The YP.com trap - BEWARE!
I wanted to caution you if you happen to find local businesses who have their websites under the control of YP.com (formerly AT&T) to beware of a bear trap.
First of all - if you try to sell a mobile website to a local business who has YP.com, you can't. YP.com is not like other hosts who say "sure, we will place your line of redirect code within our client's website header." It's impossible. YP.com says - if you want a mobile website - we will do it for you.
Secondly - if you happen to talk your new client to break free from YP.com? - then good for you - BUT - it takes hundreds of phone calls, lots of hoops to jump through, calls to your new client from YP.com trying to convince them otherwise, and many weeks of doing so.
Third (and most damaging) - once you get the agreement from YP.com to transfer the domain (after a signed statement by your new client faxed to them) - then the domain will go to register.com. From there, you can switch it to your host preference (i.e. Hostgator or whatever). But, the "best" part? The new client's website DISAPPEARS! I mean all traces of it. It can't even be found on the wayback machine Internet archive! And after a call to YP.com - they say that the former website is their copyright and no one has access to it anymore. Isn't THAT special?
One saving grace - the emails connected to the original website can be secured to be transferrable. But the entire website has to be done from scratch.
Yes - this was my experience w/ YP.com and I wanted to forewarn any marketers out there that this is what could happen. I told my new client that this experience will turn out to be a blessing in disguise all around. Not only am I saving them approx $1,200 a yr, but they will be getting a really sharp NEW interactive website. With the help of an outsourcer, it should be down only for about a week and the email forwarding works.
Hope this helps others.
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