In today’s digital world every organisation needs a website and for those sites to be online, they have to be hosted. Reseller hosting is a solution offered by web hosting companies that enables businesses, such as website designers, developers, SEO specialists and so forth to host their client’s websites. This can become a lucrative part of these companies business models and for those who haven’t yet considered reseller hosting, this post will give a comprehensive guide to what’s involved.
What is reseller hosting?
Reseller hosting is a hosting solution that enables companies to host their client’s websites. To become a reseller, you would purchase a reseller hosting package and this would provide you with enough storage and computing resources to set up your own, small-scale web hosting company. This way, you can host the websites of your customers or those of other organisations and individuals.
Why should I consider reseller hosting?
For companies that already look after their client’s online interests in one form or another, reseller hosting lets you offer a broader and more comprehensive range of services. This can be far more attractive to customers who would rather deal with a single agent that offers an end-to-end solution than a multitude of different providers.
As reselling is white labelled, none of your customers need to know who your hosting service is based with. Indeed, it is possible to create your own hosting brand and set up hosting plans that are more attuned to your client’s needs than the packages they can purchase elsewhere. These can include services like hosting setup, software installation, backend management and domain management all of which can be charged for.
How do I deal with my customer’s technical problems?
If you are a web developer or designer, you may already have experience of setting up and managing your client’s websites on another web host’s server. However, if technical issues arise that you are unsure how to deal with, the big advantage of reseller hosting is that your host will provide all the support you need this will include 24/7 technical support.
Reseller hosting is important to web hosts and they ensure that the packages come with everything you will need. This includes taking care of backend management and the setup and maintenance of hardware and network infrastructure. In addition, they’ll also monitor security and patch and update your software.
What are the features of a reseller package?
What’s included in a reseller hosting package will depend on which hosting provider you purchase it from. You will also find that hosts offer a range of packages with varying storage space.
The main features of a reseller package include disk space, unlimited bandwidth, white label branding, email hosting and a range of security tools. Also, look for plans which offer unlimited email accounts and databases. Many packages include cPanel/WHM for the reseller host and some hosts also provide cPanel for the end user as well. Resellers will be able to use WHM to customise client plans and accounts and undertake client’s website management.
Technical support, which needs to be available 24/7, is normally included with the package. Daily backups are essential to restore your client’s websites if they go down, so choose a package that includes free daily backups.
Other things to look for in a reseller host
Aside from looking at what’s included in a reseller hosting package, you also need to take a closer look at any web host before you make a choice of provider. One of the most important things you will want to offer your customers is a reliable service and for that reason, you’ll need to make sure that there are uptime guarantees of at least 99.95% for the package you are interested in.
Another thing to consider is the contract you take out. You don’t want to be tied to any specific vendor or package should you need to make a change or want to upgrade. For this reason, look at the minimum contract length on offer. Ideally, you want a provider that doesn’t require any minimum.
Finally, check out the vendor’s reputation by looking at their customer reviews. If you are going to set up a reseller business that is reliant on another web host, you need to make sure its existing customers are satisfied with the quality of the services it provides.
Conclusion
Reseller hosting is the perfect solution for web developers, designers and other internet related businesses who want to extend their range of services. Reseller packages provide you with everything you need to host your client’s websites without the need to set up your own web server or develop the in-house expertise to operate it. If you are interested in becoming a hosting reseller, take a look at our range of reseller plans.
