Becoming a reseller of web hosting is a great way of drawing a lasting income. Another advantage of owning a hosting business is that you can set up and manage the back-end of domains, websites and emails for your organisation as well as for others. There are several options for doing this, which we will explore in this article. We will also see if becoming a reseller is the right choice for you.

Reseller Web Hosting options

Colocation Servers: If you know the basics of server management and have your own server, you may prefer to keep and run your machine from a data centre. It will allow you to keep your machine at a protected place with larger bandwidth, backup generators, fire protection, and higher security than that is given to a normal office building. This way, you also have the freedom to establish your own hardware and the software specifically required for your business.

Dedicated Servers: A dedicated server provides you the exclusivity to use all the resources of a single server. The company owns the data centre where the server is kept, and so owns and operates all the equipment. However, its use is exclusively yours. If you choose a managed dedicated server for reseller web hosting, the maintenance and troubleshooting of the machine is taken care of by the data centre.

Virtual Private Server Hosting: VPS Hosting is just a part of a main server node that is a much bigger, powerful, dedicated server which is split up into various virtual environments. Although, it is possible to use a VPS plan to become a reseller, such accounts are usually supposed to be for development purposes. This is because, compared to other forms of hosting, the resources here are limited. This can be good option to have while your company is expanding and growing.

Reseller Hosting: This form of hosting is typically the cheapest and easiest method to start a hosting business. You can manage several clients by using one control panel. Your clients can also access the control panel and make updates to their service. A lot of clients may not know much in this area and so will be totally dependent on you for such updates. This helps you earn an extra buck. 

Starting your reseller business

If you do not know much about what all happens in web hosting, domain services, and email management, you must spend some time researching and learning the full scope of what all you will be undertaking in this business. Several web designers and coders today look at getting into a reseller business parallelly as that gives them complete control of their client’s web presence and web management.

Now, like any other business, the reseller web hosting business needs a start-up capital backed by systematic efforts. For an infrastructure, you will need:

• A reliable, powerful computer or a laptop if you are planning to work from multiple locations.
• The best, high speed internet, you can afford.
• A phone and a fax line totally dedicated to your business. A phone that is internet-enabled, so that you can receive emails on the go.
• The important documents, a tax license, incorporation papers, and occupational license.
• A bank account and its debit card in your company’s name.
• To be able to take credit cards, you should have a merchant account and gateway software.
• Last, a private work area where you can work without interruption.

3) Select a Reseller Hosting hosting service from the alternatives given above on the basis of what your budget allows and the number of customers you are expecting within the first three years.

4) Get in touch with a good web host. I underline this because this is probably the most important step. You must consider the following while choosing a web hosting company for which you would resell:

• Pick up a reputed company by checking out their track record.
• We suggest preferring a company that owns a data centre, as such a company is able to communicate better with accounting, maintenance, support, and security departments. The readymade monitoring of all functions saves you time and frustration.
• Does it provide uninterrupted support with offers like live chat, email ticketing, and also phone support?
• Does the company suit whichever platform — Windows or Linux — you choose to work with?
• Does it offer software options such as an accounting management software, a good control panel, and web development tools?
• Does the company have a manageable monthly plan and hassle-free payment options?

6) Another important step in reseller web hosting business is to set customer pricing. This can be tricky as there are companies offering all kinds of pricing options. Therefore, do a good research and look at all the factors carefully before dividing up server cost and operational costs. Remember, websites that need secure certificates for e-commerce, or those who need bigger space and bandwidth can be charged a higher rate.

7) Build a website with a helpdesk for customer issues and flexible payment options for automated billing which will make your payment tracking easy. Also, advertise your site. Start with people you know to keep things easy in the beginning.

Conclusion

After all of the beginning steps are taken care of for your reseller web hosting business, there is very little work of maintenance of the account every month, as the same checks are required in the consecutive months. Plus, you can save yourself the cost of buying a server and rent space on a server in the datacenter, which is mostly on a monthly plan. At the same time, it is a 24/7 business. So, you will have to be prompt and ready.

So, when are you going ahead with your new business?