Becoming a web hosting reseller allows you to tap into a profitable market by buying hosting plans and selling them to other clients. Making a reseller website is a must, but it’s more than just a digital address, it’s your online storefront, showing customers what you offer and why they should choose you. Your potential clients will gauge your expertise not just by the plans that you offer, but also by the ease, design, and functionality of your site.
To create a reseller hosting website, you’ll need to select a target audience, partner with a reliable hosting provider, design your site, list your hosting plans, and add a payment gateway. Don’t forget to promote your services and ensure quality customer support for continued success.
Dive deeper into this guide as we elaborate on each step, making sure you’re equipped with the knowledge to build a successful reseller hosting business.
- A business plan that outlines how to launch and manage the reseller hosting website.
- A reliable web host for your website hosting and reseller hosting plans.
- Your target audience and how to advertise to them
- A budget that covers the cost of starting the reseller-hosting website
- Market survey to determine the pricing range that allows you to stay competitive and profitable.
What is Reseller Hosting and Who is it for?
Reseller hosting is a type of hosting where you ‘rent’ server space from a hosting provider for a fixed monthly fee and then sell it to your customers at your rates. You can offer the hosting as part of your packages or as a single service.
Reseller hosting is an excellent business for web developers and digital agencies that often have to create websites for their clients. It is also a good business for online entrepreneurs and people looking to test the waters before launching their independent web hosting company.
- Reseller hosting offers all the benefits of a web hosting company without the need to own and maintain the hosting infrastructure.
- Mastering reseller hosting requires research and dedication.
- Choose a reliable web hosting provider, a competitive pricing structure, a strong marketing strategy, and a business plan.
Want a more in-depth understanding of Reseller Hosting? Explore further with our detailed article What Is Reseller Hosting?
How to Launch a Reseller Hosting Website
The following are steps you should take to start a reseller hosting business.
Make a Business Plan
A business plan outlines your strategy for profit from your reseller-hosting site. It guides you in structuring and growing your own web hosting business. Such a plan should address key elements of your business, helping you make informed decisions.
When crafting a business plan, segment it into specific areas like sales, marketing, and pricing. Remember, it needn’t have all the answers, just key operational aspects. An effective business plan includes:
- Executive Summary: An overview of your company details and operations
- Hosting Products and Services: A list of products, servers, pricing, and benefits
- Market Analysis: Positioning your business within the hosting industry
- Marketing Strategy: Tactics to acquire and retain customers
- Financials: Budgeting, financial projections, and planning
Find Your Target Audience
In the competitive world of web hosting, zeroing in on a niche audience can be a game-changer. Focusing on audiences who naturally need online solutions positions them as ideal customers.
Who to Focus On?
- Bloggers: They typically lean towards shared hosting due to its simplicity.
- Web Developers: VPS plans may be more their speed, offering advanced customization.
- Freelancers & Digital Agencies: Their needs can vary, so offering a range can be beneficial.
- Web Designers: They’ll appreciate high-performance hosting that showcases their designs seamlessly.
By narrowing down your focus, you can tailor your reseller hosting packages to cater to these specific needs. As you position yourself as a trusted expert within these niches, you’ll naturally foster loyalty. Once established, consider expanding to cater to a broader clientele.
Choose a Reseller Hosting Company
You must pay great attention when choosing your parent hosting company, as your choice determines the quality of the web hosting service you will render to your clients. You want to ensure reliable web hosting performance, as well as considering pricing models, software applications, customer support, and hosting features.
The best way to ensure you select the right host is to conduct thorough research.
- Start by reading our expert recommendations on the Best Reseller Hosting Providers
- Check our expert reviews and user reviews on reseller plans and providers, such as Verpex, HostArmada, and ChemiCloud.
Below, we’ve compiled a list of the best reseller hosts to give you a good starting point. Each provider has a wide range of reseller hosting plans to help you get started.
Verpex Reseller Hosting Overview
Visit Verpex Hosting Verpex Hosting provides top-tier reseller packages packed with features:
- High-performance infrastructure ensures 99.99% uptime.
- Scalable solutions with generous resource allocations.
- White label hosting, free SSL, domain perks, and more.
- 24/7 customer support, available through multiple channels.
- Competitive starting price, though be mindful of renewal rates.
HostArmada Reseller Hosting Overview
Visit HostArmada If you’re leaning away from Windows servers and diving into Linux reselling, consider HostArmada:
- Secure, white-labeled Linux reseller plans.
- Enjoy perks like free SSLs and malware protection.
- Performance highlights include 99.9% uptime, multiple hosting locations, and SSD storage.
- Scalable solutions offer up to 140 cPanel accounts.
- They’re budget-friendly, but again watch for increased renewal rates.
ChemiCloud Reseller Hosting Overview
Visit ChemiCloud Touted as the best WordPress reseller, ChemiCloud offers easy setup with no coding or admin skills needed.
- Full 5-star rating on Trustpilot.
- Performance features include SSD storage, LiteSpeed cache, and free Cloudflare CDN.
- Up to 200GB SSD space and 200 cPanel accounts.
- 45-day money-back guarantee.
Explore more recommended Reseller Hosting Providers
Have a Budget in Mind
Making a website for your reseller web hosting business needs some investment, but spending more doesn’t guarantee success. It’s crucial to budget for essentials like hosting packages, design, marketing, and other key expenses.
Starting small is wise. Many providers offer affordable plans that can upgrade as your business grows. Prioritize your target audience’s needs and consider using a free website builder to cut costs.
Pick a Web Host and Domain Name for your Reseller Hosting Business
When you have written your business plan, chosen a reliable reseller hosting provider, identified your target audience, and created a budget, it is time to pick a web host and a domain name.
- Your domain name should be your business name with a .com domain
- You can go for a short version as long as it is memorable and reflects what your business is about.
- A .com domain is easy to remember and puts your business in the best possible light.
When choosing a web host, you may use your parent hosting company or another web hosting provider. The critical factor that would determine your choice is the quality of service. However, if you are satisfied with the performance of your web host, then consider using their reseller web hosting plans.
Build a Website
Building a website has become easier thanks to the many available website builders. You can use any of these website builders to create your reseller website and launch your reseller hosting business.
Install a website builder
The first step is to choose and install a website builder. A website builder is a user-friendly application that allows anyone to create a website without any coding requirement. However, it is best to use a website builder if you don’t have web development skills. The alternative to using a website builder is to use WordPress.
Choose a theme
After you have installed the website builder, it is time to choose a theme. A theme is a collection of page designs that define your website’s look and function. Some website builders call these themes templates. When choosing, look for a template that:
- Aligns with your idea of a reseller website
- Makes sense for your brand’s aesthetic
- Budget-friendly (you can select a free theme)
- Mobile-responsive
You can choose from a vast collection of themes, but we recommend focusing on those designed for e-commerce. These themes often come with all the features you need for a fully functional e-commerce website. After you have selected the theme, it is time to customize it to your preference and needs. You may also need to add extra functionality by using elements, plugins, apps and other features.
Install plugins
Plugins (or apps, as some website builders call them) are tools you use to add functionality to your website. Some popular uses for plugins include SEO, live chat, payment processing, and social media integration.
While some website builders create apps for these functions and require you to use only those apps, others may allow you to install plugins from third parties.
Create content
Your website theme will come with generic images and text placeholders. You have to change those images to the ones that align with your brand and add content to your web pages. Some key pages you want to work on are the home page, about page and contact page.
Starting a blog is also a good idea. Blog posts can establish your website as an authority in your industry and boost your search engine ranking.
Optimize Your Site for SEO
Optimizing your site for organic search will ensure people who search for your services can find you easily on search engine result pages.
The first thing for most people is to add Google Analytics. It allows you to track website visits and where they originate from. With the Google Analytics e-commerce features, you can tell which pages are getting the most hits, on which days and the keywords that bring you the most visitors.
Publish and Manage Your Website
Your website is ready to go live. Each website builder is different, but most will include a “Publish” button. Click on the publish button and wait as the website builder publishes your website.
Set Your Price
Your hosting pricing model is significant as it ensures your reseller hosting website remains profitable for a long time. Setting your pricing is more complex than making them high or low. It would help if you considered certain factors, such as your current client base, degree of brand awareness, and competitor pricing.
- We recommend using low pricing to entice new customers to sign up for your plans
- Once you have a loyal customer base, consider charging more.
- Keep an eye out for the general pricing standard. If you charge too low, most clients will assume inferior hosting services and move to your competitor.
Promote Your Business
A common question is “how to promote your reseller website?”. The answer is to promote it as just a regular web hosting company.
If you offer reliable web hosting with other perks, such as prompt customer support, most customers will never know you are a reseller. Even those who know will remain customers as long as your hosting solution remains reliable and affordable.
This approach makes promoting your business easier and ensures that the customers you attract become and remain loyal. Some of the marketing options that exist for you include:
- Social media marketing
- Paid ads
- User reviews and testimonials
- Developing and curating web-hosting articles and guides
Support Your Customers
When done right, customer support can improve your bottom line. Your customers are your biggest advertisers. When you provide excellent customer support, they are more likely to stay loyal to your brand and invite others to try your hosting products. On the other hand, many customers will close their accounts if they experience poor service.
Implement the following to provide reliable assistance that keeps your customers coming back:
- Support Staff – While you can use automated tools to resolve customer queries, there are specific issues that would require human support. Ideally, you want to hire at least one person to handle customer issues. You could do this yourself if you are on a lean budget.
- WHMCS – Web Host Manager’s Complete Solution is an automated platform that helps you to manage customer accounts and resolve issues without your physical input. The platform can help with processing payments, providing cPanel accounts, sending account information to new customers, and so much more.
- Support tools – Also leverage other customer support tools for small businesses, ranging from ticket management to live chat. Some of these tools have free versions that would prove useful for your business in its initial stage.
Features Included with Reseller Hosting
Reseller hosting packages come with varying service levels and features. Here are some essential components to consider before choosing a reseller hosting company.
- Scalability: It’s essential to choose a hosting that can scale as you grow. A non-scalable choice could be costly in both time and finances.
- Control Panel: A broad range of control panels is desirable. cPanel is popular for Linux, while Plesk is favored for Windows but is also compatible with Linux.
- Automated Backups: These are crucial for ensuring data safety. The initial investment is worthwhile for the peace of mind it offers.
- Customer Support: Select providers that cater to both you as the reseller and your clients. This approach facilitates more efficient problem-solving.
- Money-Back Guarantee: This acts as a safety net, allowing you to get a refund if dissatisfied. However, always be clear about the terms and what’s excluded from the policy.
Pros and Cons of Reseller Hosting
Pros of Reseller Hosting
- Zero requirements for purchasing hosting technology, equipment, or infrastructure
- The parent web host handles all technical aspects, including security, connectivity, server maintenance, and updates.
- You can quickly scale your business to accommodate more demand without investing in infrastructure.
- Some reseller hosting providers offer freebies such as cPanel and several SSL certificates.
- It serves as an opportunity for companies to build their brand and customer base before becoming an independent hosting provider.
- It can be a lucrative source of additional income for web developers, digital agencies, and online entrepreneurs.
Cons of Reseller Hosting
- The quality of your hosting services depends on the parent hosting company.
- You still have to deal with customer queries and related issues.
- It is not beginner friendly since you need to manage control panels and use WHMCS.
- Moving from one parent hosting provider to another can severely affect your business.
Build Your Reseller Hosting Website Today
As you may have observed, we didn’t include many technical aspects in this guide on creating a reseller hosting website. Your task is to set up the necessary infrastructure to resell the hosting plans to your customer base. The parent hosting company handles server setup, management, security, and upgrades on your behalf.
To recap, here are the essential requirements for starting your web hosting company:
- A business plan to guide operations
- Careful research on your target audience
- A reseller parent hosting company
- A robust budget
- An easy-to-remember domain and solid web hosting
- Pricing plan
- Customer support
- Marketing strategy to promote your business
When done right, a reseller hosting business can be a launching pad to starting your own hosting company with in-house owned and maintained web hosting infrastructure. You can also use it to improve your lineup of services if you are a web developer, digital agency, or internet-savvy entrepreneur.
Check out our list of best reseller hosting providers and feel free to reach out to learn more about starting your reseller hosting business.
Next Steps
- Find the most affordable reseller hosting provider for your needs
- Learn the best website builders for making sites on your own
- Learn how to make your first WordPress site
- Expand your knowledge of control panels
