Hello,

I'm starting out a hosting business. I would like to know if there are any tips or some a essential information that you can share with me , before i can go and start hosting

For now this is what need to learn about ,


PHP
MySQL
SSl
SSh (Secure Shell Security)

And if im running a windows server i should know how to use IIS

Routers switches and hubs are also very essential to learn . IS there anything that I'm missing that i need to learn about? that maybe is importent for me to learn before i step in the hosting business? Please let me know.

Thank you guys for your help

You're better off starting with a reseller account and work from there up. If you're asking a question like that, I don't think a couple pointers is going to get you 100% ready right away.

First of all, you need a business plan. Plan one out first or your business will fail.

yes, reseller account is a must. Also those things are most important but thick skin is a must. You could be doing 110% of the job for your customers but there will be someone that posts and tears into you about it . You have to mentally rebound from that and move on. Most people wont admit this , but when you reach a huge client base you will get a few people that want to rosie o'donnell you. Do not let that get to you , learn from it and move one.

Everything that was said above is true. There is no "perfect host" because once a server goes down somebody will complain.

One thing though, if you start with a reseller plan you can only really test out your business plan. If you have a little bit of money to splash around, i would recommend setting up your host on the reseller plan but also buy a small ($15 a month or cheaper) VPS plan to learn a few things like how to compile PHP and stuff like that.. ;)

Practice is the only way things are learnt, reselling reduces the risk significantly, or as an alternative you may start with a more knowledgable partner.

you should really start off with a reseller account then move up from there to a dedicated server ect and indeed trial and error is the best way to learn

Definitely go the reseller account route.

Are you a Windows user and don't know much about Linux? That sounds like me a few years back. I never understood why people were into Linux. After a bunch of hosting trial and error, I learned the hard way, Windows sux for hosting. The most simplest of things in Linux are complex in Windows. CHMOD comes to mind.

So start with the reselling, learn how to work the control panels and dive into Linux headfirst if you want to stand a chance as a dedicated provider a year or two from now.

Also read the tutorials about reselling and web hositng here on the forum

I suggest you to buy at first some reseller hosting and than resell it! if you will have many customers you can buy your own dedicated server!

First bit of advice I can give,

don't expect to find some in general "hosting business for dummies" type book/guide, while you might be able to essentially find such, there are tons of things that need to be aquired by hand and actually doing such tasks. As such don't expect to learn the technique behind running a webhosting service overnight or even very rapidly either. Especially the backend of hosting services is something always evolving and as such you're going to need to be keeping up with things constantly, so bear that in mind as well.

Lastly, best of luck to you and I too agree with the other WHT'ers above you should definitely be looking to a reseller account at least initially.

Thanks for your information, I guess im going to start out with a reseller account. Thank you !!

On a last note, I would like to add that you should also remember the following:

1. Answer your customer ticket politely and promptly.

2. Do not offer super cheap hosting if you can.

3. Monitor the server you are hosted on. Don't let customers know it first ahead of you.

4. Do understand the terms and conditions of your reseller hosting.

5. Do not be afraid to expel violators of your hosting terms of service.

And always have a positive outlook on this business for you to move on and survive.

Just my many 2 cents.

Well, some people take the easy way out and just hire a tech to take care of all the tech stuff and the owner focuses on marketing and sales.

Unfortunately, the cost of a tech outweighs the profits for too long on a small startup webhost.

I can't think of any successful small webhosts that started with 1 non-tech savvy dude that hired a tech expert to run it. I think to start, it's gotta be a 1 man team until you get a client base. It would work if that tech-savvy dude was your wife or business partner though, they'd have to take a 100% paycut for several months :)

Just my opinion of course.

i was thinking of hiring a tech, because money problems is really not the issue for me. I'm planning to make this a one man thing but if I encounter any problems, I can hire a tech guy to walk me step by step to resolve any issues. This is sort of like hiring a contractor. Whenever i need him to help me i can call him and he will help me out. Or he can teach me on how to run the web hosting step by step if there is an issue i can't resolve while i work on web hosting. Does that sound like a good idea?

By the way when i launch a hosting business should i do a 30 day money back guarantee, or 60 day money back? Thank you for your support!

btw thanks for your tips cpsitesaver, I will defiantly take your tips into consideration!

Hello,

I'm starting out a hosting business. I would like to know if there are any tips or some a essential information that you can share with me , before i can go and start hosting

For now this is what need to learn about ,


PHP
MySQL
SSl
SSh (Secure Shell Security)

And if im running a windows server i should know how to use IIS

Routers switches and hubs are also very essential to learn . IS there anything that I'm missing that i need to learn about? that maybe is importent for me to learn before i step in the hosting business? Please let me know.

Thank you guys for your help
As the others stated, start off as a reseller account and it should help you learn. In fact, I am in the same position as you are (except I already have some experience in PHP, mySQL) and pretty much website design/knowledge.

I got myself a reseller account since there is two companies that is hiring me to create their website and host it on a server. With the reseller account, I can learn how to deal business (create packages and users/domains) as well as learn to use SSL and SSH (which they told me they would like to create SSL order forms in the future for business online).

Last, having a reseller account also allows you to mess around like create database and learn how it all works (I created and destroyed a few database just to figure out the best way for my messageboard "phpbb2" to work lol).

Ah, I never thought about it now..

....but I really need to figure out how to create those nifty "Support" pages (with ticket submission and such).

Also, you pointed out something else I got to figure out, having hired people to help your reseller server and stuff (creating accounts for those hired people and giving them limited access and more).

Nifty support pages are PHP scripts that have been customized. There are a few places where you can get a "PHP support page" script . Then since you are PHP savvy, just plug the script into your site :)

Thread moved to Running a Web Hosting Business.

BTW, this is a good section of the forum to keep an eye on and to browse old threads in. It's a got a wealth of information (more on the business rather than technical area though).

30-60 days money back? Webhosting is a very competitive business, 60 days money-back will get you bankrupt in 60 days. Webhost clients are very finicky, they look for the cheapest they can get. If you offer 60 days, they use you for 59 days and demand their money back at 60 because they saw a cheaper price somewhere else.

Contractor? It's a good idea to have somebody to call for help. Just watch your budget on "help" calls and learn EVERYTHING he does.

Unless you are co-locating your equipment, don't spend too much time learning about switches and routers...most of the equipment is managed by the company you are renting from. Just need to know the basics about them. Concentrate on sales, control panels and webhosting software/utilities.

FOA you must learn about business.

From a financial standpoint, if you have another fulltime job right now you shouldn't quit it until you're making enough to support yourself completely with the web hosting gig.

All too often I speak to people who just quit their fulltime job and began starting a new business only to find themselves in financial dire straits a few months later. This is an industry flooded with competition, so make sure you have a backup plan. Good luck.

You don't have to learn about routers and switches as a startup because that's the data center's NOC (Network Operation Center) job to monitor the network and IP routes and such. If you really want to learn, start small: home network. That's how I learned my networking and I've got a pretty advanced home network now. I also work on a big enterprise network consisting of about a thousand or so computers (not servers).

But the web hosting area is seriously over filled. You have to start small and then move over and grow to build your buisness. But don't overwhelm yourself. At times it can get quite frustraiting.

No matter what method you use to get off the ground, the best advice I can think of is to keep up on support, answer it quickly politely and correctly. Low prices and marketing gimmicks will get people in the door but quality support is what makes them dedicated clients.

You'll sleep better at night when you know you have a dedicated client base that aren't going to cancel at the drop of a hat. Gimmicks and bargain basement pricing are just going to keep your churn rate high and have you pulling your hair out trying to think of new ways to get people to sign up.

Support is the key. Keep the people happy and they'll keep paying and they'll tell other people to sign up too.

Do you think 5k is enoguh to start off with a tech guy and my own severs?

Thank you for showing your support!

I wouldn't start out with your own servers if you don't know how to manage them and are hiring someone else. That other person would be the key to your business. They would be handling your business, while what would you be doing? Giving money? Need more than money.

Also, 5k is not a whole lot. Is the tech going to be working full time? Honestly, start with a reseller account, small scale, and build up as you need it and can afford it. Try to have enough saved up enough to keep the business running for like 6-12 months with no income.

how long do you think it will take for me to learn everything in order for me to start using a resellers account?