes you sign a 1 year contract then that is their full purpose.

To sue you and give shitty customer support

Stay clear from contracts. Unless buying a Ferrari or a house.

thanks for the opinions so far. please keep them coming

Not a chance

Strange, I'd have clients request this on one year contracts and these are people paying 2500+ per month for service. In a way it can help the host and help the client. SLA's and such espcially in larger setups.

With dedicated servers, 1 year contracts are standard. As for a 2 - 3 year contract, I'd only sign it if I had plenty of experience with the host and was going to get a huge discount.

Are they? I've never sold anybody a dedicated server based on a contract deal.

Typically, signing a hosting contract isn't the greatest idea. Prices change, needs change, and due to competition, it really isn't necessary. However, there are certain situations where I could easily see a hosting company requiring either a contract or some type of deal due to huge setup costs.

Example: say you need several servers with several drives each and the total cost ends up being around $10k. As a hosting company, I'm not going to want to take on that full risk. If you leave tomorrow, I'd be stuck with $10k worth of equipment, thats a fairly big load of specialized servers that the average person just doesn't need. In that situation I would either require a substantial setup fee, a payment plan over 3-6 months, or a contract.

Yappo.

ok, what about 1 year contracts?

I signed a 1 year contract and I get great service with Nat Net. I would sign a 3 year with them if I had to. We have never gone down or had any problems for a year now.

So I guess it depends on the company and their reputation

No way. I'd just call Brad from Mojo Host and skip the contract thing.

You could call Phatservers as well.

There are too many good companies out there that don't require contracts and with BW prices dropping every 6 months it just doesn't make sense.

Sly gets it right, pretty much.

A host bringing on a big deal would be an absolute fool to not sign a minimum-term contract, in order to recoup hardware costs that on large deals which can very easily get into the hundred k+ range. If you're working on such a deal (see what hardware you're getting, price it on dell.com or wherever to get a ballpark of what they'll have to spend, add in pricing for switches, load balancers, etc.) and the host is not requiring any sort of terms or contract, I would run away as fast as possible. It's obvious that they have not learned how to protect their interests, and thus by proxy, your own interests.

Being a hosting provider in this market is a huge risk, every potential client you bring on has the ability to cost you quite a bit of money should things go badly.

However, there also is a fine line. Most reputeable hosts absolutely *will not* hold a contract over your head unreasonably. If you're having trouble, your business took a hit somehow, etc. then they should very easily modify the terms in order to let things work out. What hosts DO need to protect themselves from, is someone coming in, getting great promo pricing, staying for 2 months and then leaving. There are huge upfront costs in hardware and support for each customer you setup, and those costs are not recouped for at least a few months at a bare, bare, minimum.

For smaller "standard" deals like a dedicated server or two, I would not expect to sign any term length contract. For these deals, a month to month contract is more than sufficient, and signing will both hold the host to it's SLA's and such, as well as hold the customer to paying their bill on time and offer a bit more recourse to the host for deadbeats.

So... not a cut and dried scenario. You want "specialness" in your hosting setup, be prepared to sign a contract, or make other considerations that would help limit the host's exposure. Remember, if a hosting company exposes itself too much it's very easy to be entirely without service down the road. I'd look for folks that protect their business, but also protect their customers as well. The contract should provide a mutually beneficial document that creates some sort of legal understanding on both party's part on how the deal should work.

Also.. Remember, if you are TRULY recieving bad service (and not just "the pricing over at other company Y is 20% cheaper!!!"), it is pretty easy to simply walk from most contracts. This of course requires actual documenting of events, perhaps a lawyer letter or two, but it absolutely is possible and neccessary sometimes.

Hope it helps show the other side of the fence for you

-Phil

I'm in one now and will change hosts when it ends.

Sure if it's a custom situation that costs thousands to start.

otherwise the host will take the risk as we should

Sly answered the question right on the money.