Freelancers juggle at least two kinds of sites: the portfolio that wins the next contract, and the short-lived microsites that prove work for clients. Those jobs want different URLs, sometimes different DNS owners, and a host that does not make every publish feel like a server migration. Here is how SiteHost maps to that life — especially Pro’s three-site lane — without turning you into unpaid sysadmin for every past client.

Own portfolio vs client microsites

Your portfolio. You own the domain, the files, the roadmap. Host it on a site slot you will still care about in two years. Curate images. Keep a clean contact path. Treat it as marketing infrastructure, not a junk drawer. Where to host a portfolio website.

Client microsites. Campaign or brochure properties. Sometimes the client owns the domain and only needs files plus a handoff doc. Sometimes you park a temporary HTTPS preview until their IT points DNS. Keep these separable so a client offboarding does not gut your own homepage.

Do not pile every client under /client1 on your personal domain if they will eventually leave. Separate sites keep rollback, billing, and credentials cleaner.

Skip hosting for clients when the job is only design delivery — hand them a zip and a SiteHost signup link if they want. Not every contract must include perpetual uptime duty.

Why Pro shows up in freelancer carts

  • Starter — $9/mo, 1 site, 2 GB. Portfolio only, or a single-product freelancer who rarely ships client hosting.
  • Pro — $30, 3 sites, 10 GB, staging. Portfolio + two client properties, or portfolio + staging + experiment. Staging reduces “I overwrote production at 1 a.m.” stories.
  • Scale — $65, 10 sites, 30 GB when client hosting becomes a real monthly line item.
  • Business — $130, 30 sites, 100 GB, teams when contractors share an account structure.

Trial ~1 day, then paid. No forever-free plan. Publish via zip or GitHub; HTTPS preview immediately; custom domain cert after DNS verifies; deploy history rollback. No builder, no cPanel, no email hosting, no built-in CDN (Cloudflare optional). SiteHost is for websites online, not servers to babysit.

Boundaries to write into proposals

State in writing:

  • You deliver static files / an export with index.html at the root
  • Hosting may be client-owned after handoff
  • Email is not included with SiteHost
  • Ongoing updates are billed separately
  • Proofing portals or WordPress, if required, are different products — a WordPress CMS is a different kind of hosting

Freelancers get burned when “hosting” silently becomes free lifetime IT support. Price the work or decline the scope.

Technical habits that keep you fast

Webflow exports, Figma handoffs, and hand code all end the same way: files with a correct root. Hosting does not fix a nested zip.

Handoff checklist (copy into Notion)

  1. Final zip attached + stored in client drive
  2. Preview URL they already approved
  3. Domain registrar login owner named
  4. Exact DNS records SiteHost shows (screenshot)
  5. Mail MX untouched note
  6. Who pays the SiteHost invoice going forward
  7. Rollback demo once so they know it exists

Example: brand designer week

Monday: update personal portfolio case study — publish, rollback once after wrong asset folder, republish.

Wednesday: client microsite for a product launch on a second Pro slot; form via third-party; ads wait for custom domain HTTPS.

Friday: handoff PDF with DNS values and final zip. Client’s internal IT owns DNS; you are not on the weekend call. Boundaries held; Saturday stays for actual design work.

When not to host for clients

  • They need complex app backends
  • They need mailbox administration for a staff of twenty
  • They need legally strict private asset vaults
  • They expect you on-call for $0 after final invoice

Refer specialized hosts; keep your lane. Decision framing: how to choose website hosting.

Pricing hosting passthrough without resentment

Either:

  • Client subscribes on their own SiteHost account, or
  • You bill a retainer that includes plan cost plus management hours

Never “I’ll just put it on my account forever” without a line item. Forever is long; $9 × 36 months is real money and real interruptibility.

Portfolio SEO without a plugin rabbit hole

Clear project titles, descriptive text, compressed images, and a stable domain help more than installing twelve SEO plugins you will not maintain. If you truly want WordPress for blogging, choose that hosting type deliberately. Otherwise ship HTML on SiteHost and spend the hours on case study writing.

Offboarding a client site cleanly

Export the final zip to the client drive, confirm their SiteHost (or other) account works, confirm DNS ownership, remove your emergency access if appropriate, and invoice any final hours. Do not keep paying for their site on your card indefinitely “as a favor.” Favors become silent products.

Estimating storage across client microsites

Three small brochure sites rarely threaten Pro’s 10 GB. One photographer-client microsite full of unoptimized heroes might. Add an optimization step to your delivery checklist before upload. Your hosting plan should not be the first casualty of an export preset nobody reviewed.

Showing staging to clients without confusion

Label preview and staging URLs clearly in the email (“STAGING — not public”). Clients forward links. If they blast a staging URL on social, you will want a boring holding page ready to publish quickly, plus a calm explanation. Process beats embarrassment.

Invoicing language that sets hosting expectations

Add a line on proposals: “Hosting setup includes one SiteHost publish and DNS guidance. Ongoing hosting fees are billed to the client’s account unless a monthly care plan is signed.” That sentence prevents silent forever-hosting. Pair it with the handoff checklist earlier in this guide and you will lose fewer weekends to abandoned microsites still living on your card.

Questions people actually ask

Should every client go on my SiteHost account?

Prefer client-owned accounts when they pay ongoing fees. Your account is fine for temporary previews.

Is GitHub mandatory for professional work?

No. Zip is valid. GitHub helps when you already version that way.

Can staging replace a private review password?

Staging isolates versions. True secrecy may need other tools; static obscurity is weak for NDAs.

Do I need Cloudflare for client sites?

Optional. Optimize assets first.

How do I stop free forever support?

Contracts, retainers, and written handoffs. Tools alone will not save you.