Hi All,

After spending a number of years hosting around 10-20 low bandwidth non-commercial sites in various shared hosting plans, I decided to move to a reseller account.

So after spending a while looking at reviews (here and elsewhere), Webfusion looked like a good plan - UK based looked nice from a support view. This was a couple of months ago..

After getting the account (which was very fast and pain free), I discovered their control panel software (MyServerWorld), which IMO was badly documented and overly complex. It also seemed that in order to give any of my resold accounts more than rudimetary features (mysql, graphical stats), I had to pay an additional £25 a year (on top of the already-stretching-my-budget £270+VAT).

Then, the server my account was on went down for 2 days.. (which, incidentaly is ~0.5% of a year, and thus way outside of their 99.9% uptime claim). Luckily for me, I'd been with them for just under a month and managed to pull out and ask for my money back (still waiting). I have to say though, their phone support was excellent - very nice people and happy to help.

So, we're looking again. At the moment we're considering the lowest end plan from resellerzoom (we've given up on UK-based, it's too expensive). This would let us get a feel for them and upgrade later if required.

In the meantime (as a newbie) is it standard that features like mysql and webaliser, etc. cost extra to provide in resold accounts? From my limited experience at webfusion it seems like all the advertised features are mainly limited to the reseller account only... And can anyone give me any further advice on things I may not be aware of?

Thanks in advance,

Cy

In the meantime (as a newbie) is it standard that features like mysql and webaliser, etc. cost extra to provide in resold accounts?Nope, I wouldn't call that standard. Most reseller accounts will come with all that , as it makes little sense for a reseller to buy a hosting account with no database capability for example.

At the moment we're considering the lowest end plan from resellerzoom (we've given up on UK-based, it's too expensive). This would let us get a feel for them and upgrade later if required.You should be aware that their packages are designed to be used in certain conditions, for certain types of sites. They're quite upfront about this, and state on their site that the budget plans are not suited for reselling. These plans are more restricted from when it comes to memory and CPU usage. In other words, getting one of their budget packages might not be the best way to test them out and judge them.

Just my opinion.

Nope, I wouldn't call that standard. Most reseller accounts will come with all that , as it makes little sense for a reseller to buy a hosting account with no database capability for example.

I think I've confused myself using reseller and resold.. You're saying most reseller accounts allow you to give your clients all the advertised features?

You should be aware that their packages are designed to be used in certain conditions, for certain types of sites. They're quite upfront about this, and state on their site that the budget plans are not suited for reselling. These plans are more restricted from when it comes to memory and CPU usage. In other words, getting one of their budget packages might not be the best way to test them out and judge them.

Just my opinion.

Having looked into ResellerZoom a bit more (on WHT) I understand, it may be best for us just to go for the Adv. accounts (although we might have to wait for that refund...)

I think I've confused myself using reseller and resold.. You're saying most reseller accounts allow you to give your clients all the advertised features?

Yes.

Any host that doesn't, and doesn't make it quite clear from the outset (I've not checked the Webfusion site to see if they do), is probably pulling a fast one.

A true Reseller account will usually provide you with a 'bulk' amount of Web space & Data transfer along with two Control Panels; one for you as the Reseller and one for each of your Clients.

Through your Reseller Control Panel one creates their own Hosting packages with whatever features they want to provide; sub-domains, mySQL db, free scripts, Addon domains, etc., and the amount of each feature. Normally you can also; Add, Remove, Suspend any of your accounts without having to ask anyone else.

You should also get at least 2, Dedicated IPs which are used for your Nameservers. Even if a Hoster provides Shared IPs for Nameservers, you should still get at least one for your own Domain name. You should also be able to purchase Dedicated IPs when needed, as some of your Clients may have a need for them. Domains using an SSL Cert is but one example of needing a Dedicated IP.