Hello All

I will soon be entering the web reselling business and need to know a few things.

I know that technical support is priority, so...

1. How much technical knowledge is needed to run a web host reselling business?

2. What type of technical support is needed? i.e. setups, email, scripts, perl, etc.

3. Is there a website where I could learn more about technical details entailing web hosting and reselling?

4. I am setting up a technical Q&A section for my website and want to know if everyone reading this could please email me a list of their (not so common) Q&As

5. What are the most difficult technical Q&A details that I have to acquire in order to run a good reselling site?

6. If you would like to add anything which might be of value then please do so.

Please email me at postmaster@activepartner.net

Thank you

Just a thought... who are you reselling for? To answer questions 1-6 in a nutshell, I'd say your best bet is to look at your host's site. They generally allow you to copy anything you want, and it should give you a clue as to the type of things you'll run into. What you can't answer, you usually email the host, and they will reply, then you'll reply. Keep notes of what you don't know and eventually you won't have to do this much.

If you haven't picked a host yet, then this is probably your first problem. Although hosts are similar in what they offer, specific hosts may differ in certain aspects. Servers can be set up different ways, and you really can't tell exactly. (Yet).

Just a question chicken .. if you don't know allot about Web Hosting .. then why start a business ? what makes you want to start someting that you are not familiar with ? money ? (hey, don't get me wrong, I'm not in the attack here, just wondering why), anyway, have you considered referral plans instead ? you get paid per referal, but the host has to give all the support.

Just a tought

Also, you should take into account another important fact regarding the quality of support from a host.

Most hosts will provide a reseller with prompt high quality initial support when you are begin to resell for them. But not all hosts may offer you the same prompt high quality support levels later on... it's what I term as a high quality of PROMPT AFTER-INITIAL-STAGE SUPPORT.

That is one thing you should be particularly aware of if you think you are not qualified technically enough to take care of your customers' problems.

I have been researching good hosting companies like you for the last few months, and I have discovered is that most of the regular forum members here who run hosting companies will offer you such high quality levels of PROMPT AFTER-INITIAL-STAGE SUPPORT as well.

The logic is simple... if they take the trouble to continuously help newbies like us who are not their clients yet, obviously the quality of continuous sustained support they would be extending to their resellers would be much much better.

Learner

Learner is right about the support.

Most companies (not necessarily all) spend considerable amounts of time with new accounts (or marketing for them).

There is a new trend to provide two levels of support. I can't remember where I read it, but I did implement it shortly thereafter.

In a nutshell, a support person/team for new accounts....and an ongoing support person/team for existing accounts.

Once an account is setup, support is relatively easily managed (even for a one tier support system).

Of course, all that changes when the HelpDesk ticket starts out with "Help! I just deleted my entire......"

Originally posted by AcivePartner
1. How much technical knowledge is needed to run a web host reselling business?


Surprisingly (sp) very little. When I first started, I had very limited knowledge of Unix. No idea how to check stats, create dirs, change permissions, etc. It came with time. The best thing to do is to become a reseller. That lets you learn as time goes and your business grows.


2. What type of technical support is needed? i.e. setups, email, scripts, perl, etc.


I would suggest starting a forums and some sort of helpdesk system first. Then create a support website. Try to stay away from doing e-mail support. When you get fairly large, it will be increasingly difficult to answer 20+ support emails per day/week. With forums and a helpdesk, multiple people can help resolve problems.


3. Is there a website where I could learn more about technical details entailing web hosting and reselling?


There are several good sites out there. Here are two good starting points:
http://www.recellar.com
http://www.resellerinfo.com


4. I am setting up a technical Q&A section for my website and want to know if everyone reading this could please email me a list of their (not so common) Q&As


You can visit my forums at http://support.amadns.com/forums and see what people are posting there.


5. What are the most difficult technical Q&A details that I have to acquire in order to run a good reselling site?


Don't forget to support your client after you make the sale. I think that Learner mentioned this one. Try to answer all e-mails within 12 hours, even if it's to say "we are working on it".

Hope this helps.

Hello

MikeA: Thanks for starting off with good "intentions" - but then your whole thread turns into one huge sales pitch - and to top it...your resellerinfo site is in its infant stage.

Rule 1. of website promotion - Finish your site before you promote it - otherwise people click out of it quicker than they arrived.

Your idea at http://support.amadns.com/forums is an excellent one and I will follow it.

Although I have realised that your resellerinfo site is new - you should really do something about the look of your search results. What could turn out to be another huge resource listing in years to come...might NOT...Because a site is judged by its looks.

The rest of you - thank you for your opinionated nothings.

Hmm...

Seems VB has a problem with locking/unlocking. I'm 100% sure I didn't lock this thread.

I was going to respond to the questions asked - but then I got to the "opinionated nothings" line in your last post and decided against it. Asking people for advice and then berating them for providing it is not helpful.

Originally posted by AcivePartner
The rest of you - thank you for your opinionated nothings.

sarcasm

Tip: Try asking questions that are *more* vague when you want specific answers.

/sarcasm


You obviously haven't the first clue of what you are doing, nor do you appreciate the help, so none will be given (from me at least). Go find the information yourself. Good luck, BAH!!!!!

ActivePartner.

No, I am not trying to do a "sales pitch" Do you see any banner adds on resellerinfo? Do you see me trying to push you to my hosting site? Didn't think so. I know that there is a lot of work to do (on resellerinfo), but I disagree with you. Even a partial site is good. It helps people get a grasp on some of the common questions that they have. Look at hostcoalition. They only have the forums. Should they have not put their site up till it was finished? I for one am glad that they put it up when they did.

Yes the search script needs some work. So does the layout, the articles, the graphics, and on and on and on. The biggest problem is that I have people like you complaining about it, but not offering to do anything to help.

Lastly, don't complain about the comments that you receive after you ask questions. More than likely it will cause people like Chicken, Annette, myself and others to ignore your questions in the future.