Will you host my MiniSite?
Yes. You are always welcome to set up your own hosting if that's your thing. But if you would like us to host your site for you, we are happy to do so. Pricing works like this:
When you buy a MiniSite, we open a NFSN hosting account for you with a $10 deposit. When the balance of your account dips below a dollar, we will contact you. At that time (or any time) you can make a deposit to your hosting account. We charge a fee of half the deposit. Our fee is capped at $5. So if after a month or two, you want to put $5 in your hosting account, you pay $7.25 and we put $5 in your account. If you want to deposit $20, you pay $25 and we put $20 in your account. This fee covers administration of your account plus minor content edits to your site. Your monthly price will most likely come out to about $3-8 a month total, but prices will vary.
Can I go ahead and put $20, $50, or (insert number here) toward my hosting account so that I know it won't run out?
Sure, if you want. You just pay the amount that you want to deposit plus $5 (or less if you deposit under $10) Just contact us at desk@blakewatson.com and tell us how much you want to deposit and we'll send you an invoice that you can pay online. We do cap the deposit at $100. So $105 would be the most you could pay in advance.
Can I host my site elsewhere?
Yes. You will need to give us FTP/SSH access to your account so that we can develop your site. We may also need access to a database. We won't simply take your login details and log in as you. You'll need to create FTP and database users for us. If you don't understand what any of this means, we recommend letting us manage your hosting for you.
I don't understand all this hosting account mumbo jumbo. How much is it going to cost me every month?
It varies. But your monthly price will most likely come out to about $3-8 a month, including our fee.
If I make a deposit, can I get a refund if I don't use all the funds?
Yes. Say you deposit, for example, $40 in order to host your site until the event you are promoting ends. If the day after the event, you decide you no longer want the site to be live, we can disable the site and refund you the balance on your NFSN hosting account.
How much will it cost to have my own domain name (eg, example.com)?
NFSN charges $8.99 a year for domain names. If you want to purchase a domain name when you buy your MiniSite, we simply add the $8.99 to the purchase price. When renewing a domain name, we use the balance of your hosting account to cover the renewal. We'll let you know in advance when it's time to renew and you can make a deposit then if you like.
If don't buy a domain name at first but then decide later that you want to buy one, we'll cover it using the balance of your hosting account. If there's not enough in your hosting account, you can make a deposit.
Do these FAQs only apply to MiniSites?
Yes. If you are consulting us for a larger, full-featured site, we will discuss hosting in the contract and these FAQs will not apply.