I'm just trying to gather some inormatio here. I'm wondering, in general do web design companies offer hosting, and if so how do they do this?

I am looking into starting my own business designing websites, so far all I've thought about is the actual design of websites, but I should really get a grasp on the hosting options too.

What I want to know is, as a business is it usual for a company to design a site and then host it too, or simply present the files to the user and let them do the rest.

I guess giving the option for both would be good - however how then would I go about hosting? I certainly don't have the skills, nor the financial means to set up my own server at the moment. So what would be best?

It is perfectly normal to simply hand the client the files. I haven't seen many design companies that offer hosting as well, however, I've seen many hosting companies that have a designing feature.

Stick to designing if you don't have the budget, nor the knowledge. Once you come up with a few clients, maybe you can look into buying a server, and getting to know your environment a little. However, designing is designing and hosting is hosting. Two different things.

Many web hosts have reseller hosting packages. These allow you to host multiple sites/domains/emails at a significantly lower cost than an individual domain would cost as well as giving you a full-blown control panel to control all the sites with.

We used to give our clients the option of hosting with us free for a year on completion of the site, then USD xxx per year afterwards, or host it themselves. Off hand I can't remember a single client that hosted themselves.

The trick with reseller hosting is to check on the quality of the host, their reputation and what people say about them. Ideally host a single website with them for a month or two to get a feel for their speed/quality and tech support. With a little perseverance you can get a good reseller host at a great price.

When I outsource design work, I prefer working with a company that ONLY does design (not programming and DEFINITELY not hosting). I bet many other people feel the same way.

Hmmm interesting.

The way I'm going for it is to do work for companies that have little or even no web prescence already. As a result they probably won't know how to host a site themselves etc so I wondered if I should offer that service too because of that...

Don't worry about that . Just like you can assist, and do business with, a person who has little or no web presence, hosting companies could do the same .

There are reseller accounts specially designed for web designer needs with the features like accelerated PHP, Tomcat JSP - Java, Perl and Ruby-on-Rails.

Some web design companies try to offer web host as a part of their efforts to earn some more money from their customers. But it is hard to do that because they need to provide support for their clients. I truly believe that it is much better to focus on your own business.

Some web design companies try to offer web host as a part of their efforts to earn some more money from their customers. But it is hard to do that because they need to provide support for their clients. I truly believe that it is much better to focus on your own business.

You are right and that's why they as rule on the reseller web hosting accounts with indoors support.

I truly believe that it is much better to focus on your own business.

Generally speaking I agree with that. It's just so tempting for designers to have a revenue stream that's truly reliable.

There are reseller hosting packages with end user support that can be of interest to some designers who want few responsibilities, and their customers taken care of 24/7.

When I was running my own web agency full-time, the vast majority of my customers wanted me to host as well as design and build their sites. I didn't host them "myself", I used a third party company - I was open about this and they didn't care, the point is they wanted the package and didn't want to worry about anything else.

From their point of view this made me a one-stop-shop. From my point of view, hosting was an "easy" part of the job and it actually made my life easier not having to worry about other people's host configurations, passwords being changed etc.

I think, in short, you have to look at where your skills lie. If hosting a site is going to troublesome for you, don't do it. If your client insists you take care of everything - and you feel it is still profitable to do so - then by all means do it, or at least partner with someone who can.

Originally Posted by jonboy

When I was running my own web agency full-time, the vast majority of my customers wanted me to host as well as design and build their sites. I didn't host them "myself", I used a third party company - I was open about this and they didn't care, the point is they wanted the package and didn't want to worry about anything else.

Were you making money on their hosting?

You could always contact a Web Host Directly, and set up some kind of deal with them. I'm thinking some kind of commission based payment, for the customers you get them.

Hmmm, many interesting ideas there. Thanks for the info

There are reseller hosting packages with end user support that can be of interest to some designers who want few responsibilities, and their customers taken care of 24/7

But web designer company in charge for the web hosting quality.
And that's why treseller choice is very importand for web design company.

Originally Posted by Spud In Disguise

Hmmm interesting.

The way I'm going for it is to do work for companies that have little or even no web prescence already. As a result they probably won't know how to host a site themselves etc so I wondered if I should offer that service too because of that...

We did, and yes we earned money from it. As one person said earlier it's nice to have a reliable income stream, and of course many clients either do not know anything about web hosting, or do not want to have anything to do with it.

Once a site's completed there's rarely a problem with the site itself, we mostly found support issues revolved around emails.

Simply look at the numbers: how much does it cost to host a single domain vs how much it costs per domain if you go with a reseller account? If you feel the difference is enough to make up for any support you may have to give then you have your answer.

But web designer company in charge for the web hosting quality.
And that's why treseller choice is very importand for web design company.

Sure thing. I did not mean to imply that it doesn't matter which provider he chooses.

Designing companies can offer hosting from a reseller accoun, VPS or Dedicated server. Most of them don't see hosting as a mode to generate revenue, considering the amount of time needed for support and the cheap rate of hosting these days. Hosting helps to tie up the customer and make additional revenue for services like site maintenance, upgrades, changes etc.

Hey,

New member here, thought I might start contributing. Im not trying to sell anything, but this relates to the topic. I work at HostMySite.com, we do reseller programs just like the ones mentioned. The way it works is you have one full paid account, and every account after that is 30% off.

Personally I have a linux VPS, i think i pay around $30/mo. I put all my sites on the VPS, and from there charge each client a small fee (i dont charge alot, just enough to pay off the VPS, since my clients are mostly friends and family). But if you do the math, $5 a month minimum and have 6 clients, you payed off the VPS. And i dont think any new comer is going to object $5 hosting.

Just wanted to give you an example of pricing and such, im going to go post some designs now!

The design companies I know that host usually go with a company like hostgator that allow you to act a a private label reseller.