I have had a Vistaprint website since June. At first I was so excited, it looks beautiful and professional. People are usually impressed and it is easy to use. The past few months have differed from that assessment, however. I have needed to call their support people more and more to fix little things. Then I wanted to move my domain, and was told I would have to pay to release my name. NOT happy. Does anyone else have any experience with them?
Yes, this is what happens which is why it's best to self-host at times. Basically they try to keep you by offering the package, but once you leave, you can lose the website if it was part of the package. I'm going to lose a website soon as I used a host and the template, but it's fine as long as I keep the domain name. I used to use Vistaprint, but I tried to use a coupon once and it didn't go through for the full amount (some small print) and they charged my card on file without my permission. I stopped using them from that day on as I ended up disputing it and my card company said there were in the wrong and it got written off.
To be completely honest with you, I have been using Vistaprint for a very long time. The only thing is... I've been using VistaPRINT for PRINTS. They're a company that tries to expand quickly into different markets without fully having the handle on things. They are pretty good for most of the physical things but recently I've been able to find simple things such as custom car magnets, stickers, business cards, etc cheaper locally and when it's local you don't have to pay for shipping. Now as far as a website goes, because I'm sure you will still need one, you should just buy the domain back from them if it's the one on all your business cards, etc then transfer it and use it on a website such as Wix.com that gives you the ability to fully customize your website. If you don't mind changing the domain though, that would be a way better option and save you much more money in the long run! Good luck to you.
