Sorry to make this sound like the stupidest post you've ever heard, but:

How can I get started into web hosting? I'd like to make a small profit, even if it's very little, but the most important thing, I'd like to know what I need to start a web hosting business, or something inferior to it.

Thank you very much.

Stick around these forums and read the posts in this particular forum "Running a Web Hosting Business" as much as you can. Then, in a couple of months you will have a better idea. If you try and jump into it right now without any knowledge you will not make money.

thank you very much. A friend of mine pointed me towards these forums, and I'm glad he did.

I'll stick to them for a long time, I can see.

Originally posted by kodek
How can I get started into web hosting?

Well, if you're asking that question your best bet would be to NOT start a web hosting business. Stick around, get a job with another company, find out what you need and how web hosting business is run, and only THEN start a basic web hosting business on a reseller account (unless you have extensive linux/windows server knowledge or are willing to hire a tech to take care of that for you.

Welcome kodek to WHT :). Starting a web hosting business ( I will consider ) is based on 2 factors to choose from.

Reseller or Dedicated Server. see which works for you.

Actually a reseller account is useful if you don't have any sysadmin knowledge to deal with your server(s) and maintain them. also, If you are starting I'd suggest a reseller account that makes a little profit for you as you start.

If you want to start with a dedicated server. Make sure you:
- setup a business plan, prices, income, outcome
- have knowledge to deal with server (or hire a sysadmin)
- have some money to invest into local advertising & global
- have budget for billing software, support, control panels, and any addons fees.

nothing special in my mind now, so best of luck

Thank you all for your replies. I think I'll try to get a resellers account, even though I have linux/windows knowledge. As I gain experience, I'll see if web hosting is my thing, and I'll switch over to a dedicated server.

Thank you again.


btw, I bookmarked the forums :)

Hi Kodek!

Welcome to the WHT forums! :) These are a real boon to newbie resellers & those who have worked at companies and want to start their own one now (like me)! If you want to start a webhosting company, these are the forums you have to keep your eyes glued to:

+ Reseller
+ Dedicated Server Forums (If u want a ded. server)
+ Running a Webhosting Business
+ E-commerce

That's it. :)

I agree with all the above, remember these though

It's not about $ generally to start with you dont make much

Keep reading maybe join another company & goodluck :P

Start with a reseller account and host a couple of your own sites. Play around with things and watch how your provider handles things. Maybe they even offer a forum themself so that you can chat with others - like here.

Read up on the industry and the business to get a better impression.

Create a business plan and do thorough research to do this. At that point you should already have a good understanding of what is required. If you then still feel that you would like to try it, host some sites for friends and family and serve them well. If you still like it - go for it.

Start by asking yourself if you have any potential customers or prospects in mind who would benefit from your service. Don't jump into buying a reseller account just yet unless you have the urgent need for it. Remember, you still have to do your market research, business plan, design your web site, put all the tools together (support, payment processing, etc.) so minimize your costs for now. The first few customers you have will alleviate your costs of starting up.

I agree with everyone else here who advised you to find a job with an established web hosting company. It will give you an idea of how things run. Alternatively, find a mentor.

Good luck!


JP

What I'm finding out if you're starting on a dedicated, and not thoroughly abreast in server ops, is to hire a good sysadmin (especially one with patience as you gain experience yourself). Don't crowd them in either, they do best work if you allow them to control and service the server to their specs.

I chose the dedicated route due to the market I'll be aiming for, that requires more system resources. Moving accounts because of limited resources is a royal pain, to the host and especially clients. Plan ahead for that peak that probably will occur during an advertizing campaign too. Don't underestimate growth, as it can come in as a steady stream or a rocket (rocket growth is wonderful on the profit side, but terrible on the client side when they have to wait).

Another thing: don't keep customer's waiting. If they sign up for a plan they usually want to start quickly. 24-48 waits will have your clients look elsewhere as they'll relate it to support ticket time. No better advertizing than getting praise for a 3am ticket answered within 30 minutes too. Never short change on support thinking that's the side of the business you don't need to invest much in.

Chris

When you start, I suggest you starting with a $10-$20 a month small reseller account. Don't go dedicated until you know what you are doing.

Yeah, as a reseller myself, I know that when you start, mostly you'll not want to invest much. You'd want to see what you are getting into & test the depth of the water before you take a plunge into it. :)

I took a different path to starting....

1. Run no-ads FREE hosting business off 128k DSL connection and getting bashed by many paid hosts. Hire volunteer sysadmins and such.
2. Take a look and ask what your sysadmin is doing, you'll learn soon on how it works.
3. Try to dump the free service as soon as you run a paid hosting on a VPS.

A VPS is a good idea to upgrade to if you need to do special things. It gives you more flexibility than reseller, but they only cost a fraction of the amount of a real dedicated server. However, once it starts to fill up, time to switch to dedicated, as getting another VPS is not worth the price.