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Becoming
A Web Hosting Reseller
So you would
like to get into the lucrative business of being a web hosting provider.
Welcome to the club. There are many companies and individuals trying to
break into the web hosting resellers market today. Reselling web hosting
services offers you the ability to start your own internet-based business
selling web space, but without the hassles or monetary expense of managing
your own equipment.
But now that
you’ve made that decision, what do you do? Where do you even start when it
comes to creating a new business for this purpose? I hope to provide you
with guidelines that can help you to achieve your goals.
The first thing
to do is decide on what it is you wish to offer. Some resellers just want
to offer hosting solutions for a cheap price hoping that they can make
money on quantity. Alternatively, other resellers are design firms who
have decided to offer hosting to augment their design offerings as well as
open the door for additional customers. There are many reasons for
becoming a reseller, and a multitude of options that can be offered to
your customers. It is a very good idea to know who your prospective
customer is before you even get started.
In addition to
deciding on what it is you wish to offer, the next step is to consider how
you want to offer it. Many resellers offer different flavors of reseller
hosting. Here are a couple of the more common varieties:
• Agent Partners
– This is when you become a “partner” with a web host, and resell their
services. It is your job to find the customers, and when they sign up they
become customers of your web host. You earn a recurring commission on the
services they purchase. It is well known that you are not the actual
hosting provider, just a partner.
• Private Label
– If you would like your customers to believe that you are the actual
provider, or do not wish for them to know whose services you resell then
this is the option for you. The actual provider will supply you with the
information you need and the appropriate tools to transparently offer
their services as your own. It is not common knowledge that you are a
reseller or whose services you resell.
Once you have
decided who you will cater to and what kind of image you would like to
portray, the next step would be to begin to research hosting providers who
can accommodate your wishes. For example, if you wish to offer services
for ASP developers, you will need to find a hosting provider who offers
windows-based hosting and who can offer the reseller program you desire.
Selecting a
provider may not be as simple as it sounds. There are many hosts available
to choose from, some better than others. It is highly recommended that you
find some references from the ones that match your intentions, to help
narrow down your selection.
Once you have
selected a provider you need to decide what you want your website to
consist of. If you are skilled in web design, then you have an edge in
this arena. Most do not, however, and need to employ web designers to
build their site for them.
By becoming
familiar with the options available by your provider, and by researching
other web reseller’s websites, you can build a site map of how your web
site should be architected. If you will be having a web design firm handle
creation of the website for you, this is imperative if you would like
receive an all-inclusive quote.
Be sure you know
what it is you want from your designer. Some of them will offer services
such as logo design and banner ad creation, as well. Ask for example work
and references. It is also helpful if your designer has experience with
web hosting sites. First impressions are everything when it comes to web
hosting customers, so this is very important. You want to make sure to
select a firm that can deliver what it is you need, with professional
quality and at a fair price.
Once your site
it created, your final step is advertising. You can have a professionally
designed website and outstanding hosting plans to sell, but without proper
advertising your potential customers will never know you exist. There are
many ways to advertise on the internet. These include submitting your
website to search engines, doing direct advertising with select web sites,
and banner advertising with different exchanges. You will need to weigh
the benefits of each along with your budget.
By following the
above guidelines, you should be well on your way to a constructive and
profitable web hosting venture. This is not to say that these guidelines
are a sure-fire way to become an instant success. Any successful business
requires effort and dedication. But by taking these guidelines and
applying the right amount of good old-fashioned hard work and
determination, you have the makings of lucrative venture
View our list of Top Reseller Hosting Companies
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