Want to launch a web hosting empire? Reselling web hosting services is a terrific way to enter the business without owning and operating your own servers.
It takes a lot of effort and resources to operate a web hosting business. You may be able to provide helpful customer service, but what about key server infrastructure? Don’t fret, there’s a great solution: reseller hosting, aka “white-label hosting.”
So What Exactly Is Reseller Hosting?
With reseller hosting, you rent server space, software, and bandwidth from a larger experienced web hosting company at wholesale prices, and then resell the resources for profit to someone looking to build a website.
There is a lot of demand for web hosting, whether it is shared hosting, WordPress hosting, dedicated hosting, or virtual private server (VPS) hosting. Web hosting is the backbone for personal blogs, corporate websites, podcasts, vlogs, and nearly anything else you can imagine that exists on the web. Resellers are aspiring entrepreneurs who look to make a few bucks in the web hosting arena, as well as web designers and developers who want to expand their client offerings (and also make a few bucks).
Resellers set the pricing structure for their offerings, not the web host that provides the servers and software. In many cases, resellers brand their packages by using a customized control panel. This establishes a level of trust with people who may already be familiar with the reseller’s brand. Who wouldn’t want to set up shop with your company if you’ve done well by them in the past? And branding is important if you’re looking to get into the reseller hosting game. More on that in a bit.
How Does Reselling Work?
One of the main reasons people get into reselling web hosting, as opposed to building their own web hosting service from scratch, is the ease of entry. Reseller hosting does not require the extensive technical understanding of infrastructure that hosting from the ground up does.
Resellers are responsible for interacting with their customers but are not responsible for hardware, software, or connectivity problems. Web hosts’ data center operators are responsible for that type of troubleshooting. However, resellers may be placed in the tricky position of liaising between the hosting provider and the customer for other kinds of technical support, such as billing and payment issues. In other words, you’ll need to demonstrate patience and understanding when dealing with irate customers.
Ideally, you should be able to provide some basic support yourself. For those problems you can’t solve, you’ll need to contact the web host yourself to find a solution. So, the level and quality of support provided by the service from whom you’re renting your servers to resell can be quite important.
In addition, you have to market your services to the public in order to attract clients. For example, if you already have an established web development company, then you have an established client base to which you can pitch your new hosting packages. Otherwise, you must hustle to spread awareness about your brand. After all, Person X may be familiar with Yohost’s web hosting packages, but she may not be familiar with your brand. If you’re part of a big company with a big marketing budget to spend, you may not have much to worry about. On the other hand, a one-person operation may have difficulty spreading the word about its new web hosting packages. Still, there are many would-be customers out there who prefer to deal with a smaller, more intimate company. That might be your sweet spot, as a reseller of web hosting.
