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Newbie looking for help in reseller hosting business
| Posted by SparrowPanda, 06-01-2011, 02:47 AM |
| I am new here and planning to start my own web hosting business. My friend suggested me to start with reseller hosting to invest less and gain more profits.
So I was wondering if you people could help me choose a good reseller webhost?
Also, I am not sure what else would be needed to start with reseller hosting business. So any help in that direction would be great as well.
Thank you.
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| Posted by Forward Web, 06-01-2011, 03:07 AM |
| Did you have a certain budget you were looking to stay within? Some things you might need are an SSL (to secure your order page), a dedicated Ip to install the SSL and a payment processor (like 2checkout or paypal) to process your web hosting payments. Although not required, there are billing softwares available like AccountLabPlus (which is free) and WHMCS (which is not free) that can make the billing process somewhat automated for you.
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| Posted by TomTomson, 06-01-2011, 03:35 AM |
| You should also have some knowledge about webhosting and customer support. Outsourcing these things is quite expensive, especially when you don't have much revenue in the beginning.
Don't choose cheap unlimited plans for your reseller hosting. Have a look at the promotional reseller offers and then check their reputation here at WHT.
Tom Tomson
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| Posted by Aquickhost, 06-01-2011, 04:28 AM |
| HI there, its great that you are interested to start hosting business, I suggest you look around the Reseller section to get more idea how much you need, what do u need and all the required infos.
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| Posted by SparrowPanda, 06-01-2011, 04:33 AM |
| Thank you FernGullyGraphics for your helpful suggestion. As of budget, I think investing something around $20 should be affordable for me at this moment. Because I will have to build a website which will need investment and a domain name which will need again around $10.
Thanks TomTomson for your advise. Yes I do not know much about web hosting but I am a fast learner and trying to get as much idea as I can. I have no client at the moment and by the time I get everything setup, I think I should have atleast basic idea.
Yes but again, something that you mentioned is a concern for me. I do not have technical knowledge and cant afford someone to be hired for it. So i think reseller web hosting is not my cup of tea? I should first learn all and then enter this business?
but again, if I dont enter, how and when will I learn? Really confussed
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| Posted by TomTomson, 06-01-2011, 05:07 AM |
| You don't have to know about server management and network configuration but you should be able to help your clients with control panel related issues and their nameserver configuration.
Otherwise it's very difficult to offer fast and qualified customer support.
Tom Tomson
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| Posted by Jennifer Robinson, 06-01-2011, 05:31 AM |
| Try finding a turn-key reseller web hosting provider so that your reseller hosting is setup in minutes.. A turn-key reseller hosting solution means, you will be able to setup your own website, domain name, billing system, SSL etc, ready made website templates for you and your client websties etc.
Further, you need not worry about server level management for your reseller account. Your parent hosting company should take care of those issues. However, assisting your clients with making them understand the end user control panel, helping them to create email accounts etc will need your attention.
Also, even in above case, if you go for a reseller hosting company that offers end user support, your job will be easy even further. When your clients contact you with their support requests, your hosting company will be resolving them on your behalf, thus supporting your end user clients.
Just make sure, the end user support offered by your parent hosting company is white-labelled so that your clients assume its your staff who answered their support queries.
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| Posted by Forward Web, 06-01-2011, 06:53 AM |
| I definitely recommend getting familiar with your web hosting services before making an official launch. However, one of the great perks about starting out with a reseller is you can use your web hosting company as your crutch. If this is something you are seriously interested in, I recommend moving forward with setting up your reseller package (go month to month on the payments) and start working on your site. Its really the only way you will learn. Either way, keep us posted and let us know what you decide.
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| Posted by CuzinMikE, 06-01-2011, 02:53 PM |
| The better reseller hosting companies/plans come with a lot of useful & helpful free stuff like;
1) WHMCS or WHM AutoPilot Client Management / Billing software
2) Domain Name Reseller Account
3) Website Templates
4) Brand-able Video Tutorials for your Clients
5) Web Hosting Instructional eBook
6) Excellent 24/7 Tech Support...etc.
...My point is: Sometimes spending a little more for your reseller account will actually save you money, and definitely a lot of .
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| Posted by HostXNow_Chris, 06-01-2011, 03:12 PM |
| Do you need UK or USA hosting? Or somewhere else...
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| Posted by Forward Web, 06-01-2011, 03:26 PM |
| Although its always great to get particular services bundled, just because a company is offering particular add-ons does not make them better than other web hosting companies (in most cases, it just makes them more expensive). For example the domain name reseller account is something you can get set-up on your own for free. WHMCS is another perfect example, if you are under a budget, there are obviously other free billing software's you can initially use like AccountLabPlus (which is free to use).
I'd say out of all the items you have listed, excellent technical support is the most important item you have listed. Everything else is pretty much irrelevant if you are solely looking at the level of service being provided (trust me there are plenty of crappy web hosts including WHMCS licenses/Domain Reseller Accounts..ect in their reseller plans and vice versa).
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| Posted by HostXNow_Chris, 06-01-2011, 04:13 PM |
| Well said. But it would have been said even better if you could have backed it up.
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| Posted by Forward Web, 06-01-2011, 04:19 PM |
| Ha, well for various reasons I am going to refrain from getting specific regarding which web hosting companies I am referring to, but I am sure you already know that.
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| Posted by HostXNow_Chris, 06-01-2011, 04:31 PM |
| Fair enough.
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| Posted by CuzinMikE, 06-01-2011, 04:47 PM |
| I see your point. I just felt the earlier posts already covered the service issues well enough. All things being equal, it might be easier for someone just dipping a toe in for the first time to have all these services, with video / eBook instruction, and tech support included.
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| Posted by Henry wilson, 06-02-2011, 05:33 AM |
| Many people think about starting a web hosting business.They may think that it is an easy way to get rich, but as those who have tried it found out, it's not that easy. It takes a lot of patience, computer and technical knowledge. I wish you all the very best.
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| Posted by SparrowPanda, 06-02-2011, 05:44 AM |
| Yes even my friends have the same opinion, however someone suggested, if as a reseller we start a web hostin business, target a certain niche and local clients, the chances are you gather a good customer base.
I thank everyone others for their suggestions and help so far.
@HostXNow I am planning to get a reseller account in UK as I am from India and thinking in terms of my future local clients, will get good bandwidth speed to UK? (I am sorry I do not know the exact word/phrase that would mean the speed of internet connectivity between two locations).
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| Posted by TomTomson, 06-02-2011, 07:17 AM |
| Targeting local clients is a good idea as you don't have to compete with the low costs offered on the internet. But local clients also demand fast and qualified support especially with business websites.
Tom Tomson
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| Posted by projectw3, 06-02-2011, 07:46 AM |
| I think you do need a marketing plan to begin with. The technical aspects is just one part of the business. You also need to figure out where you are going to get clients. Some internet marketing knowledge will certainly be useful.
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| Posted by meganerd, 06-02-2011, 08:55 AM |
| Less investment but you will eventually have growing pains. Reseller accounts are limiting and you really should have a dedicated server. If you price correctly then you can have the customers cover the cost of the dedicated and then some.
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| Posted by TomTomson, 06-02-2011, 03:02 PM |
| The thread starter wrote in a previous post that he doesn't have much technical knowledge about webhosting.
This means a managed dedicated server would be necessary and that's definitely too expensive to start with. I recommend a reliable reseller account from a webhosting company with good reputation.
Tom Tomson
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| Posted by SparrowPanda, 06-03-2011, 02:31 AM |
| That is right. If I had that much of knowledge and budget, I would not have been asking here for help to start with
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| Posted by Adela Promotion, 06-03-2011, 03:45 AM |
| I see your point. I agree
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| Posted by troymuga, 06-18-2011, 12:44 PM |
| You can use "Just Host" It is one of the fastest growing web hosting providers and grew by more than 100,000 customers during last year alone. Just Host's reseller program allows you to resell their award winning services as your own complete with private name servers and dedicated IP's. Just Host is the complete white label solution for anyone requiring a professional and reliable reseller service.
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| Posted by eCottage, 06-21-2011, 01:29 AM |
| For a newbie like myself I think one point hasn't been covered. I suggest you find a source that included free end-user tech support.
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| Posted by Roysmith, 06-26-2011, 04:18 AM |
| Hi
I am looking at starting my own reseller hosting business and would like some advice.
As I live in the UK and I expect most of my customers may be in the uk, is there any downsides to have my hosting reside outside of the uk? Or would it be better to offer uk customers uk-based servers?
Also, I am keen on offering both linux and windows options and most of the hosting companies I have seen provide one or the other. Is there any way I can do reselling and offer both Linux and Windows options? Would a Master reseller account solve this for me?
Any help is much appreciated
Roy
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| Posted by HostXNow_Chris, 06-26-2011, 05:04 AM |
| Hi Roy,
Definitely UK if most of your customers are from the UK. They should get better routing and latency = their websites will load faster.
Do you have experience with both Linux and Windows? If not, I recommend sticking to Linux to begin with. You can always offer Windows later. Cheaper this way too.
Do have a budget?
Do you need a billing system like WHMCS? Or use BoxBilling (FREE)
Do you need End User Support?
You would not need much diskspace and bandwidth to start with as you are starting up. I recommend a host that allows you to upgrade diskspace/bandwidth and packages/server specs. Easier to upgrade/downgrade everything with the same hosting provider.
Will you be needing SSL to secure billing area?
Just a few questions to get started.
- Chris
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| Posted by Etheos, 06-28-2011, 04:48 AM |
| Hi,
Just wanted to add my knowledge, you say you would like to start a reseller to invest less and gain more.
I have run a web hosting company in the past and yes it is cheaper to start with a reseller good choice. I hosted with InnoHosting and highly recommend them, however you need to realize that you will need to invest in the business and expect a loss for a while before you start attracting enough customers to make a profit.
Hope it goes well!
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