We’ve made a noticeable change to the signup process so as to allow for a more secure and customer-friendly order procedure.

Starting today, users will be prompted to pay for their package after they log into their Control Panel instead of having to submit the payment information on your stores.

Also, prospects will be given a 1-month free trial period, within which they can try out our web hosting services instead of rushing into payment contracts right from the start.

What are the new signup changes about?

The signup process may be too painstaking for users who are not used to submitting tons of information at signup.

In an effort to decrease the order form-associated bounce rates, we’ve moved the payment area to the Control Panel.

From now on, prospects will be prompted to fill in only their account details on the order form.

As soon as they submit their account information, they will be able to set the password for their Control Panel:

Right after filling in their password, the users will be logged into the Control Panel where they will be presented with a popup window, which will notify them of the account usage options they have at hand:

Option 1: The users will be informed of the possibility to take advantage of a 30-day free trial period, within which they can test the services and decide whether to complete their purchase.

In order to keep our platform abuse-free, we’ve imposed some service restrictions on the web hosting accounts in trial mode:

• we’ve set a 100-outgoing-emails-per-day limit
• we’ve disabled PHP’s mail() function so as to prevent spam
• we’ve set a file upload limit in order to avert storage abuse
• we’ve set a CPU usage limit of 5% in order to prevent server resource abuse
• the access to our global VPN server locations has been disabled
• all hosting service upgrades have been disabled

Option 2: The users will be prompted to proceed to the payment page and complete the signup process if they want to have the restricted features unlocked for them immediately:

If the users choose the free trial option (Option 1), they will use the account in trial mode for 1 month, with all the aforementioned features locked for them until they decide to complete the signup procedure.

Still, users will have access to a decent amount of resources and features, which will allow them to evaluate your web hosting services at their leisure.

Here is what’s included in the free trial:

• full access to the Control Panel for 30 days;
• the ability to send and receive emails;
• FTP access to the server;
• full domain and database management control;
• browsable daily backups of your data;
• 24/7/365 technical support;

Users will see a reminder of the remaining length of time before the trial period expires every time they log into their Control Panel and will be presented with the option to continue to the payment page to complete the signup process in case they are ready to do so:

Also, we’ll include information about the specificities of the trial period in the header area of the Control Panel, which they will be able to see all the time:

If the customers choose to complete the signup procedure (Option 2), they will be taken to the order page where they will be able to select their desired payment method:

If the free trial period expires, the client will still have access to the Control Panel, but any information stored there will be locked, until they complete their order.

What are the advantages of the new signup changes?

The new changes to the signup process offer clients a few important advantages, which could help increase your customer retention rates:

A more customer-friendly process – moving the service payment step to the Control Panel has helped cut down the time prospects spend signing up for a service on your store.

Sense of Security – when the user is not required to pay for the chosen service immediately, they will feel more secure and confident in their decisions.

Peace of mind – the new free web hosting account trial option will allow prospects to evaluate your services at their leisure before deciding to commit to you.

The free trial period is a popular commercial practice most users have already grown used to (most applications and Operating Systems involve one).

Coupled with the common, industry-standard 30-day money-back guarantee, it will add a nice halo of credibility to your brand.

NOTE: The 30-day money-back guarantee will come into force as soon as the client completes the signup procedure, be it on the first or on the last day of the trial period.

How will the new changes be reflected on your stores?

The free trial period represents a strong selling point for your reseller hosting business, so we are gearing up to give it a noticeable place on your stores and let your customers know that you are offering such an option right from the start.

Also, we are working on adding a more visual information campaign about the Free Trial mode both on your stores and in the Control Panel, so that your customers can get a better idea of the user-focused advantages you are presenting them with.

Stay tuned for more Free Trial mode updates in the next weeks.