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Reseller Hosting Explained

If you’re seeking low-risk entry into the Web Hosting Business you might be considering reseller hosting.

What is Reseller Hosting?

Reseller hosting is when you buy web hosting space (and the corresponding features) to partition out and sell to your own customers. This allows you to take advantage of existing resources and run your own web hosting business, in a sense.

Reseller Hosting is when you buy from a large hosting providers (usually operating their own data centers) to split out your server and sell to other businesses or individuals. Instead of buying and maintaining your own servers and network infrastructure, reseller hosting solutions let you focus on the monetization and marketing part of a hosting business.

How Reseller Hosting Works

The Reseller Hosting business model isn’t difficult to understand. Basically, the concept is the same as if you were to buy wholesale goods from an OEM manufacturer – then rebrand and sell them as your own. Along the way you mark up the price and that’s how you make your profit.

However, as with the regular reseller business, profit margins aren’t terribly high. You also have to pay for the hosting account in advance – irrespective of whether you have customers or not. This means that reseller hosting isn’t necessarily suitable for everyone.

Usage of Reseller Hosting

Reseller Hosting is often used as a stable, affordable product for web developers and agencies to provide to clients. It allows agencies and developers to generate recurring revenue via hosting, maintenance & turn-key solutions while providing clients with high-level infrastructure & technical expertise.

Benefits of Reseller Hosting

Whether you are buying to host websites for profit or use it for your company’s internal needs – you can enjoy various benefits of reseller hosting solutions.

1. Fast Time to Market

Traditional hosting is capital intensive. You’d have to build infrastructure, manage servers and hire server management professionals, which costs a lot of money. 

A reseller hosting removes that stress – with only marketing and a very small subscription fee, you can start running your web hosting business. Everything you need to run a hosting business internally are built in, including server infrastructure, billing systems and customer relationship management (CRM); all you need to do is to setup your website and focus in finding new clients. Your time-to-profit would be very short.

2. Outsource Technical Work and Infrastructure

One of the perks of reseller hosting is that it rids you of the complexities of managing servers. You simply focus on your business of selling hosting packages while the original web host handles backend technical operations and infrastructure maintenance.

3. Location Independence

You can manage your company operations in a business-friendly jurisdiction while benefiting from the server resources of a hosting provider in another country that match your customer profile.

For example, if you have your customers in North America, you can use a reseller with servers there but register your business and operate in another country, if you prefer. Your reseller host’s location doesn’t influence where your business files taxes or legally resides.

4. Multiple IP Addresses

Unique IP addresses for each website on your reseller hosting plan reduce individual websites’ risk exposure.

If a website you’re hosting engages in potentially incriminating activities or comes under a cyberattack, an IP ban on that website won’t affect other websites.

5. Access to Private Name Servers

Does having your own DNS name server appeal to you? You can have your domain name instead of using a generic hosting name server.

Private name servers give you a stronger brand identity. For example, a custom name server like ns1.yourdomainname.com appears more professional than ns1.hostname.com.

6. Brandable Control Panel

You can customize the control panel dashboard to match your brand image. Just like a private name server, brandable control panels reinforce your brand identity and help you build a name for your business.

Drawbacks & Challenges

Enjoying all the benefits above is possible. But reseller hosting is not without drawbacks.

Luckily, the benefits of reseller hosting far outweigh its pitfalls. 

1. The Need to Invest In Customer Service

Although your provider takes care of technical infrastructure issues, you must provide good customer support to run your business.

Hosting is an always-on activity, so your customers will need you 24/7. Consider hiring extra hands or installing CRM software and automated bots to assist you. 

2. Limited Server Access

You’re perpetually reliant on the hosting provider as a reseller. The hosting company holds absolute rights to the server and determines just how much access a reseller has.

Consequently, you might be unable to handle some pressing technical issues without the hosting provider’s help.  

3. Switching is Tough

Once your reseller business has kicked off with your chosen hosting provider, switching to another host is not a walk in the park.

Your host is the livewire of your business. Cutting off their support might affect your business operation and you may lose customer data in the process. 

Best Reseller Hosting Providers to Consider

The decision of the best reseller hosting provider to use eventually is up to you. But, I recommend trying out any of the following.

1. GreenGeeks

Reseller Hosting GreenGeeks

If you’re looking for a cheap reseller hosting with great performance, check out GreenGeeks Reseller Hosting.

GreenGeeks' Reseller hosting Plans are optimized for building your unique brand identity – all reseller plans come with white labeling feature and provision of branded DNS.

All GreenGeeks Reseller Plans support cPanel control – meaning server resources and client accounts are managed over cPanel and WHM dashboard regardless of the plan you choose. In addition, GreenGeeks is 100% eco-friendly and comes with 24×7 malware monitoring and technical support. 

Users get three reseller hosting plans starting at only $19.95 monthly and the ‘Powerful’ reseller plan with full benefits goes for $34.95.

To learn more, check out our full review of GreenGeeks' hosting. We'll help you understand its strengths and weaknesses and how the platform fared on numerous speed tests. 

2. ScalaHosting

Reseller Hosting Scalahosting

ScalaHosting prioritizes the security of resellers’ data. The hosting platform run automatic remote backup daily to protect users from data loss. In addition, it fights off 99.8% of cyber attacks with its SShield cybersecurity

Another outstanding feature of this web hosting provider is the 1-click installer. Users on your reseller hosting account can install WordPress, Joomla, and over 100 scripts and apps with a simple click. 

ScalaHosting offers a 30-day money-back guarantee. Plus, migrating to the ScalaHosting Reseller Package is easy and free. No downtime. 

You can host up to 20 accounts for $14.95 per month and upscale your reseller hosting plan at any time to accommodate your growth. 

Users get a free cPanel and WHM control panel to control their hosting packages. With WHM, you can define your hosting plans and grant your users access to control their plans in cPanel. 

We've reviewed Scalahosting in detail, covering its pricing, features, advantages, and disadvantages. 

3. A2 Hosting

Reseller Hosting A2 Hosting

If a high uptime rate means everything to you, then you’d like A2 Hosting reseller hosting. It boasts a 99.9% server uptime commitment.

A2 Hosting is reliable, fast, and secure. With the promise of 20 times faster turbo speed, A2 Hosting improves your SEO ranking and conversion rate.

A2 offers four feature-loaded Reseller Hosting Packages starting ranging from $24.99 to $52.99 per month. These plans come at heavily discounted prices to make premium offerings affordable for their resellers.

A2 Hosting comes with a moneyback guarantee to ensure a risk-free service trial, so you can opt-out if you find the platform disappointing. Users can scale their business or reseller hosting needs on the platform without restrictions.

A2 Hosting provides a friendly 24/7 support team ready to serve you. See our in-depth A2 Hosting review here

How to Choose the Right Reseller Hosting

1. Terms of Service Compatible with Your Business

Every reseller hosting provider has its unique terms of service and policies guiding how to use, market, and sell its hosting services. Your duty is to find out if these terms align with your business goals, objectives, and target audience. 

2. Round the Clock Technical Support

Customer complaints and technical emergencies may arise at any time. You can’t handle them all. You’d need a hosting provider that’s available 24/7 to handle these technical issues as soon as they occur. 

A reliable technical support system goes a long way to boost customers’ confidence in your brand. 

3. Positive Customer Reviews

What people think or say about your prospective hosting provider is important. These customer opinions are great pointers to the quality of service to expect from a business. 

Consider the positive testimonials, and unbiased reviews about a hosting company before patronizing them.

4. Uptime Rates Above 99%

The percentage of time a server has been up and functioning should be above 99%. A High uptime rate translates to efficiency and minimal possibility of server collapse.

Server downtime can have an adverse effect on your business's success. Downtime costs 91% of businesses an average of $300,000 per hour.

5. Provides Features Appropriate for Your Customers

Not every hosting package will meet your needs. Your target audience largely determines the right hosting package for you. 

If you plan to offer hosting services to businesses in Europe, then you want to use a hosting provider with servers in Europe. Settle for hosting providers that serve your business purpose in terms of location, technical support, infrastructure, and other business goals. 

6. High Server Performance and Speed

Website speed and accessibility are important for your customers. One analyst estimates that a business that receives 10,000 visitors a month at a 5% conversion rate would lose $100,000 each month in sales to slow-loading websites. That's why you should consider the performance level of any web hosting provider before you invest in them. 

7. Offers Expandable Packages

The end goal of setting up a reseller hosting business is to make profits and grow.  When the growth eventually happens, you may need to upscale. A hosting provider should give room for upgrades and higher packages that’ll accommodate your growing audience.

Reseller Hosting vs Shared Hosting: What’s the Difference?

Reseller hosting users buy server access with multiple control panels. They may use reseller hosting solutions in their businesses or rent the spaces out as a service. 

Whereas shared hosting allows for only one user with access to one control panel dashboard.

GreenGeeks Reseller Plan Examples
Example – GreenGeeks Reseller Hosting supports up to 25 / 50 / 80 cPanel accounts.

Final Thoughts: Start Using Reseller Hosting

Reseller hosting is lucrative for starting a hosting business and can save you money if your company has superior hosting needs. If you plan to offer hosting services with a reseller hosting package, remember that top-class customer service, viral marketing, and branding are the keys to success.

Reseller Hosting FAQs

What is Reseller Hosting?

Reseller hosting is when you buy web hosting space (and the corresponding features) to partition out and sell to your own customers. This allows you to take advantage of existing resources and run your own web hosting business, in a sense.

Who is responsible for providing support to my customers?

Usually customer supporting work is done by the reseller of the web host (aka. you). Most reseller hosting providers do support their reseller hosting users via e-mail or extensive knowledge base.

Who can use Reseller Hosting?

Reseller hosting can be a great option for anyone who needs to host and manage multiple websites. Typically a reseller hosting is an awesome option for those who wish to start their own web hosting company, web development / marketing agencies and freelance web developers.

Is reseller hosting right for me?

The reseller business is very different from buying a standard shared hosting plan for your personal use. Not only is the assessment criteria different, but you’ll require additional skills to manage the master control panel as well. All of this contributes to a relatively large investment in both time and money. Reseller hosting can be suitable if you want to sell your excess server resources and intend to grow and become a full web hosting provider.

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Article by Nicholas Godwin

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