Those who are still learning the ropes in website flipping should learn the basics of how to buy and sell websites to ensure a lucrative business venture. Now the last part is particularly important as it calls for the actual transfer of the site to the buyer.

Before you can figuratively “hand over the keys” of the site to the buyer, you first have to mutually agree on a hosting arrangement. There are three options for this: the seller hosting the site for the new owner via reseller account, the seller hands over the keys to the site on a shared hosting account, or the seller transfers the site to the buyer’s host.

How do these three options differ? Let’s see

1st Option: Seller Hosts the Site Using a Reseller Account

Usually, website flippers maintain what is called a reseller account which enables them to “resell” hosting services. They can then charge the new site owner a fee for hosting the site. It is important for the buyer to understand however, that even if he agrees to avail of the hosting services of the seller, he would have a separate account so that the seller ,or the original owner of the site. would no longer have access to it, nor he (the buyer) to the seller’s other accounts.

The obvious advantage here for the seller is that he can continue to earn residual income out of the hosting fee that he and the buyer settle on. This hosting scheme is also convenient for the buyer, because without the need to transfer the site to a different hosting service, there would be little left for him to do and the website will not have to be down for any length of time. It’s essentially a turnkey process for both seller and buyer.

Option 2: The Seller Hands Over the Keys to a Shared Hosting Account

To make matters simpler and more painless for the transacting parties, site flippers may also use a separate hosting account for every website they develop and eventually flip. If a flipper is setting up 5 websites to flip for example, he can have each of that hosted on 5 different accounts. While this may be a more expensive hosting setup for the seller, it will also hasten the transfer process when a sale takes place.

If the buyer and seller agree on this arrangement, the seller just needs to update the account information including the name, contact numbers, and billing information to the buyer’s name. The buyer will not have to pay the seller any hosting fee once the transfer is done, and he will practically own the account now and as such will be responsible for paying the fees and other costs to the host company from that time on.

Option 3: The Seller Transfers the Site to the Buyer’s Web Host

While this is the most tiresome option of the three, it is in fact the most common hosting arrangement among site flippers since most buyers already own hosting accounts. If the seller concurs to this, he must then move all the website files and database (f there is any) to the buyer’s hosting account and coordinate with the registrar to have the name servers changed. This process is similar to transferring the contents of one computer to another, and then some.

Due to the intricacy of the process, some sellers shy away from the idea of having to undertake all the transfer procedures, although a few may be willing to do this as an added value. Whatever the case may be, this is something that both parties should have talked about before moving forward with the sale.

The last few steps are possibly among the most complicated aspects of website flipping, but knowing more about this process is essential if you want to learn how to buy and sell websites successfully.