The Website Saga
Remember how I have a
website? Well, it has been causing me such a headache for the past two months!
First you have to understand that there are three parts to a website:
1. Web Builder (Wix) - This is how you made your website
3. Host (DreamHost) - They make my website show up on your computer
Now, if you're smart, you do all 3 of those with the same company.
Obviously I missed the memo on that one.
When you first buy a website it's super cheap cause they want to pull you in. I think I got mine for something like $6 for a full year. Renewing your website and upgrades is where it can get pricy.
At the beginning of May I received an email from DreamHost telling me that it would cost $119.40 to renew my website. I tried to make the payment, but my card had expired and I needed to update my information. I couldn't figure out how to update it, so I left it alone.
The emails continued to come and in June my website disappeared. I still couldn't figure out how to update my information and there was no contact information to be found for DreamHost. I decided that I would just use my blog/facebook and let my website expire. Not many people look at it anyway and I was short on money this month, so I figured it would be fine.
Then July came.
This month I have engagements, bridals, and a family to photograph.
I suddenly remembered why I had made my website!
Without it, I had no way to show my clients their pictures!
I was suddenly frantic to get my website back, but the situation was much more complicated now. I had let my website expire, and I didn't know if I would be able to get it back.
If you didn't already know, I am not afraid to be that customer that just doesn't go away.
I started by calling Wix and making sure my page was still alive somewhere and that I could make it appear again. I have Wix in my phone and have called them so frequently in the past that they knew me by name. Raul was always the best. Anyway, all was good on their end, so I moved onto DreamHost who has very limited customer service.
As I said before, DreamHost has no phone number and the email they had sent me said there was no reply. I was diligent though and found another email address for them. It was on!
I began a series of questions. For every email I sent, they would reply with two - The first telling me not to email them and look at Wiki, and the second answering my question (after long amounts of time) About every other email I would ask/beg for a phone number. I knew it could be cleared up so quickly if I could just have an actual conversation! After telling me not to email them, they would always answer that they didn't have a phone number. It was a very slow and painful process.
Anyway, at one point they told me it was a problem with my Domain - Network Solutions. So I called them and the guy told me that my domain name was expired. I had 3 choices:
1. Buy my domain name back for $3000 (yes, that is a three and four zeros!)
2. Wait for like another month or so for it to go back in the pool of names and hope that I'm the first one to get it
3. Buy a new domain name
I decided that option 3 was probably my best bet, so I changed my domain from allisonkayphotography.com to allisonkay-photography.com (if you missed the difference, there is a dash in the second one) I also decided to get the name for 10 years instead of just one so that 1. I could get a better price, and 2. I didn't have to go through this mess again in 12 months. The guy also ended up talking me into protection, so the grand total of my phone call was $169.80
It's also important to note that while I was on the phone with Network Solutions, I was also on facebook with my friend, Jared, who was researching the company for me and helping me make good choices, since website choices obviously aren't my strong point. Thanks Jared!
So now I'm paying $169.80 on top of the $119.40 bringing my website to $289.20
This is also on top of me having to pay double rent for the month of July because I wasn't able to sell my contract at Maple Valley
This is also on top of having small paychecks because we have been taking vacations for the 4th of July and such.
I was a little stressed about money.
July 9th, I check my email and I have another message from DreamHost (they have been coming faithfully through this whole ordeal telling me that I owe $119.40) This one, however, is different! It tells me that I have no balance and it has been automatically paid! I try to get on my website and, voila, it's back!
Now, it sounds like everything is good, right? But, there are a few problems with this:
1. If it was an automatic transfer, why was I getting a million emails for the past two months?
2. They still don't have my updated card information, so how has this payment been made?
3. I just wasted half my life for the past two months on something that didn't even matter!
Of course, I email DreamHost and they send me the answer not to email them and to look at Wiki, and I wait for them to get the real answer back. I'm sure I begged for a phone number for the millionth time, and I'm sure they told me there was none.
I checked my bank account, and there are no transactions for DreamHost. There are, however two transactions for Network Solutions. The first is the $169.80 for my new domain name. The second is $41.98 for who knows what.
I immediately call and ask what the $41.98 is about. They tell me it's to renew allisonkayphotography.com (no dash) So why was I told that I no longer had that name!?
I was so mad.
I told them I wanted my original domain name and I wanted a full refund for the $169.80
Meanwhile, DreamHost can't figure out what is going on with my hosting. The long drawn-out emails continue, and I am growing more and more frustrated.
Then I get a phone call.
From a number I don't recognize.
It's DreamHost!
The first thing I say is "you told me you didn't have a phone number!"
I guess the DreamHost finally decided that I really was a lost cause and I wasn't going to quit and they had to give into my demands.
:)
Apparently, allisonkayphotography.com is not hosted through DreamHost, but is actually through GoDaddy (another hosting company). My DreamHost is for two other websites that I made for classes two years ago! Why are they contacting me now when I haven't heard a thing from them in two years!? An unexpected twist to the story, for sure.
Jamie (the DreamHost girl I was talking to) told me I could go in and cancel my accounts. I asked for the phone number so I could have it if I had any complications (something I am well known for in every technology circle) It turns out that the she was calling from a skype line so I couldn't call her back, but she was super nice and gave me her personal email and told me if I had any more problems or questions I could email her and she would call me back. She was like an angel!
Well, I went to cancel my accounts and my page is not what it is supposed to be. I even checked Wiki - definitely not the same as what my screen looked like. I emailed Jamie and she sent me what it should be. I tried again and my screen was different this tim, but still not the right one. I email Jamie again and she tells me she doesn't know why that would happen (I hear this all the time!) but just to wait for it to expire on it's own.
So, to recap - The first email was sent May 6th and the saga has been officially ended (hopefully) with my refund today of $169.80
Do you realize that for all my efforts at being responsible and getting things paid, it all came to nothing! Everything that I did had to be un-done!
Literally, not one thing that I did mattered!
The moral of the story: If you sit back and do nothing, everything will take care of itself, and your life is much more stressful.
Lesson Learned.
Next time I will be much less responsible.
p.s. If you made it through this whole saga, you might as well go the whole way and visit my
website!
