Should You Become a Web Hosting Reseller?

You may have come across the term “web hosting reseller” and wondered what exactly that meant or entailed. Essentially, being a web hosting reseller involves having a reseller account with a hosting company, whereby you “sell” hosting to your own customers, and have your own small business doing so. The major difference is that while you are selling them the product, you are not doing much if any of the support. This is handled by the company. Your job is to get the clients; their job is to deliver the goods.

This type of arrangement is common among SEO Consultants, web designers and marketers who aim to give their clients the “whole package” of services. Web hosting is but a small part of their package.

Other people who make use of reseller accounts are affiliate and Adsense marketers, who need hosting platforms for a great number of websites, not merely one or two. It’s not uncommon for a busy marketer in this vein to have many different reseller accounts, so as to spread out any risk of discovery (many reasons for that) and to have several differing IP addresses.  

This can be a lucrative business for someone who can market to the segment of the web world just getting their feet wet. They need a place to call home, and you’re just the one to provide it to them. Additionally, this is one of the very best recurring income type plans, as to stay online they need your services.

There are some people who should NOT do this. One example of this would be people who cannot be bothered to answer support requests. Since there is little technical support you need to perform, it is mostly hand-holding and getting them started that comprises most of the support needed. Still, if this is not something that can be handled, you’ll soon find yourself with a slew of unsatisfied clients, and word does get around.

Most of the support is handled by the parent hosting company, and you need to make it your business to do your due diligence before you even get started reselling hosting to discover the best reseller accounts available for your clients. This involves looking into things like superb up-time, quick response to support requests, and that they offer a bevy of wonderful features sure to entice.

One disadvantage of being a web hosting reseller is that you are ultimately not the person in charge. The parent hosting company controls the servers, and you are merely selling their space. This can get a bit dicey when your clients are eager to install a certain script or program and you have to tell them no. 

However all in all, these concerns are fairly minor, and if one is serious about making some money reselling hosting, they will not be a hindrance. The potential for making some good cash hosting sites, blogs, and e-commerce stores for an ever-expanding pool of new people coming onto the Web far outweigh any negatives.