Part one... what we want to do:
Provide a bit of flexibility to our resellers.
Most hosting companies provide reseller space, but give their resellers close to no means of taking advantage of that space. They have to go and add/configure domains manually in the control panel and give their customers only domain logins (for plesk at least).
Now what we want to do is give our resellers means to be more flexible about these aspects and automate some of the tasks.
In the first phase we want to add a subsection to our customer area (not plesk) in which our resellers will be able to create their own plans with custom hdd/traffic/domains/databases limits within their quota of course. The reseller made plans will translate directly into a plesk account, which they can give to their customers. Advantage number one, customer can keep more domains in one plesk account.
Next step is to build an API (like enom’s) that will provide all the above functionality, and build an unbranded site based on that API, which we can give to our resellers. Site would handle everything from plan information to payment/order processing and automated plan creation. Basically the kind of service you can provide with a dedicated server.
In other words we want to provide a turn key business for our resellers.
Part two… questions:
This all takes a bit of work and as I know we’re not the first to do it, I’m curious of any past similar experiences and comments. Basically trying to see if it’s worth implementing.
1) How much do you think such a package would be worth to someone? I mean basic setup. Monthly fees will be based on the hdd/traffic used. Design/customization will be available and added above the basic setup fee, unless the reseller wants to do them himself.
2) Do you think people would take advantage of such a package? Working with a web API takes a bit of programming knowledge or $ to hire a programmer, which some resellers might not be willing to spend upfront, rather stick to a html template they copy and change from somewhere. The unbranded site, even if we’re going to give away for free will still require a bit of knowledge and time to customize, which brings us back to the above problem.
3) What similar services do you know? I know there are some, but beside Enom, I didn’t find any.
4) Any suggestions?
5) If you were a wh reseller, would you use such a service? And if yes, under what terms?
Thanks for your time reading this.
Double thanks if you take the time to reply
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