Start a web hosting Company?

How would I go about it?

[Leweq22]

Hello all,

I have a problem that I am sure some of you here would be able to help me with. Basically, I want to set up a web hosting company, it seems to me the best way to go abaout this is to set up as a reseller. Now, if I do become a reseller for another company, can I pre-install scripts on the server space I offer to my customers (for example, can I pre-install a CMS system such as Mambo on the webspace so that it is instantly set up when customers purchase)?

Also, is setting up as a Reseller the best way to start a hosting company? Any information, resources, ebooks or anything else you could tell me relating to this subject would be extremely usefull.

I look forward to your replies,

Thank You
Lewis Q

[rogerd]

Lewis, you are certainly on the right track by deciding to go the reseller route - when you are getting started, you'll benefit from the experience and 24/7 support of a larger firm.

Some hosts offer formal reseller plans under which they can support or even bill your customers. Others will just sell you a bulk hosting package which you can use or resell as you like.

Each plan will vary on the level of access you are granted. For maximum flexibility, consider a dedicated server option. Even without a dedicated server, though, you may find a shared hosting package that gives you what you need. Be aware that the hosting business is very competitive and relatively challenging to promote. Good luck.

[Fortune Hunter]

Your best bet is to try and start/grow the business off your design clients. They will be the easiest to start with and probably the least likely to question the pricing.

Most of my clients are small to medium sized businesses and they don't understand one hosting company from another. They simply want me to take care of everything for them. I buy it as 8.00 per month or less and rebill it to my clients at 29.95. They pay it and I take care of everything including the resolution of technical support issues as they arise. It works pretty good and I generate a little extra cash per month.

[Import Export]

Unless you know something hundreds of thousands of other companies don't about sales or reseller programs, why enter such an extremly saturated market?

-The best of luck...

[nycweb2222]

Yes hosting is a very saturated market. One problem is that everyone and their grandma thinks they can run a hosting business. It is extremely easy to start up but extremely hard to be successful and make money.

A lot of hosts compete on price and not value. They charge $3 a month for unlimited bandwidth and space. Sooner or later these hosts all fail.

So if you are thinking of starting a hosting biz, the first step is to write a business plan. You should also try to target a niche market or convert your existing web design clients to web hosting. That is what I have done and my hosting has been extremely successful by my standards (I only host my own web design clients).

[Leweq22]

So if you are thinking of starting a hosting biz, the first step is to write a business plan. You should also try to target a niche market

And that is exactly what I plan to do. I have found some good resources relating to becoming a reseller recently but I would just like to know what tips you can give me or what/who (as in companys) I should avoid?

Thanks again

[Leosghost]

If you don't want to become a rapid casualty in this business ..unless you know a huge amount about security or "security holez"...
The first rule is resell from a dedicated , managed , daily backed up , split double disc , state of the art system ....til you get used to the rest of it ..
Oh yeah ..and don't let your customers use IRC ..they don't need it whatever they may tell you ...and be very severe about who gets to run what in "cron" ...
And remember ..its not the HD and how many sites you could fit on it that counts... its how the sites run and what they run ....and how slow it gets with high demand sites .....
I work with ( as a freelance )an outfit that hosts thousands of sites ..in their early days they nearly went to the wall by not understanding security ...( I still occasionally have to tell them to pull a site which is putting the rest of a server at risk ) ....

And don't host on windows servers ...leave that market to masochists....sasser wont be the last of it's type ...

[denisdekat]

you should make a business plan.

You would have about 35k competitors apparently. It seems to be a buyers market, yet still, if you provide great service you should do well. Most web hosting companies suck at support ;)

[edited by: stuntdubl at 4:49 pm (utc) on May 8, 2004]
[edit reason] snipped url [/edit]

[danieljean]

This is something I've researched, as customers have looked to me for hosting as well as custom programming.

I suggested to one a much better deal with another vendor, and he was very annoyed. He didn't care about price- he just wanted someone that could answer the phone whenever there was a problem, someone he could trust.

Until I find an outstanding reseller agreement, I am not likely to go deeper into that business, however lucrative it can be. If I did however, I would be competing on service rather than price.

[Morgenhund]

You should visit a nice site called **** -- they have a forum for professional webhosting owners where you will be answered by people already in industry.

Uups, the've banned site name. Nice.

[Leosghost]

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