Handing over the keys to a completed site... general suggestions?

[soap_box]

Hi everyone,

I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions or tips for me regarding a certain matter.

I do a few webdesigns, independently on and off, usually for friends of friends, small businesses, that kind of thing.

At the moment I tend to host the sites on my own server while I work on them, setting up a mysql database or whatever it takes to see how it comes out for the end user. I code with notepad and dreamweaver, and upload with FileZilla, if that's relevant in any way.

My question is, what is the best thing to do when you have finished the site? I often find myself struggling to explain to people that they need to purchase their own hosting and domain name, and often they want a reccomendation of good hosting etc, I have to tell them to make sure it's someone with php and mysql, preferably a linux server. But then what? I need the name of their database so I can put it into my code, and need to make sure everything is uploaded to the right place. Do I try to explain uploading the site to them? Or ask for the password? Should I buy the hosting myself and then ask for money back?

I am very new to all this, I was just wondering if there was a good, standard way that I do not know about.

cheers :)

[mlseim]

Here's what I do (not that I'm the expert ... but my 2 cents) ...

I give them a list of reasonable webhosts, like
1and1.com
cleverdot.com

Which one they pick is their own decision. Only give them a list of hosts that have
the latest (PHP5, etc.) and "fantastico deluxe" is an added bonus. I think most
webhosts have that now.

I explain that they need to go to that site and subscribe to an account,
a UNIX/Linux server (if there is a choice), and also register for their own
domain name (one that is not yet taken).

They use their own credit card and fill out the forms, domain name, etc.
They are the site owner, and all information is only about them.

The webhost will send them an email (usually right away) with all of their
account information, cpanel, FTP, etc.

Tell your client to forward that email to you when they get it.

That's all you need.
Once you have the account login and FTP, you can go in and set up the
MySQL, email accounts, and FTP to transfer your files.

Explain to them that it will take about 1-2 days for the domain name to activate.

At the end of the year, they will get the notice to re-subscribe using their credit card.
You are out of the loop unless they want you to do more coding for them.

Create your own PayPal account so your clients can use their credit card to pay you.
It's the easiest way to get paid. There are some good invoice PHP scripts that you can
use to generate invoices and your clients pay directly using PayPal (and they can print
the invoices for their records).