First-time contractor question: how do I handle web hosting?

Question

I've started doing a little freelance web work and I've got to build a site for a client. The client doesn't currently have a hosting service, so either I or they are going to have to set it up. Traditionally, how does this work out? Do I set it up and then transfer ownership to them when I'm done? Do I leave it to them to set it up? If they're going to be paying for the hosting directly, does that affect anything?

Basically, I'm brand new at all this and any and all advice on how to handle hosting would be greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

If it is a small company it would pretty much be expected that you arrange that for them.

If you have no long-term relation make sure that they get direct ownership (organization as well as financial) from the beginning on. Transfering things later can be complicated, may lead to confusion of your customer and may cost you money or at least time.

Answer 2

If you're going to be paying for the hosting, you need to make sure that you bill that into your price or set up some sort of recurring billing service (even something simple like PayPal or Amazon Payment Services will cover this).

The best thing, IMO, is to set everything up and transfer everything over to them. Or use stuff that's free for small-use sites.