Look around you. Every small business and shop owner is looking to start their own website. The Coronavirus pandemic has made businesses aware that having a digital presence is not an option anymore. This means millions of new websites need to be created, and more importantly, HOSTED!
In recent years, every vertical associated with digital is showing signs of growth. Whether it be creative agencies or SEO consultancies or even hosting providers. The thing is, you cannot start a creative agency or an SEO company alone. You would need a team of professionals.
However, when it comes to web hosting, there are so many endless possibilities out there. In fact, many experts point out that individuals who are looking to start a business can look at providing reseller web hosting solutions.
In this article, we are going to list down five steps that can help you set up your reseller web hosting business from scratch.
Reseller Web Hosting: Meaning and Definition
What is Reseller hosting is a question that a lot of you would want answers to. Let us start from the bare basics. Every website needs to be hosted on a server so that it can be accessible and available on the internet.
All the data files of the website are hosted, and whenever someone wants to view or explore, the hosting calls the files back and forth on the server.
Reseller hosting is a business model where an individual or business buys hosting services in bulk from an established ‘Host’. The reseller then divides the bulk into small individual packages and asks businesses to buy those from them.
The basic advantage of this is that buying hosting in bulk helps in bringing the prices down. Additionally, a reseller can command a price that is lower to small businesses but keep a commission for themselves.
Reselling hosting helps you avoid all the problems of maintaining expensive servers, employing teams, and providing support. Your Host is already doing the same.
List of 5 Easy Steps to Start a Reseller Web Hosting Business
Step 1- Choose the Best Host for your Reseller Service-
First things first. Not all hosting companies are great. You need to do your research explore options and compare prices. Following this, you want to go with a reseller that can help you with your own branded customizable hosting dashboards. The credibility of the host is essential if you want to set up a successful reseller web hosting business.
Step 2- Choose your Brand Name and set up the Website-
Once you have selected the host, the next thing you need to do is set up your website. You need to choose an attractive name that carries a recall value. Create a simple enough website by installing a theme and then move on to integrations with your Host. Hosting websites need to have strong back-ends and dashboards and this is where you need to pay attention.
Step 3- Do a Competitor Analysis and evaluate their services and prices-
You do not want to go into the business completely unprepared. This is why doing a competitor analysis makes a lot of sense. Once you are able to analyze what value they are offering, you can place your own business and fix the process accordingly. This will also allow you to fix your pricing and measure it against the kind of services. Ultimately, you will be able to spot a gap.
Step 4- Start Educating yourself about Hosting and its features
If you are someone that is new to the field, you need to read up as much as possible on hosting. This is because you are going to offer hosting solutions to businesses. They are going to have questions, which you should have all the answers to. Understand everything about uptime, support, SSL security, data packages, types of hosting, and so on.
Step 5- Start Marketing your Business on Offline and Online Platforms-
A successful reseller hosting business requires both- offline and online marketing. You can simply start by going through your local neighborhood and visiting businesses and shops. Explaining to individuals who do not understand a lot in a face-to-face manner can help you become more convincing. Create social media platforms and start posting regularly as well.
The Bottom Line
There is no doubt a great opportunity when it comes to starting a reseller web hosting business. However, it should be pointed out that there is a lot of competition as well. Following the five steps will help you establish your reseller web hosting business in the best fashion possible.
As someone who is looking to get into this ecosystem, you need to know that web hosting mistakes can cost you dearly. If you have any more questions on web hosting you would like us to answer, let us know in the comments below.