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10-21-2009, 03:54 AM #1Junior Guru Wannabe
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Is this ethical web host practice?
I'll try to give my account as objectively as I can; I'm pretty upset/disappointed with my web host right now.
What I want to know, is Is this how web hosts should treat their customers?
I went on vacation for 10 days, checking online for orders and was surprised to have none. I was always on public computers so, not wanting to enter passwords to my webhost account, I had my sites' emails forwarded to my yahoo email account.
Getting back from vacation, I find that I can't access my sites emails directly. Then I type in my sites url. My site is gone and in its place is a bunch of pay per click adds; with a note on top that the domain has expired.
I'm thinking that I'm paid up for another year, and that surely my web host would never treat me like this so I assume it must be someone pirating my website. But I contact my host and he informs me that I've paid for hosting but the domain had expired, and that the cc I had on file with them had also expired.
At this point I'm somewhat tiffed that they would not only take down my site, but replace it with pay per click adds, but think "hey, certainly they tried to contact me. My email address I have on file with them must be out of date". So I go into cpanel to update it, but no, it is current.
They never even tried to contact me, not even sending an email.
My site had no traffic for a week and a half and is still isn't showing up on google searches. My traffic is down to 1/3 of normal. Seems I've heard that google penalizes sites that are entirely made up of pay per click adds, and I think it likely that my site has been penalized because of my web hosts actions.
It's impossible to determine how much this will end up costing me. I feel that when you hire somebody (i.e. a webhost) they should be on your side, not stab you in the back. I don't know if what they did was illegal, but I certainly think it was unethical.
But what is your take?
Jon
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10-21-2009, 04:00 AM #2Web Hosting Master
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If it is domain that expires, you should have received warning emails. At least I do get them from GoDaddy: warning, your domain expires after xx days, click there to renew it.
Maybe these emails went to "spam" folder? re-check. Or ask a host if they did sent these emails.
I think, you may want to change registrar to something more reliable, like Godaddy. And your host's practices are weird. I can't call it unethical: if client knows he will not receive any domain expiring email - customer should decide.
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10-21-2009, 04:08 AM #3Web Hosting Master
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I assume uptime that is very important issue for the google as for any other SE
I assume you need to move to another web hosting service and ask for the refund.
I assume that would be fair enoughLast edited by writespeak; 10-21-2009 at 01:54 PM.
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10-21-2009, 04:40 AM #4Web Hosting Master
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Most hosting companies don't use the email address in cPanel as the main contact for customer accounts. More than likely they have a billing script, you should look for this script and update your email address there.
Also it's pretty normal for registrars to put up ads on expired domains (e.g. I bilieve GoDaddy does this as well). Not saying it is right, but it's unfortuantly the norm. Also I would never recommand GoDaddy as a registrar, just check out nodaddy.com for horror stories. Though generally it's better if you keep your webhost and domain at seperate companies.
Also, there isn't nothing your webhost could of done. Since you had an unpaid invoice for your domain they can't renew until you pay. As they get charged a fee everytime they renew / register / transfer a domain. So they need to wait for you to pay the invoice.█ bihira.com | 10+ Years of Web Hosting Experience!
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10-21-2009, 05:03 AM #5Retired Moderator
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I'm with Bihira on this one. To put it bluntly, you didn't pay your domain renewal so it expired. Expired domains commonly show the registrar's parking page - the ads page you saw is most likely the standard page for whatever registrar your host uses.
Of course the host should have tried to contact you about the domain expiry and the expired credit card, but I'm betting they did email you about this. For some reason you didn't receive their emails and that's unfortunate, but ultimately it's still your responsibility to keep your details up to date and pay your bills on time.Chris
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10-21-2009, 09:31 AM #6Newbie
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Hey there,
Since it's a domain name issue, it's probably not the host's fault. The reality is that most webhosts resell through a domain name registrar like Enom or Namecheap and the ads are placed on your website by the domain name registrar when your domain name expires, not the host.
I can understand your frustration with the matter though, but it's been the norm for a long time.█ NeutroHost.com - Carbon-Neutral Web Hosting at affordable prices!
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10-21-2009, 09:47 AM #7Junior Guru Wannabe
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Sorry to hear about your troubles. Did you find out if your host tried to contact you? I would think at the very least the domain registrar send out a notice, unless your name and email address isn't on the domain. You should make sure that your the registrant contact for any domain you own and keep the contact email address up-to-date at the domain registrar.
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10-21-2009, 09:57 AM #8Web Hosting Evangelist
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Originally Posted by 'NeutroHost [Nix
All domain registrars that I have used, and I have used about 6+ different ones, they notifiy you 60 days, sometimes 90 days in advance that your domain is expiring. That you didn't get an email tells me either those emails went into your spam folder or you used a different email when registering your domain.
The person Jon should be pointing the finger at is HIMSELF.
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10-21-2009, 10:01 AM #9Web Hosting Master
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what your current nameserver register?
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10-21-2009, 10:02 AM #10Web Hosting Evangelist
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Before you start throwing words like 'unethical' you had better know what you are doing and understand the actualy workings of webhosting and domain registration. Otherwise, you look like an idiot.
My take is that you stabbed yourself in the back unless you for some reason pay for webhosting and domain registration combined.
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10-21-2009, 10:27 AM #11Junior Guru Wannabe
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j
This is why I posted the experience and asked if it was unethical, as it seemed to me. It's also why I didn't identify the web host.
There is no need for name calling.
I appreciate the comments about contact emails other than on cpanel. I'm sure that messages didn't get sent to my spam folder, but I'll look for other places they may have my email address on file.
Sincerely,
Jon
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10-21-2009, 10:45 AM #12Eternal Member
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Jon, a hard lesson learned, unfortunately.
IMO, (and I know many hosts will hate me for saying this), but I would never register my domain via a web host. I want complete autonomy for the domain registration. Register all your domains directly with an authorized registrar, and then buy your hosting from a web host. Keep them separate. And then make sure you stay on top of your domain renewals to ensure you don't go through this grief again.
Good luck.
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10-21-2009, 10:45 AM #13Web Hosting Evangelist
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10-21-2009, 10:51 AM #14Eternal Member
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10-21-2009, 10:53 AM #15Retired Moderator
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I agree with Vito. In fact, for any domain that is worth anything to you, stick to having it registered at least 1 extra year in advance, so that you can never run into the "domain expired" situation.
PS. Off to check I'm up to date myself.
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10-21-2009, 11:08 AM #16Retired Moderator
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10-21-2009, 11:15 AM #17Web Hosting Master
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Hi Jon,
Don't be disappointed and do not blame your web hosting provider. You are responsible for the domain name as it is yours. Even if the hosting provider didn't send a notification you still had to take care of the domain renewal. It is your web address, your property. As far as for the pay per click ads, I think that the domain registrar (or web host if they are ICANN accredited registrar) was the one to point the name servers to page different of your index. This is another way for domain registrars to make money of expired domain names.
So don't blame anyone. Just keep everything into account. A reasonable question would be "Why did I miss to renew my domain name".HostColor.com ★★ Edge Infrastructure - US Dedicated Servers & Europe Dedicated Hosting ★ since 2000
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10-21-2009, 11:21 AM #18Web Hosting Master
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10-21-2009, 12:14 PM #19Webhosting Professional
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but I would never register my domain via a web host[[ Reyox Communications / USA based cloud servers & support / 9 years of hosting websites ]]
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10-21-2009, 01:49 PM #20Private Citizen
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10-21-2009, 02:57 PM #21Retired Moderator
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Apparently they take that into account for rankings and what not.
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10-21-2009, 04:04 PM #22Junior Guru Wannabe
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Always make sure before you leave for a long period of time (more than a week) that you're up to date with all your invoices. Especially if you won't be logging into certain parts of your account while on vacation. Best of luck to you in the future!
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10-21-2009, 09:41 PM #23Junior Guru Wannabe
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Thanks for all the good advice, and for helping me to see the situation as it really is.
I run a small business by myself, requiring that I wear a number of different hats and "learn" those roles. Resulting in my being a "jack of all trades, master of none".
Glad I asked here, where the "masters" are.
Thanks again,
Jon
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10-21-2009, 11:23 PM #24Junior Guru Wannabe
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Another thing to bring up is that even if your host DOES use the email you have in cpanel, most registrars send the renewal emails to the admin or registrant email on file for the domain, not your hosting account. I see it very often where customers update their hosting contact email but not their domain email and they lose it...
Bottom line...make sure ALL your information is up to date...
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10-22-2009, 10:28 AM #25Junior Guru Wannabe
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A few suggestions as we recommend to our customers.
1) If you're going away for a few days it doesn't hurt to drop your webhost an email to let them know. Think of it as letting the Post Office know. That way they have the proper expectation of your responsiveness and can be on the lookout for irregularities with your account.
2) While I don't think it's a bad practice to register a domain through the webhost, I think the customer should have at least the ability to directly login to the registrar and maintain control (we do this with enom client accounts). There were some recommendations with GDaddy, which I disagree with - but that's another topic. Ask your host which registrar they use.
3) As others have mentioned, you definitely should've received expiration notices via email. Secure your asset! If your domain is important to you then you should register it for multiple years. The price for a 5 year registration is what is was for a single year registration back when registrations were limited to Network Solutions.
4) Keep your domain registrant and auth contacts current. More importantly, keep that registrar login information in a place you'll be able to access it in 5 years. (Lastpass.com, roboform, secondary email, printout in your hidden wall safe - multiple copies)█ consultingmode
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