Hi everyone

Me and my friend would like to establish a web hosting biz (reselling).

So i've got some questions... if some of you could kindly assist.

It's just abit *daunting* and confusing process. I basically know the design part of websites, so its all good.

So my step as follows (for example):

1) I design a website that reflects a hosting business with pricing etc etc.

2) I signup & apply for a hosting reseller. (this has cpanel, modernbill and ihost for example).

now the part i have trouble with....

3) i need to implement onto the webpage, the entire Sign-up , Billing, Automation of a/c creations etc.
(i guess this is where programming knowledge of PHP as such is highly regarded).

whats the best way of doing this?.. do reseller hosts provide some sort of template in which you can just throw onto the website i designed.... and its as simple as 1-2-3... begin selling the hosting.

i might sound extreme silly, though its fraustrating.. and sleepless nights! lol.

we don;t want to hire 3rd party to assist installing these billing scripts as such.

Also... does cpanel for e.g. crucial for automated account setups for hosting??. curious.

If anyone could help, i would really appreciate the invaluable information or perhaps direct me to a "Beginners guide to establishing a Reselling business 101"

JC,
Sydney Australia

Hi there,

There are some resellers out there (After searching endlessly for them.) that provide you pretty much everything you would need for a quick start-up biz.

It would be wise to review the respected host's TOS and review their plans to ensure that what you believe you're getting, is infact what you will get. Some companies will offer you billing software but it will cost you extra ontop of your monthly bill, etc.

A simple, effective way to go about things would be to use the cPanel/WHM partnership, of course there are countless other possibilities between control panels and other panels, such as WHMCS. With WHM, you would create the accounts and then link them with a billing software, such as ModernBill or ClientExec. This would allow you to automate account creation before/after payment, or manual creation after payment. You really have a lot of choices and it'll come down pretty much to price, experience using applications and so on.

There are also hosts out there that will offer you end-user support, this basically means that the company you resell from, will also provide your customers the same support that they provide you, anonymously. Sometimes this is included for free, sometimes it will cost a little extra, so be sure to look into that.

Some hosts will even offer tutorials on how to get started. A good selection of Reseller hosts would be, ResellerZoom.com; InnoHosting.com; HostGator.net; and many more. This is however, if you're looking for a reseller host within the United States. I do not know of any hosts that offer reseller packages in Australia, so i'm of no help there.

Just be sure to take the time to review said hosts and other potential hosts and submit some presale questions to see how their response time turns out.

All the best in your search, and don't hesistate to continue asking us questions that you may need answers to :)

You won't need PHP knowledge to have everything integrate onto your website, if you're using WHMCS/ModernBill/Other.

Basically, when you create a package in one of those applications, they will give you a link. Put that link on your website and it will tie into the billing system for automation.

Other then that, read the "Running a Webhosting Business" forum. Lots of useful info there.

Good luck :)

Hi thanks for the prompt response guys, appreciate it alot.

I agree with reading the TOS. Though ive been researching for past few days, and there are two resellers which seem quite attactrive with the FREE included billing software like Modern Bill & I-Host.

I'm on a budget , therefore purchasing these licenses for monthly usage is expensive.. for me anyways. would rather a one-off licence.

Another question... control panels as such CPanel or WHC... are they neccessary if i would like to link to I-Host & Modern Bill ?... i guess it sounds alittle silly though.. bcoz these software packages were programmed in-conjunction for automation processes right?.

Reason being... ive found an attractive non-reseller company, however its hosting only.. and doesnt feature cpanel 10/11 nor WHM system. Wondering if i could *possibly* running a hosting business via that. suppose it would be extremely more work? and not very versetile management.

So in regards to your responses it does make much more sense, creating a package.. assigning space allocations etc etc.

Simply does that mean... i setup the clientexec, modern bill or ihost to the cpanel..... then from there i create a package... chuck a link onto the page?. Or is the software billing integrates onto the website?.

Does anybody know much abt iHost?... ive come across the interface signup.. its quite simple. Would someone suggest that others like clientexec or modern bill run easier?.

As far as things go.... all the best reseller deals are in the US!.. oh yes haha.. though hostgator are quite reasonable.

Try this Company /my-igroup.co.uk/resellers.php £9.99 includes WHMCS

Very Good , I have found to be...

Regards...

Hi friend

I think JDM-Dorian has summed it up.
Just go slow. Talk to your host. Read their TOS. Cpanel/whm control panel is good to start with n stay with it.

You can also use phpcoin to automate the process. If you need help, I can help you out. :)

Regards

James

Like mentioned there are good articles on these boards. You will find that many hosts provide free billing software. Have you thought about how you will provide support for your customers? If it's not something you want to handle right away you may want to consider finding a host that provides end-user (customer) support.

A few other good resources can be found here:

http://www.thewhir.com/reseller/articles/
http://www.thehostingnews.com/art-becoming-a-web-host-reseller.html

You can have a look to phpCoin which is a free solution for integrating front hosting site and backoffice (billing, etc).

Cpanel/whm control panel is good to start with n stay with it.

I wholly disagree. Before you say that, I'd have a look at H-Sphere (www.psoft.net).

thanks for all the help :)

Nnyan.. thats an extremely useful link for newbies like myself.

much appreciated!

Try this Company /my-igroup.co.uk/resellers.php £9.99 includes WHMCS

Very Good , I have found to be...

Regards...


Hi

do you host with these yourself? I highly doubt a hosting company who advertises Lycos hosting banners on their own website to be someone who is making much money.

Hello

With most billing systems you should be able to simply link to a page for the user to order at, you can in also customize the order pages in some billing systems such as ModernBill by editing header and footer files as well as choosing the coloring of the billing software's output.

It shouldn't be too hard setting up your site > billing. However, I recommend you "get to know" your billing system very well so that you can manage it correctly and can work it.

We originally went with automated account setup.. for a few days - I don't recommend that, you need time to check the customer out before activating their package, you don't want to be giving anyone access to the server if you do not need to (that's how I see it anyway :)). A lot of billing software can manage accounts with popular control panels such as cPanel and will be able to do things such as suspend the hosting automatically after warnings of unpaid invoices.

Tip: choose your billing software carefully! :P

i wondering the same thing.. the plans look to good to be true... and never heard of any reviews from this host.

subliminal host, i agree with that part.. possibly best to approve customers manually, just a thought it'll be annoying for their side waiting patiently.

also means we have to constantly be monintoring emails hehe

Hi

do you host with these yourself? I highly doubt a hosting company who advertises Lycos hosting banners on their own website to be someone who is making much money.

Seems To Me, This Thread Was Started by jayc08 asking for advice and a few pointers, This I have Given, In My Opinion... It may Not Be the Best Opinion Here , BUT IT IS MY OWN OPINION.. Which If I Am Not Mistaken , Is The Whole Point Of Forums In The 1st Place... To Exchange Views, Opinions, Thoughts or Help. Well That Is The Way I Have Run Forums For the Past God Knows How Many Years..

Just Because It Says I Am New HERE .. Does NOT MEAN I AM NEW TO BOTH FORUMS AND HOSTING . I Have Been Giving Sites Away For The Last 8 Years At Least..

Hi

do you host with these yourself? I highly doubt a hosting company who advertises Lycos hosting banners on their own website to be someone who is making much money.

Being A Buisness Man Myself , I Own 2 PC Shops , As Well As Being A Fully Qualified IT Tech For The Past 15 Years... I Would Say He Is Useing SOUND JUDGMENT In Useing Any Advertising Revenue He Can Generate.. So PRUDENT BUSINESS SENSE Is My Opinion ( Again )

Again I Can See Business Sense , In As Much As , Some Here Are Trying To Steer jayc08 Away From A Cheaper Alternative ; Maybe Its Because The Company I Mentioned , Can Offer Far More , For Far Less Dollars..

But Then Again , That Is Only My Humble Opinion...

Footnote: I Constantly Trial Other Hosting Providers , Normally 2 or 3 At A Time..
This Company IS THE ONLY ONE That I Have Stayed With..

Regards...

Please...for the love of all that is holy, edit your post and type things out properly. It makes your credibility of owning shops and being around for 15 years very doubtful

What do you know... Another Premium Member on my case...

I tried editing the post above , but it has a 15 min rule installed , so could not do so...

????

IVHOSTING.com is best to start with.

Limited to 100 domains, particular about high resource applications are the only issues.

Good luck.

do you really need Cpanel? othewise take a look to Hsphere, you have billing/helpdesk/control panel integrated. A host that comes to my mind offering Hsphere is Cartikahosting.com, they have great reviews on this forum

why dont you try whmcs...
it is pretty good i heard

For a billing system, use Paypal. You only pay when people sign up and it is all secure, don't need SSL certificates and they give you the code to put a button onto your site.

Hi JohnL,

in regards to payment system i.e. paypal..

if i wanted to integrate this into Client Exec for .e.g, could i basically use the default "Website Payments" option or...
do i have to switch to "Payflow Gateway" option?.
the numerous options are abit confusing..

also do i need to setup anything else.?. do i have to know what api is or as such?.

any help much appreciative. Thankyou.

Jay,

just go to paypal and have a look at what they offer. You can setup the payments where people can sign up for a monthly fee and then the keep getting billed that fee till they advise you to stop.

You can also have the payments run a certain amount of time till they stop. Have a look at the Merchant Tools section. It may not be what you are looking for as I am new to this as well, but it is worth a look. They are making improvements all the time and people can pay using various credit cards including VISA

lol ^^ My mate who didnt have a clue on how to copy and paste with his keyboard managed to setup a pretty nice website for his webhost, shame he didnt know how to login to whm... hehe

IVHOSTING.com is best to start with.

Limited to 100 domains, particular about high resource applications are the only issues.

Good luck.
Dunno where you get that they are limited to 100 domains. Their website still states UNLIMITED. Not that I'll ever need unlimited, or even 100.

I'm not surprised they are particular about high resource applications, and as a customer I'm glad they do. :)