Hi,
I have opened a small website design company last week, I have done a few easy jobs which was great, but I am thinking of offering a hosting service. How would I go about doing this?

The simplest and most cost effective way would be to get yourself a reseller account from an experienced, reputable company (you want your provider to have a well tested business model).

I'd definitely agree with ldcdc - reseller hosting is the best way to go, since to don't have to have gobs of experience or capital to get started with it. Personally I'd recommend Host Gator - http://www.hostgator.com/resellers.shtml.

reseller for sure...I've heard mixed reviews on HG. Saw this on another forum, perhaps start a free account somewhere, learn how it all works, then offer it. Who knows you might be able to charge with a free account?

Good luck

Thanks guys,
I have found a few companies that I will ring and go from there.

Originally Posted by TheDon

Thanks guys,
I have found a few companies that I will ring and go from there.

Good luck.
In any way I believe that reseller account will be the best option. Starting with VPS or dedicated server might appear very hard for you.

There are a few reseller hosting providers that include end user support with the account (they will handle customer support for you). This has a double advantage while you're new to the business, it frees you up so that you can concentrate on other, more pressing matter, like marketing, and you can also learn a lot from your provider, by watching how tickets are responded to.

Looks like your own the right path. As others have said reseller hosting is the easiest way to start, as you don't need to worry about managing servers etc. You can spend your time and money where it matters most.

I wish you the best of luck.
Jack

How many customers do you already have and how much are you expecting to get in the near future?
I suppose that you need to start with affiliate program and then move them to the reseller account. That could be period of time during which you will spend more on the reseller hosting then earn

When you start hosting company need to know full details about hosting.

if you want more control you could get a managed vps or dedi and still probably have some root access as well as master reseller if you get whm

Originally Posted by TheDon

Thanks guys,
I have found a few companies that I will ring and go from there.

Better you must makes a compare all that companie you get ...
Makes sure to know all information about themr services including about a price, packages and promotion ...
I think is a good solution before you choice a good hosting company ...

Thanks

If you are new to the management so you might have some difficulties. And you might need spend more time for the web hosting part of your services. That means that having reseller account would be much better for you.

Originally Posted by Webalized

if you want more control you could get a managed vps or dedi and still probably have some root access as well as master reseller if you get whm

Don't you think control which he gets as reseller account user is not enough to operate as web hosting company?
I believe that is more then enough.

Originally Posted by ~ServerPoint~

Don't you think control which he gets as reseller account user is not enough to operate as web hosting company?
I believe that is more then enough.

It depends on how much and what type of application are needed to be run on servers?

Check Out www.site5.com they are a very well put together reseller hosting company i used to go through them untill i started my own company of reseller hosting.

I think its better to use a good company that has on the business at least 5 years ! SSL Certificates

Thanks for all your info, I have got a bit of business to build and fix websites which is keeping me very busy and have hired 2 people to help me which is good.

What about domain names? How can I sell domain names? should I just purchase them from godaddy manually and charge the customer? Or is there a better way?

You might consider obtaining a domain reseller account. A few options are Resellerclub.com, eNom, NetEarthOne.com, Internetbs.net, et cetera. Most domain resellers offer an API which you can integrate into your present hosting software. Some web hosting resellers offer domain reselling as a package. For example if you purchase a web hosting resellers account from Hostgator, they will give a free eNom domain resellers account.

Thanks for that.