10-cheapwebhosting.com BLOG
Attention: Your Web Hosting Renewal Price will be Higher than the Initial Offer Price! (Web Hosting Price Comparison Chart)
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Before you sign up for any web host, make sure you know exactly your renewal price to avoid any nasty surprises in the future. Do not fall for the huge discount price too quickly! |
Please remember that what you pay initially is not what you are going to pay when you renew. Usually the renewal price is significantly higher than your initial price depending on how much offer/discount you have been given.
For example, someone who has paid $54 for a year of hosting at iPage may be very surprise (or angry) when he finds out that his credit card is automatically billed for $107.40 a year later!
There are basically 2 different price that you need to know - the initial price and the renewal price.
Initial price are also known as the offer price, the sale price, the discount price, the promotional price (promo price) or maybe just as the special price.
The renewal price can also be known as the regular price, the ordinary price or the normal price.
We will look at how transparent or nasty these web hosts are when it comes to disclosing the renewal pricing. This page will also serve as a very good place to compare detail pricing among the top hosts recommended by me.
BlueHost
BlueHost offers special pricing for new customers at $4.95/month for 12 months and $3.95/month for 24 months and 36 months. Customer will have to renew at the regular rate after that.
| BlueHost |
Regular
Price Per Month |
Regular Price Total | After Special Discount |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 Month | $8.95 | $107.40 | $4.95 ($59.40) |
| 24 Month | $7.95 | $190.80 | $3.95 ($94.80) |
| 36 Month | $6.95 | $250.20 | $3.95 ($142.20) |
HostGator
Web hosts such as HostGator are very transparent with their pricing. You can use a coupon code to get 25% discount to your initial purchase (The code is Get25Discount). You will have to decide whether you want to use it on 12 months, 24 months or 36 months contract because the longer the contract, the cheaper the averaged monthly price.
HostGator Regular Pricing vs 25% Offer Price
| Hatchling Plan |
Regular
Price Per Month |
Regular
Price Total |
After 25% Discount |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 Month | $6.95 | $83.40 | $5.21 ($62.55) |
| 24 Month | $5.95 | $142.80 | $4.46 ($107.10) |
| 36 Month | $5.95 | $214.20 | $4.46 ($160.65) |
| Baby Plan |
Regular
Price Per Month |
Regular Price Total | After 25% Discount |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 Month | $9.95 | $119.40 | $7.46 ($89.55) |
| 24 Month | $8.95 | $214.80 | $6.71 ($161.10) |
| 36 Month | $7.95 | $286.20 | $5.96 ($214.65) |
If you purchase HostGator Baby Plan for 24 months, you will pay $161.10 initially but you are expected to pay $214.80 at the time of renewal. You can change your contract term when it comes to renewal, i.e. if you signup for 24 months initially, you can switch to pay for 12 months or 36 months when your initial contract expire.
iPage
iPage customers are usually the one who face the biggest nasty surprises when it comes to renewal. The higher renewal pricing is hidden under a tiny text link at the bottom of their homepage.
| Essential Plan |
Regular
Price Per Month |
Regular
Price Total |
Offer Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 Month | $8.95 | $107.40 | constantly changing |
| 24 Month | $7.95 | $190.80 | constantly changing |
| 36 Month | $6.95 | $250.20 | constantly changing |
From my personal observation, iPage initial offer price ranges from $2.95/month to $4.50/month. These are huge discounts which means someone paying $54 for a year of hosting may be very surprise when they are billed for $107.40 on renewal!
JustHost
JustHost has the most confusing offer price to begin with. Fortunately the regular price (i.e the renewal price) is fixed which is exactly the same as iPage and FatCow.
The reason why their initial price is confusing is because they keep changing their offer constantly and the offer price can be further reduced though the use of this "secret link". The secret link claims to offer you 20% discount but I don't know how they calculate it because offers are stacked with each other.
It is very difficult to know exactly how much you are going to pay until you reach the order page. But from my observation, the offer price can range from $3.96/month to $5.95/month. There are also lots of coupons floating around that mess up the final price further. However at anytime the secret link should yield the maximum offer.
| JustPlan |
Regular
Price Per Month |
Regular
Price Total |
Offer Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 Month | $8.95 | $107.40 | confusing |
| 24 Month | $7.95 | $190.80 | confusing |
| 36 Month | $6.95 | $250.20 | confusing |
FatCow
FatCow is the sister company of iPage and so they are charging exactly the same on renewal.
| FatCow Plan |
Regular
Price Per Month |
Regular
Price Total |
Offer Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 Month | $8.95 | $107.40 | constantly changing |
| 24 Month | $7.95 | $190.80 | constantly changing |
| 36 Month | $6.95 | $250.20 | constantly changing |
FatCow also offers huge discount to initial purchase and the offer price is constantly changing.
GreenGeeks
GreenGeeks is very similar to HostGator but instead of giving a discount in percentage term, they are giving a fixed $30 off by using a coupon code (The code is Take30Off). You can always renew at your preferred contract length.
GreenGeeks Regular Pricing vs $30 Off Pricing
| Eco Site Plan |
Regular Price Per Month |
Regular Price Total |
After $30 Off |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 Month | $7.95 | $95.40 | $5.45 ($65.40) |
| 24 Month | $6.95 | $166.80 | $5.70 ($136.80) |
| 36 Month | $4.95 | $178.20 | $4.11 ($148.20) |
LunarPages
LunarPages initial pricing vs regular pricing is similar to HostGator where you can get a discount for your initial order in percentage term. Currently the best discount coupon is Get30Discount which gives you 30% discount on your initial contract (12 months and 24 months only).
| Basic Plan |
Regular
Price Per Month |
Regular
Price Total |
After 25% Discount |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 Month | $8.95 | $107.40 | $6.71 ($80.55) |
| 24 Month | $6.95 | $166.80 | $5.21 ($125.10) |
| 36 Month | $4.95 | $178.20 | N/A |
PowWeb
PowWeb regular pricing is exactly the same as iPage, FatCow and JustHost. However the initial offer price is either $4.88/month or $3.88/month (usually on weekend). You can only purchase up to 24 months initially.
They usually name their $4.88 offer as 35% off offer and their $3.88 offer as 50% off offer. I do not know how they get the percentage number at all! Either me or them have failed in the math class.
| One Plan |
Regular
Price Per Month |
Regular
Price Total |
Offer Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 Month | $8.95 | $107.40 |
$3.88 ($46.56) or $4.88 ($58.56) |
| 24 Month | $7.95 | $190.80 | $3.88 ($93.12) or $4.88 ($117.12) |
| 36 Month | $6.95 | $250.20 | N/A |
All Renewal Pricing At Once!
The following is a table showing the renewal pricing for all the top hosts.
| Web Host | 12 Month | 24 Month | 36 Month |
|---|---|---|---|
| BlueHost | $8.95 | $7.95 | $6.95 |
| HostGator Hatcling | $6.95 | $5.95 | $5.95 |
| HostGator Baby | $9.95 | $8.95 | $7.95 |
| iPage | $8.95 | $7.95 | $6.95 |
| JustHost | $8.95 | $7.95 | $6.95 |
| FatCow | $8.95 | $7.95 | $6.95 |
| GreenGeeks | $7.95 | $6.95 | $4.95 |
| LunarPages Basic | $8.95 | $6.95 | $4.95 |
| PowWeb | $8.95 | $7.95 | $6.95 |
Did you notice?
- All prices end with .95
- BlueHost, iPage, JustHost, FatCow and PowWeb share the same regular pricing
- The overall most expensive "winner" is HostGator
- The overall cheapest host is GreenGeeks
- All monthly price still below $10, that's why my website is called the $10 Cheap Web Hosting Directory. :)
HostGator Black Friday 2011 Sale Is Back! 50% OFF for Everything
The promotion will start at midnight, Friday, November 25th, 2011 Central Standard Time (-6 GMT) and will run until 11:59PM CST Friday, November 25th, 2011.
No coupon codes required. Just hit this link directly.
Offer applies to initial payment only and renew at regular pricing thereafter. So the longer you subscribe, the more you can save.
A preview of the pricing:-
50% Black Friday Discount for Initial Order
| Contract |
Hatchling Normal Price |
After 50% Discount |
Baby Normal Price |
After 50% Discount |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 Month | $83.40 | $41.70 | $119.40 | $59.70 |
| 24 Month | $142.80 | $71.40 | $214.80 | $107.40 |
| 36 Month | $214.20 | $107.1 | $286.20 | $143.10 |
Make sure you read our comprehensive HostGator Review to learn why HostGator is highly recommended!
Web Hosting Services Explained - Shared Hosting? Dedicated Server? VPS? Cloud Hosting?
If you are new to web hosting, you will certainly be very confuse with the different types of web hosting services being offered. Don't worry. After reading this article, you should be able to understand all of them and know exactly what you need.
What is a server?
When a hosting company starts a hosting business, it needs to have at least one server. What is a server? It is nothing but a high performance computer with high speed internet connection.
It doesn't look like a desktop computer we are using. It doesn't need to look stylish but it needs to be practical. This is a Dell dekstop PC.
This is a Dell server.
You will notice that a server doesn't come with a monitor, keyboard and mouse. You will also notice that instead of a tower casing, it is a "rack mount" case.
Unlike most of us who will only have 1 or 2 desktop computers at home, a hosting company owns and operates a lot of servers and to be as practical as possible, the "rack mount" case is used so that a lot of servers can be mounted into the server rack. This will save a lot of space and make connecting all the cables easier. The rack will also provide features such as cooling and power supply.
And because all servers are networked together, you don't need a separate monitor, mouse and keyboard for every one of them. All you need is one set and you can control any of the server.
What is a datacenter?
The place where you put all your servers and racks is known as the datacenter. The reason why hosting servers need to be placed in datacenter instead of a normal office is because millions of dollars have been invested in the high speed internet connection to the data center. These connections are a few thousand times faster than ordinary broadband connection.
What is dedicated server hosting?
So if you want to host your website and you rent an entire server from your hosting company, you are using a dedicated server hosting, or simply dedicated hosting.
The cheapest dedicated server offered by HostGator cost you $139 per month!
But that's overkill for 99% of us!!! A server, even a low end one can serve a few million visitors a month without any problem. But most webmasters like you and me owns very simple websites or blogs that don't even require 0.1% of the power. And that's exactly why we have shared hosting.
What is shared hosting?
It means instead of paying for the entire server which is very expensive and overkill, we pay a small sum per customer/website and share the server with other customers/websites.
This is what my website is all about, reviewing and suggesting the best shared hosting service to you that won't cut a hole in your wallet. Anything more than $10/month is considered expensive.
Here are some of the "unlimited" shared hosting and their pricing.
| HostGator | $7.46 |
| iPage | $4.50 |
| JustHost | $5.95 |
| GreenGeeks | $5.45 |
| LunarPages | $6.27 |
| FatCow | $5.58 |
| PowWeb | $4.88 |
What is semi-dedicated server hosting?
This is something in between a dedicated server and shared hosting. Or we can say it is the same as shared hosting but you share it with less people. Just for illustration, a hosting company might host 1,000 websites on their shared hosting but host only 20 on the semi-dedicated server. Maybe a better name is "less crowded shared hosting". Of course it will be more expensive than the normal "crowded" shared hosting.
Again from my experience, most of us don't need this. We all begin with shared hosting and if we ever reach the limit, our web host will inform us and that's the time we need to consider this option.
Usually we breach the limit because we host too many websites in 1 shared account. We can just purchase another shared hosting account and move some websites over. We don't even need to upgrade to a semi-dedicated or dedicated server which is probably more expensive.
What is VPS hosting (Virtual Private Server)?
Virtual means not real. Virtual private server means not really a "real" server. When you own a dedicated server, you own the full control of the server. But when you are using a shared hosting, you have limited control over the server.
A full control on your dedicated server means you can even format or shut down the server! You hosting company definitely won't allow you to do that if you are using their shared hosting service. All critical controls of the shared hosting remain with the hosting company so a single customer cannot sabotage the whole server and affect hundreds or thousands of other customers sharing the same server.
VPS is a funny breed between dedicated server and shared hosting. You are indeed sharing the server with someone else and yet you have "full" control over your "virtual server" where you can shut it off, restart it or even format it. This is achieved by using intelligent VPS software. So that means if you screw up your own "virtual server", you won't affect other customers sharing the same physical server with you.
The benefit of VPS is that it is cheaper than a dedicated server because you are sharing a physical server with someone else. And yet you retain the full power to your server almost exactly the same as a dedicated server.
While owning control over a server seems interesting, but 99% of us doesn't even understand a basic Linux commands (or maybe never even heard of the word Linux) and how do you suppose we are able to manage the server our self? So again, 99% of us need shared hosting and only shared hosting.
What is managed hosting?
A managed hosting is a more expensive dedicated hosting but with added service. If you use a dedicated hosting, you will need to manage the server yourself including upgrading the operating system and software. Customers who choose to use a dedicated server usually have hired some IT staff to manage the servers. On the other hand, if you pay for managed hosting, the hosting company will help you to manage your server to a certain extend. The "management" service they provides is still very limited because they won't help you to design and maintain your website. They are only responsible for keeping your server updated and running all the time.
What is co location hosting?
For all hosting types we have discusses so far, the server still belongs to the hosting company. You are just renting it (dedicated hosting, managed hosting) or part of it (shared hosting, semi dedicated, vps). You can also buy your own server and rent a rack space in their datacenter and this is known as co location hosting. You pay less to the hosting company but you will need to pay for the server. And when you terminate your contract, the server still belongs to you. The reason why you want to co locate the server in their datacenter instead of in your own office is because you want to use their high speed internet connection.
What is cloud hosting?
There are many websites that are so heavy loaded that they require more than 1 server, i.e. Google, Facebook, Youtube, etc. There companies pay millions of dollars each month to maintain their hosting servers. Their servers farms are even bigger than many web hosting companies!
Because there are so many servers connected with each other to serve the same website, intelligent cloud hosting software is required to keep balancing the load between the servers. Visitor #1 may be directed to server A and visitor #2 may be directed to server B.
With cloud hosting, there is almost no downtime because if a server crash, there are many more running and the cloud hosting software can just direct the traffic to another server. Where else if your dedicated server crash, your entire website will be down. Even a short reboot of your dedicated server will cause a short downtime.
The other benefit is faster connection for the visitor. For example, Google has servers all around the world and they will direct a visitor to a server nearest to their location. A Canadian will be directed to a server in Canada while a Japanese will be directed to a server in Japan.
Do you need cloud hosting? You will remember that I said most of us don't even need a dedicated server and why would we want to pay for multiple servers? Actually what the hosting companies offer are not the entire cloud hosting but "shared cloud hosting". You share the cloud hosting network with many other customers by paying a small amount of money and enjoy all the benefits of cloud hosting.
Everything has their strengths and weaknesses. For cloud hosting, the weaknesses are security and higher chance of data corruption. This is because your data is now hosted in multiple servers and locations which means hackers have more places to poke your website. And because data need to be synchronized between all servers, a bad synchronization may corrupt your data. Maintaining your website become more complicated. Cloud hosting is also more expensive than traditional hosting.
If you want to learn more on cloud hosting you can also read a brief on cloud hosting. I am personally not a fan of cloud hosting due to the complication. I will stick to the traditional hosting and recommend everyone to do so.
Conclusion
If you haven't get it yet, I will have to repeat it again. 99% of us will only need shared hosting. We will know when we breach the limit (your web host will tell you) and only at that time we will need to consider the upgrade options.
If you believe there is a chance you are the 1%, hosting with a full service hosting providers such as HostGator and LunarPages will be beneficially because they offer everything from shared hosting to VPS hosting to dedicated servers. Upgrading from one to another will be easier.
Many web hosting companies such as iPage and FatCow offer only shared hosting and do not offer upgrade options. You will have to move your entire website to another web hosts if you really breach their limits.
Again as mentioned earlier, most of the time we don't need to upgrade but simply to purchase more shared hosting accounts and move some of our websites over.
Recommended Reading:-
- Unlimited hosting is a marketing gimmick and I have explained it in my post why unlimited hosting is limited.
- All the best web hosting services you can trust fully reviewed by me.
Domain Hosting Explained - What is the Relationship between Domain Name and Web Hosting?
Domain name and web hosting are 2 totally different services but they are heavily dependant on each other.
Domain name is nothing but a label. You cannot use it to store anything. Web hosting is actually the storage space itself where you can store the content of your website in it.
Let's look at a bottle of apple juice. The label is "ABC Apple Juice" but the label cannot be used to store the juice, it is the bottle itself that can be used to store the juice. The label is the domain name, the bottle is the web host. The same label can be stuck to any bottle the manufacturer wants.
Because domain name and web hosting are separated, the benefit is that once you become the rightful owner of the "label", you can choose whatever "bottle" you want. Coca cola can choose whatever bottle they want. If you are the rightful owner of a domain name, you can choose whatever web host you want and you can change your web host anytime you want.
Becoming a rightful owner of a domain name is as simple as paying a registration fee, say $15 for the right to use the domain name for 1 year. You can always renew it after it expires.
How is a domain name linked to a web host?
There are many different web hosting providers out there such as iPage and JustHost. So how do the internet knows where exactly is your domain hosted? The linkage is done using just 1 simple setting known as DNS. DNS stands for Domain Name System.
Everytime you sign up with a web host, they will give you their DNS setting that look something like this:-
ns1.ipage.com
ns2.ipage.com
[ns stands for nameservers]
All you need to do is to update your domain name with the given setting in the control panel of your domain registrar and hualaaa, your domain name is now linked to your web host. Let's say you are not happy with iPage or you found a cheaper host later, you can simply sign up with the new host and update the DNS setting and you domain name is now linked to your new web host.
Do you need to register your domain name with your web host?
Again, domain name and web hosting are 2 different services but they are heavily related to each other. Almost all domain name registrars provide hosting services and almost all web hosts provide domain name registration. They will usually major in one service but they will almost certainly provide both. So a domain registrar is also a web host and a web host is also a domain registrar.
Just like you can have your sandwich in Starbucks although they major in coffee or you can have your coffee in McDonald's although they major in hamburgers. You can get them at the same place, but that doesn't mean you have to. You can grab you burger at McDonald's but your coffee at Starbucks or the other way round.
Should you register your domain name with your web host?
There is no harm registering your domain name with your web host as long as you are using a reputable web hosts such as HostGator.
Most web hosts are providing free domain name with their hosting package which means you don't need to pay for it. I think this is a very good reason to register your domain name with them. [Unfortunately some web host such as HostGator doesn't offer free domain name. HostGator charges $15 per domain name.]
There are a few reasons why you don't want to register your domain name with your web host. Pricing is the biggest reason. If they are selling you a domain name for $15 and you can get it for $10 elsewhere, you can save $5 by registering at the other registrar.
By not registering your domain name with your web host, you can also prevent your web host from keeping you hostage.
Even you are the rightful owner of the domain name, you still need to control everything through them. Just like you make a bank deposit with a bank and you are the rightful owner of your money, you still need to collect your money through the bank. The bank can go bankrupt, freeze your money or have lousy service. A nasty web host can also go bankrupt, freeze your domain name or have a broken control panel. They can freeze your domain name claiming that you have not pay your hosting bill although you know you have canceled your hosting service long ago (such as in WebHostingPad scam).
The key point here again is reputation, just like how you choose your bank. Registering a domain name in another place doesn't mean you can avoid all the risks. For example, a budget domain registrar RegisterFly went belly up a few years ago. The control panel was broken and no one could change the DNS setting, transfer their domain name away or even renew their domain name. Some people lose their domain name due to expiration. It took quite sometime before the domain owners were adopted by another domain registrar.
Trying to save $5 in exchange for lose of businesses (or even lose of domain name) is certainly not worth it.
What does "transfer your domain name" mean?
You already know that a domain name is a label and you can choose whatever web host that you want as simple as changing the DNS setting.
The place where you change your setting is the place where you register your domain name. In order to comptete for your business, domain name registrars compete in prices. Some registrar charge $15 per domain, some charge $12. You can always move your domain name from a registrar to another registrar while maintaining the same web host.
"Transfer your domain name" means changing your domain registrar. There are a few reasons why you want to do that and pricing is one of them. Your web host might offer you free domain name with your hosting package but since you already got a domain name, they might offer to renew it for another year for free if you transfer your domain name to them.
Most registrar will offer cheaper fee to lure you to transfer your domain name to them. If you want to squeeze a few bucks out of your domain names every year, you can actually transfer your domains from registrar A to registrar B this year and transfer it back to registrar A next year. If you click on this link, you will notice that MyDomain.com charge only only $7.61 if your transfer your domain name to them while they charge $10.29 for new registration or renewal.
If you own 20 domain names, it may also be more convenient to have all of them registered in one place so you can control everything easily.
Please remember that changing a web host doesn't mean you need to change your domain registrar. You can keep your domain name at GreenGeeks while you change your hosting to FatCow. You will keep paying your domain fee to GreenGeeks and pay your hosting fee to iPage since both are different services.
And also changing your domain registrar doesn't mean you need to change your web host. You can move your domain name from GreenGeeks to GoDaddy while still hosting at GreenGeeks. You now pay your domain fee to GoDaddy instead of GreenGeeks.
Should you register your domain name with GoDaddy?
GoDaddy is the biggest domain registrar in the world and their price is competitive. (If you use this link, you can register a new .com for $7.49 compare to a normal price of $11.99). However, I do not recommend any other services from them including web hosting.
Whenever you register a domain name with them, they will try to sell you a lot of non related services. You will need to click a few "next" buttons before you can pay for your domain name. Non of these services are recommended other than private registration (domain privacy). This is only needed if you do not want people to know who is the real owner of the domain name (name, address, telephone number and email address).
At the checkout page, they have selected 2 years as the default terms. Usually we want to pay yearly and not biannually and I think that's not a good business practice.
Any other domain registrars?
- GoDaddy is the biggest domain registrar in the world.
- MyDomain.com,
Domain.com and
DotSter.com (which are all the same company) offer very cheap
pricing.
- Network Solutions pricing is bullshit ($35/year!) and is not recommended.
Summary
- Domain name registration and web hosting are 2 different services but they are highly dependant on each other.
- You will have to pay for both services to have your website. Some web hosts absorb your domain name fee if you use their hosting services, i.e. free domain name.
- Nowadays, all domain registrars provide hosting services and all web hosts provide domain registration. So technically a domain registrar is also a web host and a web host is also a domain registrar.
- You don't need to register your domain name at the same place you purchase your web hosting and vice versa.
- You can change your web host without changing your domain registrar. You can change your domain registrar without changing your web host. You can also change both at once.
This website focuses on reviewing the best web hosting services out there that are below $10 a month. You can see the recommended and not recommended web hosts on the left navigation bar. Choosing a good web hosting company is more difficult than choosing a good domain name registrar. A good web host is almost certainly a good domain registrar but a good domain registrar might not be a good host.
Make sure you read our domain hosting reviews to learn more about all the hosting companies.
How to Transfer Your Facebook Profile Username to Your Facebook Fan Page?
Most of us have been asking how we can transfer our facebook profile username [also known as vanity URL] to our facebook page.
There are 2 reasons why we want to do that:-
1. We have registered our username for our profile earlier and now we have created a page and would like to transfer the name to our page. An ordinary facebook profile requires your approval to add friends while a facebook fan page requires only someone to click on the LIKE button to become your fans. There is also a limit of 5,000 friends to a profile but no limit to a fan page. So for marketing purpose, it is more suitable to use a facebook page.
2. You are trying to register a username for your page and due to the ill and sicked facebook interface, you ended up register the username to your profile instead!!! This was what happened to me and I have read so many feedback that the same thing has happened to many facebook users as well!
This is because when you try to register your page username under the page settings page, you will never have thought that the first username you provide will actually go to the profile instead! REPEAT: EVEN if you are doing all of these in the page settings page by clicking on the link labeled as "Create a username for this page?" !!!!
Before you can set a username for your page, you will need 25 likes. The username setting will be disabled until you reach it. And so you wait patiently for your 25th fan to click 'like' and rush to register a username. After you got it only you realized it has been assigned to your profile instead! And I am shocked this has happened for so long to so many people and yet the facebook programmers still haven't do anything about it!
And please remember that there is no way for you to contact facebook. There is no telephone number. There is no contact form. You are on your own.
To disallow cyber squatting of facebook usernames, i.e. reserving a username in the hope to sell it later for profit just like what they did to the domain names [the .com], facebook set out the following rules:-
1. You can only change your facebook profile username once. If you register Banana as your first username and hate it, you can change it to Strawberry later but you only have 1 chance. After that you won't be able to change it anymore and facebook claims that after your change your username to Strawberry, your previous username Banana will not be made available to anyone else!!! It will be locked out. So you cannot sell this username.
2. For facebook fan page, you DO NOT have the chance to change your username. You only have 1 chance and that's the first chance. If you pick a wrong one, it will be like a bad tattoo on your body. So make sure you choose wisely.
They have to work very hard to stop cyber squatting or else there will be a lot of fake facebook accounts and pages created every seconds in hope to profit from it. This will be a nightmare to facebook and its community. Maybe we will have 200 Bill Clintons and 4,000 Mariah Carey.
Facebook usernames are NOT case sensitive, but they will display it the way you register it. So Strawberry or strawBERRY or strawberry all belongs to you but once directed to facebook, it will be cased to your registered casing - Strawberry. So you may want to make sure it is the correct casing you want because you won't be able to change it later as well.
We are not cyber squatters. We have very valid reasons to transfer our profile username (which belongs to us anyway) to our fan page (which also belongs to us). There is also no money involved. And due to facebook sicked interface, many of us have actually accidentally registered our page username to our profile!
What stated by facebook officially is only half true. Old usernames will be made available again but not immediately, creating an unknown black out period to make cyber squatting difficult to work out.
After you execute your only right to change your profile username to something else and immediately rush to register the old name to your fan page, it will be stated as "Not Available". This will definitely scare the shit out of you.
Do not panic! Many of us has reported that once you wait enough, the old username will be released and the "good" news is that you only need to wait from several days to around 2 weeks. I have mine released around 14-16 days which I can't remember correctly. All you need to do is check the availability everyday and wait until it is available. DO NOT give up and register for a subpar username that you really don't want because that will be permanent! Patience is the key here.
My username is released on 9 March 2011 which means the information in this blog post is at least valid until this date. I will have the comment form open for this article below and please report your positive (or negative) experience on changing your username so it can help other people who have the same problem.
Facebook can change the rules anytime they want and we hope this information will still be valid as long as it can.
Disclaimer: PLEASE execute the username change/transfer at your own risk because there is no guarantee it will work. It has work for me and many others but it still doesn't mean it will work for you! Maybe you need to go to the church more for this.
