Reseller Hosting Demystified 2

"Overselling" -- What's It All About?

Overselling is a fairly common practice among Web hosts. Consider that a typical Web host might be allotted a set amount of space and bandwidth (for example 1000Mb of space and 10,000Mb of bandwidth), which they divide up to sell to their customers. Now, suppose the Web host offers plans that comprise 200Mb of space, and 2,000Mb of bandwidth. Without overselling, the Web host will be limited to only five of those plans before they've used up all the space and bandwidth they've purchased from their reseller.

Overselling works on the principle that, even though the plan may be 200Mb of space and 2,000Mb of bandwidth, the individual customer will not actually use that much space or bandwidth. This gives the Web host the ability to sell 10 or more of these plans, even though, technically, they're doubling what is actually available to them. Overselling is based on the hope that none of the host's customers will come close to their allotted limits. It can work, but it can also turn around and bite the host -- particularly if a customer genuinely does need the amount of space and bandwidth they've purchased.
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Control panel software that actually prevents the host from overselling your space is available -- some software will allow it completely, and some that give the site owner the option to choose whether overselling on their account is enabled.
Where does Reselling Fit?

Reselling, and hosts that offer reseller plans, are more or less the "middle ground". What I mean is that, if you look at the categories I mentioned above, reseller hosts are the middle ground between shared or virtual hosting, and a dedicated hosting situation where you have and control your own server. Reseller services are often seen, and used as stepping stones for the host who's moving from the position of a "start up", to achieving dedicated hosting status.
I need a Reseller Account! Who do I Pick?

That's a tough one! Each reseller provider offers different packages at different prices. The old adage "you get what you pay for" is certainly true when it comes to reseller Web hosts, and as such, price isn't always the most important factor when it comes to reseller hosting. Often, the factors cited as most important by a customer of a reseller Web host are:

# Support
# Uptime
# Communication
# Price

Take your time, look at different companies, and go to places like www.sitepointforums.com or www.webhostingtalk.com, and search the forums for discussions on the companies you've looked at: see what others have to say about their service and professionalism. Email the company to ask a few questions, and be specific! For example, if you want to know what their policy on overselling is (regardless of whether it's discussed on their site or not), email them and ask! Never feel that your questions are "silly" or "obvious" -- if you're unsure, ask. You'll be able to determine from their response whether you like the "tone" and depth of their reply, and whether you're satisfied with their service or not.

All these things will contribute to your overall perception of the company. Communication is valuable, so make sure your host of choice communicates clearly to their customers. If you want more "real-world" opinions on the host, join forums and ask for other people's opinions -- maybe even ask for existing customers to make comment.

Good luck in your search. May you and your chosen host have a successful reselling partnership!

Reseller Hosting Demystified 1

By Nathan McKinlay

Web hosting can essentially be placed into three categories.

1. Shared or virtual
2. Reseller
3. Dedicated

The most common is shared, where you have an account with a hosting company to whom you pay a monthly or yearly fee, in exchange for a pre-determined amount of space, bandwidth and a few extra's like PHP or ASP support (or both), and CGI etc. Often, each shared hosting account allows you to host one domain at a time, with a single control panel -- and that's pretty much it. Most of the time, that's all people require, and so the need for these types of hosting environments will always exist.

Often, when a host is first starting out, they won't have enough capital to afford their own server, and sometimes they don't have the time to commit to server maintenance as well as trying to market and grow their new Web venture. Websites need to be hosted on a server somewhere, but if the company offering the hosting services is in this situation, how can they offer competitive hosting packages without the increased expense of buying or renting their own server?

This is where reseller-style hosting comes into the picture.
What Is It?
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Reseller hosting is where a Web host buys a bulk plan from the reseller hosting company, and then subdivides that plan into smaller pieces to on-sell or "resell" to individual users.

The reseller host provides large scale hosting packages where, for a fixed cost, substantial packages of space and bandwidth are made available, together with the ability to host bulk domain names. The individual Web host can then concentrate on providing packages and plans to attract customers, without having to own, manage and maintain their own server.
Who Operates the Server?

The sever is run by the reselling company, and all server issues are taken care of on behalf of the reseller's customer: the Web host. The Web host is generally free to claim the server as "theirs", although they rarely have full access to it. However, this doesn't mean they can't ask for things to be done to the server. For example, if a particular host needs a module installed to help run a script they have, they can request that it be installed -- most reseller hosts are more than happy to install these items for their clients.
So Why not Go Straight to the Reseller Host?

Most site owners' Web hosting needs are met through relatively small amounts of space and bandwidth. A reseller-style account involves a large amount of space and bandwidth, generally too much for a single site to ever use.

Additionally, prices are generally more expensive at the reseller host than at the shared host; after all, the on-seller subdivides these larger chunks into smaller lots suitable to the average site owner's needs.
What is Unbranded Reselling About?

When a reseller host says they offer unbranded reseller plans (sometimes referred to as 'private label' plans), it simply means they provide their Web hosting services to their customers in such a way that it appears they do not exist.

How this works is that the reseller host uses an ambiguous domain as the primary name for their servers -- they choose not to brand that domain with their own logo or name. This allows the smaller hosting on-seller to tell their clients that the server and associated domain name belong to them. This gives the impression that the on-seller is somewhat larger than it actually is, and that it owns and controls its own servers.
Who Uses Reseller Web Hosts?

Many Web hosting companies are in fact reselling the server space and bandwidth of another company. Using a reseller is an extremely effective way to break into the Web hosting industry, as it generally entails a reasonable monthly cost without the worries of server management, maintenance, and dealing with data centres. It's essentially a stepping stone for new and small Web hosts, initially allowing them to provide hosting services and then, when they've outgrown their reseller hosting, they can easily move on to their own semi-dedicated or dedicated server.

Reseller hosts are useful for the following type of people:

# Start-up Web hosts

# Web hosting companies that need to expand, but are not ready for a dedicated server

# Individuals with medium sized forums, who need a larger than average amount of bandwidth and disk space

# Individuals, who have multiple, or bulk, domain names and are looking to host all their domains under the one plan, rather than having multiple hosting accounts

# Individuals with a popular domain that needs bandwidth limits in excess of those imposed by many smaller Web hosts

How To Host Several Websites Under One Account

By Mario Sanchez

Reseller Accounts

If you operate several websites, each with its own domain name, signing up of separate hosting accounts can be an expensive proposition. Even if your hosting company offers the add-on domain feature (which will allow you to add different domains to the same hosting account) you will be charged a monthly fee for each domain you add, sometimes costing almost the same as your full hosting fee.

The solution is to open a reseller account. Reseller accounts were created to allow web designers to offer hosting services to their customers, to create a one-stop-shop for all their web design and hosting needs. However, you don't need to be a reseller to buy a reseller hosting plan.

Reseller accounts are usually slightly more expensive than regular hosting accounts, but they will allow you to host different domain names without incurring in the add-on domain fees, making more efficient use of your space and bandwidth.

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Reseller Hosting Explained
Tuesday | Posted by Free WebHosting

By Ashish Jain

Reseller Defined:

The term Reseller according to the dictionary means to sell again i.e. to sell a product or service to the public or to an end user, especially as an authorized dealer, while making sure that you make a profit on the sale.

Reseller Hosting

Reseller hosting is no different either, a reseller buys a Web hosting package from a hosting company and tries to sell it independently. The profit for the reseller lies in either the discount or in the commission s/he gets from selling an account.

For example: The reseller might purchase a package whose features are valued at $100 for $90. So, the reseller stands to make a $10 profit on selling the package to customers. Normally as the customers increase, so does the profit margin for the reseller.

Or, you can get some money by earning commissions from a hosting company. This happens when you refer potential customers to the hosting company. If the customer signs up with the company then you earn a small recurring commission until the customer uses the services. Most web hosting companies try to outsource their services to resellers as it helps them to extend their business reach without the cost of marketing and sales and also helps them to concentrate on the business side of things.

What can be resold

As a reseller you can decide what kinds of services you can sell. You can provide shared, dedicated or co-location web hosting or merchant accounts, store fronts etc.

If you go with hosting then it might be useful to offer some other hosting related services like domain names, search engines etc.

Of course, if you have problems selling these value added services in the beginning then you can sell them later.

The cost and resources involved

The cost of becoming a reseller and the equipment and people required in order to be successful depends on many factors.

If you just plan to earn commission by referring people to the hosting company by using the Internet, then you do not have to put up a lot of money, all you need is an Internet ready PC and an Internet connection.

For a small start-up not a lot of money and resources are required. You can purchase a good reseller package from a hosting company by paying them some money upfront. All that is needed is a decent computer that can manage the accounts of customers and a good Internet connection.

It is advisable to start small if you are very new to the concept of web hosting and reselling. Then you can expand as you go on and start getting more and more customers in which case offering domain registration is also a very good way to make profits.

If you have the money and the experience then you can go as far as buying all the server equipment required, in which case you will also be responsible for all the server maintenance costs.

The other option could be leasing a server as this will be cheaper than buying the server, but here as well you are responsible for all the maintenance and running costs of the server.

In the above two cases you also need to make sure that you have multiple connections with the hosting company so there are no complications in case a connection goes down.

Upside

The best thing about being a reseller is that you do not require a lot of upfront investment.

There is no need to have a lot of technical knowledge. Account management and Internet skills are all that is required. However, it would be really handy if you have some sales and marketing experience so you can interact with your customers better.

The hosting company generally provides and maintains all the hardware and software.

You do not need to hire a lot of IT staff to provide support. Providing basic support and leaving the more technical issues to the parent company support staff can be easily achieved. Downside

Support can sometimes be delayed, as you are dependent on the parent company to handle the technical aspects. If there is a delay from their side then you along with your customer are affected.

Sometimes customers leave you if they find out that you are a reseller and not a real hosting company.

Tips for marketing yourself

If you are starting out on a small scale then visiting message boards and posting your services there is a good idea. A lot of potential clientele with relatively small hosting needs also frequent message boards and outline their desired services.

Having contests is a great idea for bringing awareness and interest about your services.

Online ad campaigns, signatures, and text links are very helpful techniques.

Once you have gotten a bigger budget then you can go for Google ad words or PPC search engines.

The best strategy is to try out various combinations of these approaches and work out the best one for your needs.