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  1. #1

    Want to start own brand web hosting company

    Hi,

    Doing freelance hosting supports to friends and their customers I have now around 15-20 accounts under me with around 50 domains. I have hosted their hosting on shared reseller hosting account with providing them ftp details to their hosting account. Now I am looking for starting my own brand web hosting company wherein I can do the local selling and also get the new accounts coming in through online through my website. I need your help with the following details:

    1. Web hosting site designing or ready to use template.
    2. How can I integrate or add control panel through which my clients can manage their domain and hosting account. New customers can register and starting purchasing through online.
    3. Which hosting should I go with ie. reseller/VPS/Dedicated.

    I want to sell domain, windows and Linux hosting, reseller accounts and other web related servers as well.

    Godaddy provides reseller account with less cost and ready to use store fronts but I have read some negative reviews about godaddy reseller hosting so not sure to go with it.

    I would appreciate your valued feedback and suggestion on guiding this newbie Entrepreneur in web hosting.

    Thank you,
    Shabbir
    Last edited by shabbirali; 06-29-2010 at 12:13 PM. Reason: sorry for typo

  2. #2
    Join Date
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    You can find reseller hosting accounts everywhere these days, i would reccomend http://www.tech-hosts.co.uk. They've served me in the past and have extremely reliable servers, support and services.

    They're also very affordable, using cPanel & WHM, great!

  3. #3
    Reseller account for web hosting (master reseller if you want to sell reseller accounts as well)
    Custom made quality web design.
    reseller account for domain name registration.

    I suppose that would be enough to get started.

  4. #4
    Join Date
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    1. Web hosting site designing or ready to use template.
    Perhaps you can get a freelancer (there are some who do them on this forum as well).


    2. How can I integrate or add control panel through which my clients can manage their domain and hosting account. New customers can register and starting purchasing through online.
    Some providers allow you to use WHMCS or ClientExec. Some of which are already included in reseller programmes. These programs automatically manages online purchases and billing easily. You can also purchase the licenses seperately and owned it.

    3. Which hosting should I go with ie. reseller/VPS/Dedicated.
    Given that you have about 20 accounts, you may want to start with a reseller account first, unless you have some with heavy usage or have some special requirements. You can always upgrade to VPS later on. Finding a reseller account with cPanel or DirectAdmin would also help you and your clients a lot. It makes migration easier too.
    Jweeb Solutions
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  5. #5
    1) - I'd never use a template and would go for a custom design!

    2) - Its not tough to integrate WHMCS or ModernBill to your website

    3) - Right now you have 15-20 accounts with 50 or so domains so you should probably think about getting a VPS. Reseller will do nicely but going for VPS will push you hard to fetch some new accounts

    4) - You can get the reseller account from resellerclub or enom to sell domain and related services

    Shabbir, it wont be easy to run a business so do the homework pretty well and then and only then execute the plan!

    Good luck!
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  6. #6
    Get your own design to be unique, you don't want to look like another boring old web host. You can use WHMCS for your billing software. And lastly, use a VPS at first and move on to a dedicated server when you get a good customer base.
    Proudly Hosted By TropicHost.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by InbrecoWS View Post
    You can find reseller hosting accounts everywhere these days, i would reccomend http://www.tech-hosts.co.uk. They've served me in the past and have extremely reliable servers, support and services.

    They're also very affordable, using cPanel & WHM, great!
    Tech-host.co.uk is not good choice. Their servers are overloaded!
    Hostingserbia.eu Shared hosting. VPS hosting Dedicated servers

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Almighty View Post
    Get your own design to be unique, you don't want to look like another boring old web host. You can use WHMCS for your billing software. And lastly, use a VPS at first and move on to a dedicated server when you get a good customer base.
    Good points!

    Start off with VPS and scale the VPS up until you exceed its capacity, then move to dedicated. You want to start small as possible and upgrade constantly, it will take more time but it will save you a LOT of money.
    'Ripcord'ing is the only way!

  9. #9
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    1. WHMCS is perfect. What I recommend is going to a web design company such as Payton Designs and pay for a fully coded hosting site with a custom WHMCS Integration. You would need to make sure that your domain reseller is listed in the WHMCS control panel for integration or else you wouldn't be able to allow clients to manage the domains directly on your website.

    2. I would start off with a VPS. Most of them are white labeled and only experience users can figure out that you are a reseller. It isn't a bad thing to mention you resell either. That way you aren't lying to your customers. I would probably try to find a good reseller account at a provider that you could upgrade to a VPS so when you need expansion it can be done seemlessly.

    3. If you are going to want to sell such a broad variety of hosting from the get go you are going to either be able to support your clients at a reasonable response time. Again, don't lie about this. You could outsource your support. Or, you could hire support staff. Also, if you are going to do the one man crew thing and offer that variety you aren't going to be using a reseller. You will probably need a VPS for windows hosting and another for Linux. Or get a managed server and see if they will partition it for separate operating systems.

    If you plan to launch and provide the services you want you are going to need a sys-admin. Unless you can mitigate dos yourself. Monitor your server for odd named files. And install protection. (of course you could get a managed server but having 1 person that can do this all that is right by yourside will make things easier)

    Good luck, feel free to PM me for any further information

  10. #10
    I recommend to visit tophosts.com and go to reseller section for reliable companies.

  11. #11
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    Try to organize the whole process so it could be easier to manage the new hosting brand. WHMCS or any other similar CRM would work good. There are a number of domain registrars that offer domain names at low cost if you deposit some money on account. If you do not want to deal with a server management, then don't get a VPS or dedicated server (unless their are managed) and start with Reseller account. As far as for the web design, there are plenty of templates around. However I suggest you not to go with a template, because you'd find another company that uses the same... and this would bring some confusion both to you and to your customers.
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  12. #12
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    Look for a new design rather than a ready made template because it gives you a fresh look in this business. You can find reseller hosting provider very easily who offer domain reseller account & billing software i.e. WHMCS or Client Exec free along with Reseller Hosting.

    Since you are having only 15-20 accounts & starting a new hosting company, you should look for a reseller hosting provider & upgrade it by VPS or Dedicated server in future once your client's list goes up.

    We wish you a very good luck.

  13. #13
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    WHM and WHMCS would set you up nicely.

    Go for custom template, preferably one from a web design business as then you can critizise it more and can have it changed to the way you want it, rather then you make it and get people to critisize it for you (Just a tip).
    Garbott Ltd - Exceptional web development, hosting & consultancy services

  14. #14
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    You can check the design offers section for a custom desgin. jtam does nice work at very reasonable prices, I'm considering having him do some work for me.

  15. #15
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    WHMCS on a reseller plan should serve you well at first. You have a big advantage over many startups: you already have real, paying customers!

  16. #16
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    I would recommend you get a master reseller account (gives your the ability to sell reseller accounts along with shared accounts). If you don't have the funds at first go with a free template, but eventually you need to get a custom one. This will help your business stand apart from others. I suggest using WHMCS because it gives you support ticket, billing system, and automatic cpanel account creation. I'm also pretty sure it comes with an affiliate program you can implement into your business.

    Hostgator offers a free WHMCS license when you purchase a reseller account. They also offer 4500+ free pre-made templates for you, and your customers use. Also comes with over 400 brandable cpanel tutorials for your clients. However they don't have the master reseller option.

    Hope this helps,
    good luck!
    Last edited by rpoarch; 07-01-2010 at 03:53 PM.
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  17. #17
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    I guess one needs to be a bit careful these days about master reseller accounts. What if you're getting it from an alpha master reseller? Do you really want to do that?

  18. #18
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    Many template vendor have the option to make a unique buy which will ensure no more people will buy it.
    As for the entegration, I'd say use cPanel with WHMCS and it should all go smooth.
    Finally, I'd say you go Dedicated if you have enough knowledge.
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  19. #19
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    Whatever you decide I'd like to ofer my advice on a few points:

    1) Start Small.

    If you're starting your own host you'll be supporting clients directly and people will want faster support. So I advise you don't go into Windows hosting yet. Focus on your local market, linux shared hosting only. Build your service on value. Be available on the phone, make sure phone goes to an answerphone when you're unavailable, ring clients back. Get known as the "hosting guy" in your area.

    2) Think Long-Term.

    Any money you make, just plug it back into the business. Do this for a whole year (i.e. take no wage from it). The revenue you inject back into your company can be used for advertising and maybe a support tech.
    Laurence Flynn @ HostNEXUS.com
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  20. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by Winglet View Post
    Tech-host.co.uk is not good choice. Their servers are overloaded!
    I just want to explain little more my po9st above:
    Tech-host.co.uk server was overloaded about three month ago, when i had account with them.
    Hostingserbia.eu Shared hosting. VPS hosting Dedicated servers

  21. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by InbrecoWS View Post
    You can find reseller hosting accounts everywhere these days, i would reccomend http://www.tech-hosts.co.uk. They've served me in the past and have extremely reliable servers, support and services.

    They're also very affordable, using cPanel & WHM, great!
    What domain do you have hosted with them?

  22. #22
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    Quote Originally Posted by overlineindia View Post
    Look for a new design rather than a ready made template because it gives you a fresh look in this business. You can find reseller hosting provider very easily who offer domain reseller account & billing software i.e. WHMCS or Client Exec free along with Reseller Hosting.

    Since you are having only 15-20 accounts & starting a new hosting company, you should look for a reseller hosting provider & upgrade it by VPS or Dedicated server in future once your client's list goes up.

    We wish you a very good luck.
    Is it just me or does your design look startling similar to Hostgator.com

  23. #23
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    I would chose to have a custom designed website.

    Definitely stick with Reseller. VPS or dedi can be a bit more work to maintain which you want to keep to a minimum in the beginning.

    I would definitely recommend using WHMCS as your automation tool. Its far better than others I have used.

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