guys,

excuse me if there is a thread already existing, I am looking at the scope of web hosting company, option1 -paid hosting company option2-free hosting company

What kind of software is needed for starting web hosting company,
needed portal,e-comm package,control panel software which is everything tightly integrated, means if some guy pays money, by the next 1hr or automatically he should get his account setup.
As a first time in business what softwares are best choises to get initial customer base. Any precaution measures that need to be taken in terms of security as so many people would be using single box to host their content. I don;t think iam going to advertise packages that never reach commitment levels such as 2000gb transfer for 20 or 30 bucks.


for example if i like to offer free web hosting services something like geocities or better, what additional software iam going to need, like website builder along with all options above,
and how do i make webmail to be running on port 80 instead of wierd port.

I think many people here would recommend WHMCS as a order processor/billing centre.

It is very good to hear that you are not going to oversell.
I think many of the big hosts already have this covered and you would not be able to get a foothold in the market.

If you are running cPanel you can create a "/*" redirect to the webmail port. This will redirect all traffic that visit the domain to the webmail address.

I am not too sure on free web hosting software.

well , iam planning to use pure commercial quality softwares only , medium cost type, reason i have asked for port 80 of webmail is, if the guy wants to check mail over proxy which does not allow other than port 80.
there can be big hosts but, just giving a try.

well , iam planning to use pure commercial quality softwares only , medium cost type, reason i have asked for port 80 of webmail is, if the guy wants to check mail over proxy which does not allow other than port 80.
there can be big hosts but, just giving a try.

I believe you could setup gmail to retrieve your emails from a remote mail server.

You could then logon to gmail via the proxy to read your emails.

WHMCS (http://www.whmcs.com/index.php) is a great billing/support script, and the new version, 3.2 stable, just became available.

how to start web hosting company
Don't want to be rude or anything but, asking this question in a public forum is the greatest reason for NOT to start at all...

You can sign up for reseller hosting plan that bundled with billing software and other goodies. These are good enough to get your started. Next is to market your company which will take quite abit of time and effort.

yeah i know not to ask in public forum, provided there are so many companies out there it is no private any more, so ......

i could get a reseller but, like to have own server and it is not difficult these days

ok, may be i should now go for whmcs/cpanel , may be i have make a test setup,

does anyone know how i can provide web templates to the clients, web builder etc.. and what do i need to automatically insert advertisement (may be google ads) into free websites.

ok, may be i should now go for whmcs/cpanel , may be i have make a test setup,

does anyone know how i can provide web templates to the clients, web builder etc.. and what do i need to automatically insert advertisement (may be google ads) into free websites.

Since you're already interested in WHMCS, you could sell those extra services through their affiliation with DirectI/Resellers Club.

If you get cPanel with fantastico deluxe you can install Soholaunch on your clients sites.

thanks coldmedia/uberhost , helpful info, need to do more homework.

If you dont want to get a reseller first , i would advise going to a VPS before a Dedicated.

It will help you find your linux and cPanel feet without breaking the bank.

All the answers you're looking for and more is on these forums multiple times.

how to start web hosting company

First you learn to use the Search function at WHT as this has been covered by multiple threads every week.

Then if you still dont know and havent written a comprehensive business plan, then dont bother.

i did search once, did not show up properly

i did search once, did not show up properly

try searching for "start web host" :p

So you want to start your own web hosting company (http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2003/8/12/205240/132)

This link is help full. I wish i thought about hosting when i was going to collage.

ok man, let me search and see, i want to find answers.