Unbranded or Branded Does it Matter?

H

HostMarket

New member
Hello HostingDiscussions Friends,

I am wanting to write this post in hopes to get some feedback either positive or other wise. I have been using WHMCS for just over two weeks and someone suggested that I remove the branded by and pay for the license.

The license I have came with my vps when I ordered it and it was the Starter. I guess when it all comes down to it I am simple asking...

(1) Should I get the unbranded License?
(2) What does it do for me?
(3) Are there any advantages or disadvantages?

Thank you,
Mike
 
Mike, this is a good question.

To me as a customer it doesn't make any difference if a WHMCS license is branded or unbranded. WHMCS has become such a popular software that many hosting companies are using it, making the client dashboard experience relatively the same. I no longer actually notice or even look for if a software is branded or unbranded. I worry more about the quality of service that I am going to receive. :)
 
For the most part, people don't even "see" it, or pay attention to it anyway. From what I remember, there is no difference in the software, it's just a 'by" line.

Is it worth spending (currently) an extra $3/month to get an unbranded version? Not until you have a handful of clients. I wouldn't worry about it much initially.
 
even unbranded you can tell it is WHMCS that are using, so to me it is not worth the extra $3.
The extra $3 could go to pay for Softaculous and or WHMXtra
 
Thank you Bigredseo and EasyHostMedia
Your comments are much thankful.

I have Softaclous on both the servers I have so clients get everything.
 
So after all 3 of you have said it does not matter I think I will just stick with the branded license. Just hope one day it does not come back to bit me LOL.
 
HostMarket said:
So after all 3 of you have said it does not matter I think I will just stick with the branded license. Just hope one day it does not come back to bit me LOL.
Click to expand...

It won't. Put that $36 towards your advertising. At $0.10 cents a click, you can bring an additional 360 potential clients to your site every year. That's 1 potential sale every day.
 
When I was with Eleven2, they gave me the starter license, but if I wanted to upgrade, it was over $18! I couldn't simply pay the difference. Needless to say, I was very happy with the free starter version.

Off the record, I bet one line of jQuery (or CSS) would get rid of that branding link. But I do not suggest that you do that. I'm just musing.

I am with everyone else. Keep your money.
 
TheBoss said:
Off the record, I bet one line of jQuery (or CSS) would get rid of that branding link. But I do not suggest that you do that. I'm just musing.
Click to expand...

Just so nobody gets any ideas - the removal of the branding, without purchasing a license, is a direct violation of their software terms of service. It will result in the removal of such software, and it could result in legal fees.

While probably posted for humor and musing, and most likely a hypothetical scenario, be aware, if anyone does perform the task of removing the branding without purchasing it, you have stolen from the company and can be liable for damages.
 
bigredseo said:
Just so nobody gets any ideas - the removal of the branding, without purchasing a license, is a direct violation of their software terms of service. It will result in the removal of such software, and it could result in legal fees.

While probably posted for humor and musing, and most likely a hypothetical scenario, be aware, if anyone does perform the task of removing the branding without purchasing it, you have stolen from the company and can be liable for damages.
Click to expand...

would be hard to do anyway as the text is not within any installation, it is an encrypted code linked to the licence on the WHMCS licence server, and once you pay to remove the branding this is just turned off at the WHMCS end
 
I always find that clients always know which billing software you are using by simply the format of your order forms - this being WHMCS. If you are genuine business then I'd always recommend paying the difference in pricing to securing your authenticity.
 
I purchased hostbill back in the day when you could purchase a lifetime license.

My license switches off the "Powered by Hostbill" footer, which has actually caused me problems.

The reason is that "everyone" assumes I must be running WHMCS and then checks my IP against the database to see if I have a legal license. When they find that I don't have a legal WHMCS license (as I am running Hostbill) they then post about it on forums.

I end up having to explain I use Hostbill, and even post proof. Now, this ends up making the poster look foolish, but damages business also.

This has happened here once.

So sometimes I regret that I paid extra for this grief.
 
There seem to be very few hosting companies which customize there own billing software from scratch. So end of day, people are using one of the popular ones including WHMCS, HostBill, SFDC, Clientexec, Blesta, Ubersmith and many others to list.

And well, once people are in the industry, by the time they are placing the order, they'd realize which billing software is being used, so branded or non-branded really doesn't make any difference in my opinion
 
Personally I've always opted for the unbranded version of WHMCS, simply because it integrates with the website better than having a line of text saying "Powered by WHMCS".
 
If you plan to customize everything, it is good idea to optin out pawered by.
If you plan to do minimal customization,
leaving powered by it is not big problem to you.
 
Design can be handled pretty well by editing default template SIX even in branded one. "Powered by WHMCS" text can be ignored as it won't affect clients or hide with a little knowledge of JavaScript.


If you want to modify core files then you need to have unbranded version of WHMCS.
 
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