Reseller web hosting involves three parties: the web hosting company, the reseller, and the client. The web hosting company manages data centers, servers, and resources. The reseller controls the hosting account and sells the hosting services as its own. The client buys the hosting services from the reseller to run their website.
If you’re interested in being a reseller, using a reseller service, or are just weighing your options, here’s what you need to know:
How It Works
When done well, reseller hosting has many advantages. Resellers work directly with hosting companies to manage their hosting accounts. Companies often offer resellers discounts for buying plans in bulk and act as a salesperson for them. Resellers then sell the host company’s server resources as their own.
Features of Typical Reseller Hosting Plans
Many hosting companies offer reseller hosting plans. Some features of these plans include:
- Disk space
- Bandwidth
- Account management
- Domain hosting
The hosting company will also permit the reseller to advertise their features and resources as their own. It could include tools such as control panels, monitoring tools, and email account management.
Why People Choose Reseller Hosting
In general, people choose to go with resellers because they offer packages with additional services. For example, they might include hosting as part of a package that includes website design. It means clients get a one-stop shop. Additionally, resellers will communicate with the hosting company for their clients. It can take a lot of stress off a customer’s back.
What to Search For in a Reseller Plan
Since it’s your name on the hosting service, you’re going to want to make sure you go with a hosting company that has everything you need to be successful and maintain a positive reputation. Some things you should look for when shopping reseller plans are:
- Uptime Guarantees: you should select a web host that guarantees a minimum of 99.59% uptime. It will ensure your clients don’t experience any downtime and you don’t receive any complaints.
- cPanel or Other Control Panel: you want your reseller business to be as simple as possible, so you should look for a hosting company that offers a control panel like cPanel or another recognized control panel.
- Customer Support: to keep your clients happy, you will need to solve their problems as fast as possible. In situations where you can’t solve the issue yourself, you’ll need to rely on customer support from your host. Therefore, you should choose a host that offers 24/7/365 live support.
- Pricing: there are a lot of web hosts out there. And as a result, there are some great deals to be had. Research and analyze as many prices, billing types, and fees to find the option that works best for you.
Getting Started with Reseller Web Hosting
Reseller hosting requires a lot of research and planning, but it isn’t that hard to manage once you get started. Here are the steps you need to take to get your reseller hosting business off the ground:
- Determine who your target market for your reseller hosting will be. Will you sell hosting as part of a package of other services like web design, or will you market hosting to another type of client like WordPress bloggers?
- Research web hosts to find the best pricing, support, uptime, control panel, and features.
- Create a hosting package that contains bandwidth, disk space, and other services you want to offer your clients.
- Brand your hosting service, so it stands out.
- Price your hosting service so you make a profit.
Conclusion
Reseller hosting is a partnership between you and a hosting company. The web host company provides the servers, and you provide the customers. It may seem like there’s a lot involved with reseller hosting, but in truth, all you need is a competent web host. If you have that, everything else is about customer service.
For instance, when you decide how to package your hosting options, you’re thinking about the customer’s needs and how best you can serve them. Likewise, when managing client accounts, you’re doing so with their best interests in mind. Therefore, reseller hosting is a way to meet the needs of your client more efficiently.
