New to the business

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Posted by bestyet, 01-06-2008, 05:43 PM
I am looking to learn about the webhosting business as I would like to do this as my business from home. I have my own websites but I am not a web designer and I really don't want to become one. (Maybe, I would work with a designer though.) You all started somewhere and are probably very "techie" people but where do the non-techie people begin? I am thinking about selling more personal or small business websites with probably just 5 to 10 or so webpages and charge around $5.00 month. Is there a webhosting company that specializes in working with people like me? Are there any online classes? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.
Posted by rv_irl, 01-06-2008, 06:00 PM
Best bet is to begin researching the industry and decide how much you want to invest both financially and time. Decide whether you want to be a host or an affiliate of a host. Decide how you will deliver your services, to whom you will deliver your services and at what price.. Lots and lots to consider. I recommend you browse through the "Running a webhosting business" section. Last edited by rv_irl; 01-06-2008 at 06:12 PM.
Posted by kjawaid, 01-06-2008, 06:18 PM
I agree with Rameen you should check Running a webhosting business section. Plus you have to know that in the webhosting business you can't manage the package according to number of pages or website size its all about Disk Space, Bandwidth and other resource allocation
Posted by bestyet, 01-06-2008, 06:36 PM
Thank you. I didn't know such a useful source was available. I do know about bandwith etc.; I was just trying to describe the market I would like to serve. I also know I would like a host agency that doesn't want to run from those of us who are inexperienced.
Posted by 040Hosting, 01-06-2008, 06:53 PM
bestyet, Everyone needs to learn, and so will you if you really want to. You atleast found the right place to find information. Now all you need is something to offer to your clients and show the world Good luck with your new business.
Posted by Atarim, 01-06-2008, 07:48 PM
Sounds like your best bet might be to sign up as an affiliate with a host that has an affiliate program. That way, you can earn referral fees for the customers you bring without having to manage a thing. Most hosts with affiliate programs pay large one-time fees, though some do recurring fees instead.
Posted by iHubNet, 01-07-2008, 07:49 PM
Yeah.. check running business section and it will give you idea.. If you already know basics.. and just don't know tech parts.., you could find the host with end-user support which host will provide direct support to your client with customized your business brand.., so your client think you are providing support directly... In this way, you just deal with sales/billing/marketing... once it grows, you could provide out dedicated server + outsourcing.. good luck.
Posted by Asher S, 01-08-2008, 01:32 AM
Looks like you want to sell hosting but don't want to do the technical work. A reseller plan usually works well with starters, since you don't have to manage a server. Whatever little technical help is needed, your webhosting company would be more than happy to help you on that. Some hosts have end user support as well if you want to go that route, but usually you can always forward the question to the hosting company you're with (if they don't provide that option). I'd suggest reading up on basics like DNS, Mail Exchangers, Nameserver configuration, basics about a web server, user guides of control panels in the market (popular ones). That should give you a bit of a grasp about the technologies. Good luck with your question
Posted by ldcdc, 01-08-2008, 01:52 AM
There's the affiliate programs that you could join, but there are hosting providers with reseller programs, that do give you the ability to have a hosting brand of your own, while they take care of virtually everything. You're still basically a salesman, but as an affiliate you'd just be sending people over to the hosting provider.
Posted by 1Host, 01-08-2008, 03:48 AM
As other have suggested you may want to look for a reseller host that will provide end-user support to your customers. You can also find companies and individuals (check the hosting related offers section here) that will do a lot of the "techie" work for you, while you concentrate on the marketing and other areas of running your business.
Posted by Dotex, 01-08-2008, 05:17 AM
I've had interest in web hosting for a couple of years myself and havent done anything about it. Finally I set up a reseller account with HostGator and I've learnt quite a lot from this forum and other webhosting portals. Good luck with your bizness bestyet
Posted by bestyet, 01-08-2008, 07:56 PM
Thanks for the great advice. Looks like reading the Running a Webhosting Business section and a reseller host with support is the way to start. Any opinions on the software that comes with a reseller account where customers can create their own website easily?
Posted by cyberdog, 01-09-2008, 10:15 PM
RVSiteBuilder! It works great and our customers enjoy it. Very pretty and easy to use ajax front-end and very pretty and easy to use back end. Heck the command line interface is even pretty, ha. This is the easiest to integrate with WHM/cPanel and is fairly inexpensive. You could also offer some sort of stand-alone desktop program for making sites available for download for your customers but this isn't very popular.
Posted by dbihosting, 01-17-2008, 03:42 PM
1) Do your homework. 2) Find a good reseller. 3) Good luck!
Posted by johannes, 01-17-2008, 07:34 PM
Get yourself a cheap reseller package for $5 or lower and tryout WHM and mess around a bit until you understand how to use cpanel/WHM and fantastico. That is not much to spend and then at least you get the basic understanding how reseller hosting works. When i started out someone gave me a small reseller for a while and that allowed me to mess around. i dont sell reseller hosting but i can setup a small reseller package for you on my vps although i dont have fantastico installed and only cpanel/WHM. It will be small and you can use it while to get the feel of it and if you think hosting is for you can switch to a different provider. It will be my way of giving back as someone helped me for . As i have only a while back started on a vps don't expect fireworks from my side but i do know how cpanel/WHM work. Actually the best way to learn is to jump into the deep end and go for it. You will need a domain though. If you want some guys that will help you try; prontohost.net (have rvsitebuilder) qoozz.com (have rvsitebuilder) scalahosting.com (the offer end user support) or hostingpuppy.com for $1.5 a month Wish you all the best