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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Sep 2015
    Posts
    44

    I'm now with a reseller account and... I dunno where to start Help?

    Hi Guys!

    I now have a reseller account... and I dunno where to start... anything I should do first? do I first make a website etc?


    I'm blind as a bat with a blindfold here.. haha

    I mean I will know eventually but I think I need a guide to point me on what to do or where to go...

    Thanks in advance!

  2. #2
    Assuming you plan to sell web hosting (?)... my advice would be: don't... not if you have to ask such questions, it pretty much says you don't have a business plan or not even the most basic of plans...

    The web hosting market is extremely saturated, and there simply is no room for the "I'll just wing it" or "I'll figure it as I go along" attitude.

    If you're not planning on selling web hosting, then my above assumption is wrong and you can ignore it, but you'll need to give us more details what you plan on doing with your reseller account? what goal do you wish to reach?
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  3. #3
    Join Date
    Sep 2015
    Posts
    44
    Quote Originally Posted by HB-Andrei View Post
    Assuming you plan to sell web hosting (?)... my advice would be: don't... not if you have to ask such questions, it pretty much says you don't have a business plan or not even the most basic of plans...

    The web hosting market is extremely saturated, and there simply is no room for the "I'll just wing it" or "I'll figure it as I go along" attitude.

    If you're not planning on selling web hosting, then my above assumption is wrong and you can ignore it, but you'll need to give us more details what you plan on doing with your reseller account? what goal do you wish to reach?
    well yeah... I want to sell web hosting.. and I do have a plan and a goal... I just wanted to know whether there should be something done first...

    I'm sorry I'm an idiot

  4. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by megabut02 View Post
    well yeah... I want to sell web hosting.. and I do have a plan and a goal... I just wanted to know whether there should be something done first...

    I'm sorry I'm an idiot
    Well, I certainly didn't want to make you feel that way, was not my intention.

    However, in your plan, how do you see yourself profiting or even keeping the business afloat?... you've mentioned a website, yes that would be among the very first things you'd need to do in order for your business to have a "face", decide on a billing system and properly configure it, add packages to your site and your billing system... what about support? will you be handling it all by yourself?... how do you plan to advertise your website?
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  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    South Carolina
    Posts
    224
    Step 1: Get your domain. Be careful picking your name as people need to remember it.
    Step 2: Get your cpanel account created inside your reseller.
    Step 3: Upload a billing software, such as WHMCS. Then, a lot of sites sell "themes" for WHMCS that can make it look professional with just uploading the theme files.
    Step 4: Edit the theme with your information about your plans, costs, etc.
    Step 5: Set up WHMCS. (Search google on guides on how to set up WHMCS)
    Step 6: Test your setup to see if it all works.
    Step 7: Advertise your services.

    When it comes to offering support to your clients, you need to learn up on how web hosting works and know the ins and outs, or hire a 3rd party to handle all the support tickets for you.
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  6. #6
    Join Date
    Oct 2011
    Posts
    1,321
    If you are going to sell web hosting, you have to have a way to get customers.

    99% of the time, this will be from your public website. Now we provided web hosting for 5 years before we had a public, but that is because we started as a web development firm, hosting our customers websites. We had a web based control panel, but no public site. Unless your business plan includes another offline way of getting customers, you will need a website.

    WHMCS is the most common web hosting billing suite. You can find lots of website templates that integrate with WHMCS to get you started fast.

    Support is very important. If you get customers, but can't provide support around the clock, you will not keep your customers. If your host does not offer providing end user support for resellers, you may want to look into a host that does, or getting a outsourced reseller support plan.
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  7. #7
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    /root
    Posts
    23,990
    If it is cPanel, make sure you are familiar using it. They have docs on how to use it.

    Specially 4 U
    Reseller Hosting: Boost Your Websites | Fully Managed KVM VPS: 3.20 - 5.00 Ghz, Pure Dedicated Power
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  8. #8
    You should setup WHMCS first and then start working on good looking website or just buy some whmcs templates.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Feb 2015
    Posts
    571
    Many reputed hosts like Innohosting provide all you require to start with, along with their reseller plans. You just need to invest time and build up your website. They also provide end user support. Once your website and plans are ready, and billing system is properly configured and tested, next thing you need to concentrate is on marketing.
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  10. #10
    First of all you need to do some market research and understand (at least for yourself) who will be your potential client and how you can reach them. Then based on this you will understand what kind of packages you will be offering (linux or windows etc) and based on this start the search for the reseller account.
    Then you will have some technical realted moments which were described by USHost247-ChrisGrigg here.
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  11. #11
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    New Jersey, USA
    Posts
    4,740
    Quote Originally Posted by megabut02 View Post
    well yeah... I want to sell web hosting.. and I do have a plan and a goal... I just wanted to know whether there should be something done first...

    I'm sorry I'm an idiot
    Is your plan & goal to make money? You wont succeed.

    Starting and running a hosting company is not easy. It will take 2 years before you start making any profit and that is with some hard work.

    What billing system will you be using, platform etc?

    - Daniel

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Sep 2015
    Posts
    44
    Quote Originally Posted by TmzHosting View Post
    Is your plan & goal to make money? You wont succeed.

    Starting and running a hosting company is not easy. It will take 2 years before you start making any profit and that is with some hard work.

    What billing system will you be using, platform etc?

    - Daniel
    No... I don't plan to just sell hosting for money... I already have a stable income from my computershop.

    I wanted to do something while I can.. Imagine having to sit all day and monitor your business.. I have more time I can spend unless I apply for work. so I thought why not get a reseller plan and host my own website to promote my business.. help my brother with his website... and earn something while at it... even if it's just to pay for the plan I registered.

    now there's my problem right now.. I'm using WHMCS... I've already started my website..

    it's not complete yet since I'm stuck at deciding on what to do with the shopping cart etc...

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Posts
    5,393
    Quote Originally Posted by megabut02 View Post
    No... I don't plan to just sell hosting for money... I already have a stable income from my computershop.

    I wanted to do something while I can.. Imagine having to sit all day and monitor your business.. I have more time I can spend unless I apply for work. so I thought why not get a reseller plan and host my own website to promote my business.. help my brother with his website... and earn something while at it... even if it's just to pay for the plan I registered.

    now there's my problem right now.. I'm using WHMCS... I've already started my website..

    it's not complete yet since I'm stuck at deciding on what to do with the shopping cart etc...
    Your expectations seem more than reasonable to me. If you've got the time and don't have to worry about an immediate profit, why not go for it. To get started, familiarize yourself with the platform you've chosen as much as possible, building/maintaining your own site will be a good way to build real-world experience.

    WHMcs is a popular and easy to use option for support and billing, I don't see a problem with moving forward with it.
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  14. #14
    Join Date
    Mar 2011
    Location
    United Kingdom
    Posts
    913
    Hello

    Well you have a great head start with your current business (Computer Shop), web hosting will be a nice addition service/income to have running and is quite easy to setup just takes a little time and patience.

    Everything in Red will be my advice

    1) Business plan!

    You need to create a business plan before you do anything, think of how you're going to advertise your hosting services? will you be providing your clients support or do you need to purchase End User Support? Will you offer 24/7 Support?How many hosting plans will you offer? how much will you charge? How will you be different from any other Hosting provider?

    2) The website, are you planning on adding web hosting to your current computer shop website? if not then you need to of course start thinking of a name for this business/website then register the domain and setup the website.

    I would add web hosting service to your current website (if you have 1) just makes things easier to manage, having a computer shop is great advantage so make use for it. Keep the website clean and modern and make sure its responsive to improve SEO.

    3) You will need a reseller account, preferably which a billing system to cut out other costs.

    Sounds like you already have a reseller account, but make sure you do your research into who ever you choose as you need a stable environment for your clients. Avoid any Unlimited providers, think of how you are going to provide support for your clients, do you need a reseller account that offers End User Support? or will you be providing support for your clients? Billing system wise WHMCS is great tool to use.

    4) Setup your WHMCS

    This is the part which takes time to get right, there are company's out there who will setup WHMCS for you for a small fee or you could do this yourself. WHMCS provide a lot of tutorials to help you, think about how your going to sell domains? How will you accept payments? Provide Support? once everything is setup look at getting your WHMCS skinned to match your website.

    5) Testing/review

    Make sure everything is working, your price structure is accurate, don't try and compete with all the bigger hosts as you will fail. You can always be that little more expensive and provide sale coupons to attract new customers.

    6) Advertise

    As I mentioned above, having your own computer shop is a great advantage over other new starters. However don't just leave it there, get posting on forums, leaflets, contacting local businesses and get your name out there!


    We all had to start somewhere, so if you need any help/advice let me know and I will be happy to point you in the right direction

  15. #15
    Since you mentioned you run a computer shop you have a unique advantage of getting business from your existing customers. You could put up a sign at the checkout counter that says "Be a beta tester: Try our new web hosting services for free (domain not included)" or something like that. Then you could familiarize yourself with running a hosting business, get an idea of the resources you will need, and make money from selling domains in the meantime (albeit not much). Then you could start billing once you get the feel for things. I'm assuming your computer shop already has a site so you could advertise the beta accounts there as well.
    Last edited by mrsmith1; 09-29-2015 at 08:08 PM.

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Sep 2015
    Posts
    44
    Hi Guys! Thank you for everything Your Insights and tips!

    I'm now settled!

    THANK YOU!!

  17. #17
    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Location
    Monterrey NL Mexico
    Posts
    93
    You've received some great advice here from some of the most knowledgeable people in the industry.

    All I can add is end-user customer support is key. That means 24 hour a day, seven days a week.

    I run two small hosting sites. One site is niche, managed WordPress hosting in Spanish. We do it all for the end user. They just focus on content. The other is a new site, still being built and we're using Innohosting just because they offer FREE WHMCS, free end-user support, and legal documents. We're translating them to Spanish and making changes to meet local laws for where we're located.

    What sold us on Innohsoting was their customer support and patience they all had in dealing with me when I misunderstood something.

    I think for someone starting out Innohosting would be an excellent choice as they really do offer everything you need. You just have to build your website. Plus, their support has been outstanding!

    Back to my niche site. I found my customers in my own backyard, you know the small businesses, mom and pop shops. I already did business with most of them, like the local butcher. Just had to convince him why a website was better than Facebook. The team developed his site and I even went to his house to configure his email client.

    He spoke with a friend who sells cell phones and wanted a site. The friend contacted me. Most of the new sign ups are organic, they come from existing clients.

    Yes, we are indeed expensive, but look at the level of support we provide. That is the key!


    I wish you all the best in your endeavor!
    Joe MTYNL
    How have you improved yourself today?

  18. #18
    Join Date
    Oct 2015
    Posts
    49
    Here is an excellent video tutorial on setting up your whmcs system: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzIv...E2A16886FCA6E9

    This will take a long time to setup, trust me I went through it once . As for the website, I would recommend buying a theme, you'll probably need someone to set it up for you. You'll save a massive amount of time and money by going with a theme instead of a custom website. Once your site is going strong, then i would suggest getting a custom website, its just not worth it in the beginning in my opinion. Finally, listen to the guys on this forum! They have a lot more experience than me!

  19. #19
    Join Date
    Sep 2003
    Posts
    3,857
    Quote Originally Posted by Joemtynl View Post
    You've received some great advice here from some of the most knowledgeable people in the industry.

    All I can add is end-user customer support is key. That means 24 hour a day, seven days a week.

    I run two small hosting sites. One site is niche, managed WordPress hosting in Spanish. We do it all for the end user. They just focus on content. The other is a new site, still being built and we're using Innohosting just because they offer FREE WHMCS, free end-user support, and legal documents. We're translating them to Spanish and making changes to meet local laws for where we're located.

    What sold us on Innohsoting was their customer support and patience they all had in dealing with me when I misunderstood something.

    I think for someone starting out Innohosting would be an excellent choice as they really do offer everything you need. You just have to build your website. Plus, their support has been outstanding!

    Back to my niche site. I found my customers in my own backyard, you know the small businesses, mom and pop shops. I already did business with most of them, like the local butcher. Just had to convince him why a website was better than Facebook. The team developed his site and I even went to his house to configure his email client.

    He spoke with a friend who sells cell phones and wanted a site. The friend contacted me. Most of the new sign ups are organic, they come from existing clients.

    Yes, we are indeed expensive, but look at the level of support we provide. That is the key!


    I wish you all the best in your endeavor!
    Thanks for the recommendation @Joemtynl! Great to hear you're happy with our services . A lot of people enjoy using our end user support services as it is an extremely versatile system. We've also released a WHMCS v6 module as well which makes integrating it into WHMCS take only a couple of minutes with simple point & click configuration.. So customers can be up & running and offer 24x7 support to their customers under their brand right through their own billing system while routing their tickets to our system for our techs to handle. I think that is very beneficial since the techs have access to the servers and are able to fix any troubleshoot any issues that come up promptly. There is an API as well to allow integration into virtually any system.

    We're actually gearing up for a new version of our helpdesk system with some exciting new & unique features which I know you in particular will find beneficial.
    Last edited by rv_irl; 10-26-2015 at 11:45 AM.

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