Thank you for sharing this Bert, I wasn't aware. I can understand from a business and technical sense, and sounds like there are options, and the REALLY COOL thing is that the person gets their referrals back when they rejoin as premium, so all is not lost. :) Just sounds like we need to be sure we communicate it to our referrals. I really appreciate you sharing this - thank you so much!! -Leslie

The special $19 first month offer is only available in the fire 7 days of joining but you are correct in that it is not made clear that you can't go from paid back to free but it a smart business decision. Just think of the chaotic mess they would have if people were going back and forh all the time. If you cannot afford to continue the premium membership you can always move your site to a new host of your own so you are losing nothing by joining.

I did know that but a good idea to put it out. A referral of mine can't afford the cost of a premium membership and has stayed free but told me that he can still get the first mo. at the $19 price.

Marty

At least we have the correct info now. I am glad it is clearer.

This is a tough call. There are those who truly cannot afford to a premium membership. Then there are those with malicious intent who will try to copy as much as they can from a website (think of the tons of education here) and then move on.

WA cannot tell who is honest verses the dishonest.

I tell people to join and just keep the free membership. I tell them that unless they can afford to there is no reason to jump right to the premium membership. There is a great deal to learn here just with the free membership. If after some time they truly find the benefit then I would tell them to save up and do the yearly membership since that is a much better cost savings (but still not a small investment).

This has to be a tough decision for Kyle and Carson. You are correct to inform those you know that once they join there is no turning back so tell them not to rush. People still get two free domains. So the person can go through the course 1 training several times and learn more and more each time. I still have yet to finish one course!

Yes, that's true. It makes a little sense, because the free membership is only to let people try it out, not so that after taking the lessons they get to benefit from free websites. But I also wouldn't personally buy my domains here, because I'm often on an empty bank account, and I don't want to lose everything because I'm poor:)

Yes I was aware. I also know there is no technological reason for this other than just blatant incompetence or just business policy. The workaround is just to open up another free account. I also do not want to be kicked out of WA so I won't make much fuss about it.

I was not aware either. Interesting. I was thinking that if I could not pay my premium, I could just go free and come back to premium when I could afford it. I will need to read this to make sure I understand it for myself and potential referrals.

Thanks for sharing this Bert. I am sure many people are not aware of this and it is good to know so we can inform our referrals if they ask.
It does make sense to me though.
A Premium member will have had the experience to know what being Premium really offers.
I personally can't imagine going free after the fact ;-)

I see, interesting to know. As Kyle said in that post, WA hosts the website for 30 days beyond the cut-off date, so you can move it to another host. but still when you promote WA you need to tell people about it.Thanks for sharing
Cheers