If you have started working as a web designer or developer, you may feel the pinch of rising expenses a few months down the line. You may have to learn new technologies, install programs, or buy plugins. Under such a scenario, many look for ways to generate secondary streams of income.

Out of the several options available in these times, the one that’s particularly valuable is reseller hosting.

What is Reseller Hosting?

For those who don’t know, reseller hosting is the arrangement where you rent server space from a service provider and resell the same to your clients for a monthly fee. If you already have a robust client base, you have fit reselling into your existing business model, and offer hosting service as an add-on to your design or development package.

This way, you can add value to your services with just a little effort. You can cater to customers who prefer a single agent offering an end-to-end solution to a myriad of solution providers. Besides, with cheap reseller hosting in India, you can establish a recurring source of income. The extra income you thus earn can be invested in improving other areas of your business.

How to Choose a Reseller Hosting Company?

Once you have decided to take the plunge into the reseller hosting space, it’s time to choose a reliable service provider. Let us consider the aspects you need to take into when zeroing in on a hosting company:

1) Uptime: A high uptime of at least 99.95% is a key consideration. Consider the historical uptime record of your prospective vendor. Also, find the procedure you need to follow when you have to face downtime for a considerable period.

2) Server Location: The servers hosting a website should be located close to its end-users. So, if you don’t want to confine yourself to clients in a particular location, go for a hosting provider that has servers housed in multiple locations across the world.

3) Contract Period: What is the minimum contract period for your Linux reseller hosting account? And what’s the procedure for renewing the account? A longer contract period implies difficulty in switching vendors. So, get these questions answered before you sign an agreement.

4) Money-back Policy: What if you don’t like the service and consider changing it? A money-back guarantee assures you get your funds back in case you don’t like the hosting service.

5) Flexibility to Scale: If everything goes well, you may consider growing your business and expanding into new territories and customer segments. Find if your prospective vendor offers the option to scale in a seamless manner.

6) Feedback: It’s essential to take into account the reviews of the existing and past customers of the service provider.

7) Support: What if something goes wrong with the solution you are offering? There should be experts available round-the-clock to address and resolve your issues.

What to Consider when setting up a Reseller Hosting Business?

1) Type of Hosting you want to sell-Windows vs Linux: There are two types of hosting options you can sell-Windows hosting and Linux hosting. While Linux reseller hosting is powered by WHM (web host manager), Windows reseller hosting is supported by Plesk. Though each service provider has their pricing range, Linux-based plans are usually more economical than their Windows counterparts.

2) Features you would like to include in your Reseller Hosting Plan: Here are a couple of options that should be included in your reseller plan:

1. cPanel: Of all the control panels out there, cPanel is inarguably the most popular. By including a cPanel in your Linux reseller hosting plan, you can make things easy for your customers.
2. Plesk: Plesk is a popular alternative to cPanel that you can include in your Windows as well as Linux reseller hosting packages.
3. WHMCS: WHMCS or Webhost Manager Complete Solution is a comprehensive web hosting automation platform that allows you to take care of aspects such as billing, fraud management, customer support, and domain registration.
4. Softaculous: It is a commercial library with a range of scripts that automates the installation of web applications on your website.
5. Disc Space: Your service provider will offer you a certain amount of disc space. You need to check if this is going to be sufficient.

3) Investment needed for setting up your Business: Like any other venture, reselling requires a certain amount of investment to get started. Here are a couple of things you will need to invest in:

1) Domain Name: Of course, you will need a website to get started. And your website will need an address or domain name.

You need to come up with a unique name (e.g. indiareseller.com) and check if the same is available on the web. And depending on how much you can spend, buy the domain name from a registrar such as Go Daddy.

2) Web Hosting: To publish your business website online, you will need a reliable web hosting solution. You can start with a shared hosting plan and upgrade in later stages when your needs shoot up.

3) Website: You can build a website on WordPress, one of the most popular CMS platforms out there. Needless to say, you’ll need a theme that represents your brand well, and a few plugins to make the site run effectively.

4) Customer Support: Your job does not end with building an impressive website. To run your business effectively, you will also need to keep your customers happy, so that they feel confident about your services, and keep coming back.

Having effective customer support helps here. You can integrate a live chat tool with your website; this way, you will be able to address queries all round the clock. In addition, have a customer care number that runs 24*7, so that your customers always have someone to talk to, if they face an issue.

5) Promotional Expenses: Setting up a website is just one step of your reselling journey. To make your business visible to your target audience, you have to promote your website through organic and paid means.

You can run Google search or display ads on the web, send promotional newsletters, publish keyword-optimized web copies and blogs on the site, and so on. Make sure you set aside a certain sum of money for such activities.

The Final Word

There’s no denying that cheap reseller hosting in India can be a perfect addition to your existing web design and development business. Done the right way, it can augment your income to a significant degree.

Already running a reselling business? Share your experiences with us. We will be glad to incorporate the same in our post.