Hosting somebody else's site makes you responsible for their availability, their security, and their data, usually without a contract or a fee. The arrangement works when the boundaries and the exit are agreed in advance, and it becomes a problem when it starts as a favour.

What you are actually taking on

More than disk space.

None of that is unreasonable to take on. It is unreasonable to take on accidentally, which is what happens when it starts as a favour with no conversation.

The shared account problem

The technical issue that makes this more than an administrative question.

Placing another site in your own hosting account means the two share resources, a security boundary, and a suspension. Files on one can frequently be reached from the other, which means their unmaintained installation is a route into your business site.

It also means their traffic spike is your slowdown, and an account suspended for any reason takes both offline.

Separate accounts remove all of that. The cost of a second small plan is considerably less than the cost of the scenario it prevents.

The questions to settle first

What is included

Hosting only, or also updates, backups, security monitoring, and changes to the site. These are different services and the assumption gap between them is where the resentment starts.

What response time applies

Whether an outage on a Sunday is something you will address. Saying next business day is a legitimate answer, and saying it in advance is what makes it acceptable.

What it costs

Even for a friend, and particularly for a friend. A nominal annual amount converts an open-ended favour into a defined arrangement, which protects the relationship more than free does.

Who owns what

The domain in particular. It should be registered in their name with their contact details, even where you manage it, so there is no question later.

How it ends

What notice applies, that they receive a full copy of the site and any data, and how the domain transfers. Agreeing this at the start removes the awkward part entirely.

The failure modes

Consistent enough to be predictable.

Scope drift. The favour was hosting, then it was an update, then it was a page change, then it was a redesign. Each request is small and the accumulation is not.

The unmaintained site. Nobody agreed to update it, so nobody does, and it is compromised through a known vulnerability two years later. On a shared account that becomes your problem.

The unanswerable question. They ask why their enquiries stopped, and answering requires investigating something you did not build.

The relationship cost. A friend whose site is down and who cannot reach you is now a friend with a grievance, over an arrangement you were not paid for.

The reasonable arrangements

Two that work, and one that does not.

Charge properly and treat it as a service. Their own account, a written scope, a stated response time, and an annual fee. That is a business relationship and it can be a good one.

Help them buy their own. Set it up in their name, on their card, with you as a technical contact if they want. You keep the goodwill and none of the liability, and they own their own infrastructure.

What does not work is hosting it free on your account with no conversation, which is the arrangement most of these start as and the one that produces every problem above.

If you already have one

Unwinding is easier than it feels and better done before something happens.

A short honest message saying you are tidying up your hosting, that their site should sit on its own account, and that you will help move it. Most people accept this readily, since they had no idea it was on yours.

The move itself is a straightforward migration, and it is the moment to confirm the domain is registered to them and that they hold their own logins.

The wider point

The pattern here is the same as any informal arrangement: it is not the work that causes trouble, it is the absence of an agreed boundary.

A written scope, a fee, and an exit turn something that will eventually create resentment into something that can continue for years. That takes one conversation at the start and it is considerably harder to have afterwards, which is the same reason separate accounts matter technically, as covered in adding a second website to your hosting.

Frequently asked questions

What am I taking on by hosting someone else's site?

Availability, security, their data, backups, updates, and the exit. None of that is unreasonable to accept, but it is unreasonable to accept accidentally.

Why should their site be on a separate account?

Shared accounts share resources, a security boundary, and a suspension. Their unmaintained installation becomes a route into your business site.

What should be agreed in advance?

What is included beyond hosting, what response time applies, what it costs, who owns the domain, and how the arrangement ends.

Should I charge a friend?

Particularly a friend. A nominal annual amount converts an open-ended favour into a defined arrangement, which protects the relationship better than free does.

What is the most common failure?

Scope drift. The favour was hosting, then an update, then a page change, then a redesign. Each request is small and the accumulation is not.

How do I unwind an existing arrangement?

A short message saying you are tidying up your hosting and their site should have its own account, with an offer to help move it. Most people had no idea it was on yours.

West Coast Media Solutions Inc. provides web design, web development, hosting, digital marketing, and business consulting to organisations across Canada, drawing on more than twenty-five years in the field.

Hosting somebody's site as a favour with no agreement?

We help move it onto its own account and set the boundaries, before an outage on a Sunday makes it a problem.

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