tcn..
The web hosting industry is a very competitive market, though one that
can be very rewarding if you follow the steps involved to ensure
success. It is far from a get-rich quick plan (not implying that is
your idea). It requires work and dedication. For someone who is
looking to get started in the hosting business, I would recommend you
take a look at reselling for an exisiting host. There are several
advantages to this method, not the least of which is cost. By
reselling, you are not required to spend what could thousands of
dollars on hardware, office space, bandwidth, maintenance, support,
and the other costs involved with ownership. By going this route,
you can start as large or as small as you like, gradually build up a
client base and when you reach a point where you are ready to move to
the next level, ownership, you will have experience in running the
business, a client base as well as, hopefully, some capital for the
expenses.
Most companies that provide reseller accounts for web hosting remain
transparent to the customer. By that, when you become a reseller,
your customers know you and your company, not the company you
purchased the web space for resale from. Several will create
co-branded websites that will list your hosting plans. You set the
price, you do the marketing of your business, you collect the money
from your customers (though some will handle that as well). The host
provider (the company you buy the web space from) will handle
technical support, hardware and bandwidth costs, all the behind the
scenes requirements that would normally require expenses on your part.
There are several things you should look for in a web reseller, The
following, from ResellerReview.com
(http://www.resellerreview.com/buying_guide.html) covers the important
areas:
"Perhaps the most important feature to accompany your reseller hosting
package and the feature that most clearly distinguishes one host from
another is the type of technical support they provide.
Many hosts claim great customer service—few deliver. There are several
areas of support you should evaluate before choosing a host. They are
the type of support provided to the reseller, whether online resources
such as unbranded manuals are available and whether the hosting
company will provide support directly to resold customers.
Hosts offer many different types of support to resellers. Different
Types include phone support, email support and instant messaging.
There are some small companies doing a great job with only one node of
contact and some large companies servicing well across many nodes. The
best way to research a company's support is to seek out as many
reviews of that company you can find to get a good, well-rounded view
of what to expect.
Some hosts offer support directly to your resold customers so that you
don't have to. This can be a great asset if you are not technically
inclined or if you simply want to outsource all of your customer
service. However, this service does not come cheaply, so make sure
your bottom line will justify outsourcing. Another primary
consideration in outsourcing your customer support is that your
technical support is your customer's ongoing contact with your
company. If you're not the one doing it, you'd better confident that
the company that is doing it is treating your customers well. If they
don't treat them well, someone else will—and you'll lose the customer
without ever knowing why.
Brandable service
Many hosts offer fully brandable reseller programs. This means that
their software can be customized so that your customer will think that
the reseller is the only service provider. Features that are often
customizable are nameservers, control panels, and support manuals.
Personalized nameservers, sometimes called "virtual" nameservers,
enables a reseller to have their own server name and server IP address
even if they don't actually own a server. Personalizing your name
server can give you a more professional look when someone does a whois
search on your domain name.
Some hosts permit resellers to personalize the control panels they
give out to their clients. There are varying degrees of
personalization offered, some just personalize the "look and feel"
while others also personalize features. Be sure to ask your potential
host exactly what is customizable about their control panel.
Likewise, unbranded support manuals offered by resellers to their
clients that have the ISP's name on it can result in some embarassing
questions by the client. Yet being able to offer support manuals is
important, as it will decrease the number of support requests that a
reseller receives and provide them with another feature to promote
your product.
Business Automation
The more automation a host can give you, the less overhead you will
need to maintain your business, and ultimately the easier it will be
for you to make money. The most common automation available to
resellers is online domain management tools, most commonly referred to
as control panels. Control panels give the end-user a browser-based
tool to manage their domain. Most control panels enable users to
create email accounts, manage their files, and add additional
features. Although little automation is currently offered to resellers
for the business side of their operations, there are several companies
developing good programs. Be sure to inquire whether your potential
host can offer billing, signup, or upgrade automation."
I hope this provides you with the information you are looking for
regarding becoming a web host. Below are several resources that you
can access for more information:
Information on becoming a web host:
http://www.hostcompare.com/intro.htm
http://www.dedicated-servers-seek.com/php/templates/becomingawebhost.php
Directories of companies offering resell web space:
http://www.resellerreview.com/index.html
http://www.hostingreseller.com/
http://www.tophosts.com/showcases/reseller/
http://www.webhostdir.com/spotlight/reseller.asp
If you need any additional clarification, please let me know.
Regards,
-THV |
