For successfully being able to run a good reseller web hosting company, you need to have a sound knowledge of the science of computers, besides patience in abundance. After the innovation of the Control Panel, many people may think that a sound technical knowledge is no more the necessity, as the Control Panel makes the job of getting a pre-built server, and thus hosting a site, very easy. But things are a bit complex. Though you can get a dedicated server on lease and after having a good knowledge of Control Panel, you actually can commence hosting of sites, but always keep in mind that certain limitations are associated with the Control Panel.
To develop a flourishing long-term web-hosting corporation, keep in mind the following ten tips:
Step 1: Select a platform which you wish to use
You can consider using UNIX over Windows since the former is an open source program and thus cheaper, apart from having a stable environment for web hosting. Though most of the programs can run on both of these, ASP, MS-SQL, .NET, etc. are supported only by Windows. If you aren't sure about which host you want to use, you can select a web host that would offer both the operating systems under a single plan.
Step 2: Decide on the Control Panel of your choice
Control Panels differ from the easy ones that are extremely accessible and have essential characteristics together with the organizational ones and also the multifaceted ones for example the H-Sphere System.
Step 3: Choose the reseller-hosting contributor
For starting a web hosting company, this decision assumes a very significant importance. Keep in mind that your web hosting company will command equal status as your preferred reseller hosting company. Customers never assume that companies offering cheap packages are better. Some important areas where the company should score include:
* Customer support: Ensure that the company has round-the-clock telephone support for the customers. If not, they should have a good email support with quick response to queries. These factors will give the customers a fair idea of how the company will be able to help them when they need them.
* Control Panel and the platform: Make sure that your Control Panel has many features which you can use.
* Flexibility and features: Make sure that the initial cost that you charge to the customers includes enough bandwidth, not only for them to begin smoothly, but even be sufficient when their business expands.
* Reputation of the company: A good company always has customer forum where prospective customers can check out the forum and talk to other members about what their experience with the company has been like.
* Experience of the company in this field: Obviously, the longer the company has been in the field of providing web hosting services, the better it is.
Step 4: Get your hosting plans set up and decide on matters of price
Though you might want to offer a host of plans to the customers, don't overload them with too many of them to select from. For starters, offering three to five plans would be sufficient. Also have a close look at the competitors and keep a check on what they are up to. You can also try finding a niche of the customers that is still left unsatisfied. It is fine enough if you oversell your resources if you can make up for it by charging the individuals with services like web stats, domain registrations, IP addresses, etc.
Step 5: Get a business website developed
Make sure to keep your website as simple as possible, and also ensure that it is user-friendly. Customers always look for something which they want, so make sure that you satisfy their needs. So it would be a better option not to waste time on telling the prospective customers about you. Rather, you can use the space to tell them how you will be able to solve their needs with affordable price and good service. You might want to use as little words as possible, but make sure that the main page has a minimum of 500 words. This would be very crucial for getting results in search engines. You can either design a website by yourself, or hire the services of a professional.
Step 6: Get the site ready for e-Commerce
You shall have to get an SSl certificate, apart from a payment gateway and a merchant account to be able to accept payments online. These are some e-commerce features which you should equip your site with.
Step 7: Give your clients a good backup system
Getting the backup of your clients is essential as far as web-hosting plans are concerned. You can get either a policy or a Control Panel with a ready helpdesk, like H-Sphere. For starters you can use these service system that you will be producing, but after that it's your choice. You can have a column of Frequently Asked Questions [FAQ's] that will solve some preliminary troubles of the clients. Ensure an efficient email system and a fast phone backing to solve the clients' problems in a short time.
Step 8: Preparing the expenses of the customers
You will need a billing software with a merchant gateway for this purpose, principally the one which integrates with your Control Panel like the H-Sphere. A few examples are:
* H-Sphere: IT includes a full-fledged billing system which gives you full control over all resources and enables you to plan prices which you would like to charge from the customers.
* PayPal: This system is a moderately easier one that is well matched with many Control Panels.
* Authorize Net: This is a flexible gateway system that is compatible with all major credit card providers and also with most Control Panels.
Step 9: Prepare an email for greetings
Make a welcome greeting email a compulsion for the clients. In that email, you should take in the following points:
* full detail of the plan the customer has selected
* the registrar and the DNS changes
* a username along with a temporary password
* a direct link to the Control Panel
* links to the important areas like customer support, FAQ's, etc.
Step 10: Promoting your website
Promoting a website is an expensive matter and eats up a great amount of time but it is very essential as high-quality advertising will make sure that clients come to the site continually. Remember that website promotion is not a temporary matter done once, but it is a continuous process. Some details you have to keep in mind are:
* attracting search engine results
* affiliate programs and paid advertising
* newsletters
These tips are the very fundamental ones and are exemplary not comprehensive. Making a web-hosting site is demanding, but not unattainable if you are dedicated to the matter. Several fresh businesses are forthcoming every day but it has not yet reached the level of completeness, as efficient corporations are still absent. Keep in mind the customer demands and then of course, unconfirmed reports can do a lot! Bear in mind, the client is the master!
The massive business of web hosting is a world-wide endeavor practiced by many companies large and small. There are specific needs in equipment in order to compete in the competitive field of web hosting. Web hosts are not limited to simple service provisions and client web site hosting. They often provide many other ways to make money for its clients. Being the highly competitive business it is they are always looking for more ways to utilize services to make money.
The opportunities are wide-spread for the web host that has the provisions available to create them. These services increase income and create improved relationships with their customers as well.
The list below includes just a few of the ways web hosts can make additional income.
Extra Ways to Earn Money with a Web Hosting Service
Reselling: Reselling is a fantastic and fairly simple way for a web host to earn extra money without too much effort. The web host first purchases a hosting package for a reasonable amount and then sells it to someone else for a larger fee. Web masters and web hosts make a significant income from this technique. It has single-handedly been known to create riches almost overnight for savvy web masters. It's not quite as simple as it sounds, however. There are a few things that must be considered. There is a sizeable upfront investment required to start up this side of a web host business. Space must be purchased before it can be sold, and the profit won't be realized until that space can be resold to a client. The host needs to have ample space on his or her server as well. If a web host has acquired enough bandwidth and server space they can then sell portions of that to clients who will in return pay them on a monthly basis.
The reseller earns money in much the same way as the original host. Monthly fees from their customers are pocketed by the seller. Since they have the original host providing things like IT and equipment they are free from that expense. Their income comes from the clients that purchase the service and setting up those accounts for them with the 'hidden' original provider. A reseller is usually offered space by the origin host at a discount that is often as much as 10%. The reseller's profits depend upon the size of the space offered and the bandwidth allowed.
This is an advantageous position to be in as the reseller does not have to provide for assistance and support in their packages. With the development of this industry, and the heavy competition developing some resellers are beginning to realize the need to offer these services however, in order to remain competitive. Reselling has a low overhead since it can be operated largely from home. All that is needed is the initial investment of origin host space. Some reseller companies grow so fast, however that they end up needing outside office space to contain the business.
Advertisement: The host can also put ads on their free websites provided to clients thereby playing off the traffic they bring in. The disadvantage to the free site hosting is that most of the sites that use them are small business, or personal users that do not generate enough traffic to generate large incomes from the advertising.
Other Services to Generate Extra Income:
* Optimization: This can be a useful service to provide extra income for a web host. Clients are often unfamiliar with methods used to generate more traffic-but they know they want the traffic. Since they don't know how to get the traffic a web host can give them information on SEO (search engine optimization). Clients then can be given the top search engines and the host can charge a fee for submitting URLs to the most popular ones. The most often submitted engines are Google, MSN, Yahoo, etc.
* Template creation: Established web hosts can increase their income by providing cheap services to the customer. This income is often more to give the hosting company more exposure. The host offers their customers the ability to purchase one of their special templates in order to create a visually unique and appealing web site, or sells them a membership to one of the big template services and gets a kick-back on that as well.
* Selling domain names: Selling domain names to customers can is a great way to earn extra money. Web hosts who do not offer this are missing out on a large portion of their possible income. Registration for the transfer of a domain name, as well as the original registration of the name can definitely make money for a web host. There are many private domain name companies to work with to provide this service.
* Providing Site Builders: Offering an expansive web creation wizard that is user friendly is a great way to expand a web host's income. Clients want visually appealing sites that they can create themselves and this service will also lure them to the web host. By acting as a easy access, one stop service and offering all the items a customer needs to build a site they can create a big reputation quickly. Customers these days are very savvy and know what to look for in a good site builder so it must offer all of the common features.
Note of Caution: Don't oversell
No matter what method is adopted for web hosting money making, it has to be remembered that there is no overselling. This is such a situation where a web host offers space to large number of clients but ultimately fails to retain the service. Too many clients using limited space can be a dangerous situation where there is a high chance for the entire system to crash along with the business of the web hosts. Too many web hosts cannot simply sustain simultaneously in a single server. The bandwidth and the space of the server have to be judged beforehand. The reputation of a hosting company depends on these factors to a large extent.
Web hosting is often a legitimate and profitable technique of earning money online. The nature and type of service however, depends on the knowledge of the host along with the equipment and programs he/she has access to. It is advisable that a web hot begins with a small business and then process to a large one with time.
Matt Hedges has sinced written about articles on various topics from About Web Hosting, About Web Hosting and The Internet. About the author: Matt Hedges is lead writer for WebHostingMadness.com, a site, which helps users find the. Matt Hedges's top article generates over 40500 views. to your Favourites.