Reseller Hosting

There is a much easier way of offering hosting services to your customers. The easiest way of doing this is to sign up for a reseller hosting account. Reseller accounts can host multiple domains and websites on a single server.

By registering a reseller hosting account it is possible to sell hosting space without owning servers yourself. It is also possible to make money from this method and it’s much easier than setting up your own hosting company.

Reseller Control Panel

Most reseller hosting accounts include an internet based control panel. This makes it very easy to create new accounts and make adjustments to the settings of your hosting account. The most popular control panel used for reseller hosting is WHM as this integrates nicely with cPanel.

The reseller control panel is slightly more complicated than a basic hosting control panel. The business reseller control panel needs to be used to create new users, suspend accounts, back up all the sites on the server and install new updated services.

Finding Reseller Hosting Accounts

If you are interested in a reseller hosting account then you will need to take your time and choose carefully. Your reseller hosting account will be part of your business. This means that you will need to make ensure that it offers everything you need for the lowest price possible.

Important things to look out for include the following:

• Reliability – It’s essential that you can offer a reliable service to your customers. Look out for a service with an uptime guarantee.
• Cost – It is possible to find reseller hosting packages in a variety of different price brackets.  Choose one which offers everything you need.  Avoid the very cheap services on eBay though because these are normally very unreliable.
• Automation – Some of the better hosting accounts allow you to automate the process of signing up new customers.  This is very useful since your customers do not need to wait to use their account. WHMCS can be used with WHM hosting packages; this is worth looking for from your reseller hosting company because a separate license is very expensive.

Reseller hosting accounts can be utilized as a good way of starting a hosting business from scratch. When your business expands it’s then possible to purchase your own hardware and servers so you can continue to offer more services.

Related posts:

• October 9, 2009 – A Look at The Reseller Hosting Market via WHM Hosting
• February 14, 2011 – Customizing Control Panels to Boost Reseller Income
• January 13, 2011 – Starting a Web Hosting Company
• June 29, 2010 – Leveraging Social Communities for Successful Reseller Hosting
• December 7, 2009 – Top Three Control Panels to Consider When Choosing a Web Host
• May 21, 2009 – Control Panel Customization with RVSkin
• April 27, 2009 – Starting Your Own Business Through Reseller Hosting
• February 27, 2009 – Control Panel Options for Resellers
• January 26, 2009 – Why You Need a Good Control Panel
• October 27, 2008 – Reseller Control Panels

Being a middle man in the hosting industry has it’s challenges, as it can be very difficult to create an image of self-sufficiency and professionalism, without revealing the true nature of your reselling business. The are however ways to create a social stigma that can aid in the development of a successful reseller hosting company.

Leveraging Forums

Perhaps the best way to build a reputation and solicit new customers is to become a valued member of multiple web hosting and webmaster forums. These forums are teeming with other online business owners, and are a perfect platform for the expansion of any online service-based company. Not only will you find plenty of prospective clients on these forums, but you’ll undoubtedly learn a few things from the senior members as well.

Becoming a senior member yourself also has it’s advantages, such as becoming a trusted and reputable source of information. Simply posting a link to your hosting site in your forum signature can bring several clients per day. Obviously the more forums you are a member of, the more visitors your hosting site will receive.

Leveraging the Local Business Market

Another way to gather clients is to utilize the local market. Studies have shown that 90 percent of local business owners would like to bring their business to the worldwide web, but simply don’t have the resources or knowledge to do so. This represents a largely untapped source of reseller clients that would jump at the opportunity to create an online presence. For example, you could offer a service in which you set up a website, run advertising and provide the hosting services in one inclusive package. This kind of all-in-one deal is an excellent way to generate interest in your company on a local level. Advertising in newspapers, phone books and local business directories are just a few of the ways you can begin soliciting local customers. You can even attend business meetups in your area and post ads in the local online classifieds.

Separating Yourself From the Rest

Perhaps the most important thing to remember is that in order to be successful you absolutely must be different than the rest. Even if this means offering plans that are not common or branding your control panel and content management system with a unique logo. Making your services different than the rest will give u a unique advantage over the competition. This is especially true in the web hosting industry which is one of the most competitive industries on the internet.

Related posts:

• January 17, 2011 – A Detailed Look at Reseller Web Hosting
• September 1, 2011 – Budget Web Hosting: Is It Worth the Buck?
• August 3, 2011 – Zopim Live Chat launches reseller platform for webhosting companies
• April 11, 2011 – Three Ways to Efficiently Market a Web Hosting Business
• March 29, 2011 – Expanding Your Client Base by Marketing to Businesses Owners
• March 4, 2011 – Three Unique Features That Make Reseller Hosting Plans Desirable
• January 16, 2011 – Web Hosting and its Types
• January 13, 2011 – How to Make Money with Web Hosting
• January 13, 2011 – Starting a Web Hosting Company
• January 13, 2011 – A Sundry of Options for Web Hosting

What is a Control Panel?

A control panel is a software program that allows you to administer your hosting account.  This type of software acts as the back-end of your account and can only be seen by you.  Nearly every web hosting provider offers some type of control panel though not all programs are created equal.

Some applications are clunky, poorly designed and limit the control you have over the account.  The average software used in the modern day hosting industry will grant you various administrative powers including the ability to create email accounts, add domains, upload files via FTP, backup your website and more.  There is a big difference between the software used for a typical shared hosting account and a reseller account.  However, two of the most popular control panels tend to perform well in both environments – cPanel and Plesk.

cPanel vs Plesk

cPanel and Plesk are respectively the most widely used control panels on the market.  Both are very powerful and offer a GUI (graphical user interface) that can be easily accessed by nearly any web browser.  Both provide you with basic options for configuring your account and advanced configurations as well.  And while the interfaces of both programs are clean and easy to maintain, these two programs are very distinct.

A reseller account that comes with the cPanel package offers the highest level of administrative capabilities in a control panel known as WHM (Web Host Manager).  Unlike the cPanel software on a shared hosting account, WHM is strictly intended for the administrator as it interacts directly with the server.  This program allows you to create individual web hosting accounts, perform backups for the entire system and also make configurations for a number of services hosted on the server.  Your web hosting clients are provided with the cPanel interface which gives them administrative control over their sites.  One of cPanel’s best features is the Fantastico script installer which gives individual users the ability to incorporate of number of free programs such as the WordPress blogging application and the Joomla CMS.  The latest version of Fantastico comes loaded with over 40 programs.

Plesk has established a solid reputation for being stable and secure.  Resellers and end-users both appreciate its simple interface and ability to create professional sites.  Plesk grants control on four different levels: Administrator, Client/Reseller, Domain Owner and Mail User.  Users at each level have control over their own operation  For instance, control at the mail user level will allow clients to access messages, change their password and configure autoresponders all without needing to access the control panel intended for the domain owner.  Plesk comes packed with features and also supports a number of add-ons including Site Builder, a module that offers more than 300 templates, allowing users to create sites without any knowledge of FTP or HTML.

Conclusion

As a reseller, the control panel is one of the most powerful weapons in your arsenal.  With the backing of a reliable program, managing your clients will be much easier, putting you a step closer to becoming successful in the web hosting industry.

Related posts:

• April 6, 2009 – Introduction to Webmin
• January 26, 2009 – Why You Need a Good Control Panel
• November 3, 2008 – A Control Panel for Your Dedicated Server
• January 6, 2012 – Control Panel: Advantages & Disadvantages
• September 29, 2011 – Using cPanel to Setup Cron Jobs
• September 25, 2011 – What To Remember When Moving To A New Control Panel
• September 17, 2011 – CloudLinux 6.1 Launches
• September 13, 2011 – Choosing Between cPanel and Plesk
• September 7, 2011 – The Control Panel B Team – A World Beyond cPanel
• January 17, 2011 – A Detailed Look at Reseller Web Hosting