Web Hosting

For successfully being able to run a good reseller web hosting company, you need to have a sound knowledge of the science of computers, besides patience in abundance. After the innovation of the Control Panel, many people may think that a sound technical knowledge is no more the necessity, as the Control Panel makes the job of getting a pre-built server, and thus hosting a site, very easy. But things are a bit complex. Though you can get a dedicated server on lease and after having a good knowledge of Control Panel, you actually can commence hosting of sites, but always keep in mind that certain limitations are associated with the Control Panel.

For a successful run of your web hosting company in the long run, consider the ten steps that are mentioned below:

Step 1: Choose a policy that you want to utilize

You can think of using UNIX over Windows as the former is an open source program, and therefore cheaper, besides having a stable environment for web hosting. Although most of the programs can run on both of them, ASP, MS-SQL, .NET, etc. are supported by Windows only. If you are not sure about which host you want to use, you can choose a web host that will offer both the operating systems under one plan.

Step 2: Decide on the Control Panel of your choice

Control Panels can differ from the very simple ones which are user-friendly and have basic features together with the administrative ones, to the complicated ones like the the H-Sphere System.

Step 3: Select the reseller hosting provider

For starting a web hosting company, this decision assumes a very significant importance. Keep in mind that your web hosting company will command equal status as your preferred reseller hosting company. Customers never assume that companies offering cheap packages are better. Some important areas where the company should score include:

* Customer support: Make sure that the company has telephone support for the customers round-the-clock. If that is not possible, they should at least have a good e-mail support system with rapid response for queries. These aspects will give the customers a good idea of how the company will be able to assist them when they need help.

* Control Panel and its policy: Ensure that the Control Panel carries all the characters you can utilize.

* Flexibility and features: Make sure that the initial cost that you charge to the customers includes enough bandwidth, not only for them to begin smoothly, but even be sufficient when their business expands.

* Reputation of the company: A good company would have a customer forum, so customers normally check out the forum and interact with fellow members to know what their experience with the company has been.

* Experience of the company in this field: The longer the company has been in the business of providing web hosting services, the better it will be.

Step 4: Get your hosting plans set up and decide on matters of price

Though you might want to offer a host of plans to the customers, don’t overload them with too many of them to select from. For starters, offering three to five plans would be sufficient. Also have a close look at the competitors and keep a check on what they are up to. You can also try finding a niche of the customers that is still left unsatisfied. It is fine enough if you oversell your resources if you can make up for it by charging the individuals with services like web stats, domain registrations, IP addresses, etc.

Step 5: Prepare a company website

Make sure to keep your website as simple as possible, and also ensure that it is user-friendly. Customers always look for something which they want, so make sure that you satisfy their needs. So it would be a better option not to waste time on telling the prospective customers about you. Rather, you can use the space to tell them how you will be able to solve their needs with affordable price and good service. You might want to use as little words as possible, but make sure that the main page has a minimum of 500 words. This would be very crucial for getting results in search engines. You can either design a website by yourself, or hire the services of a professional.

Step 6: Get the site ready for e-Commerce

You shall have to get an SSl certificate, apart from a payment gateway and a merchant account to be able to accept payments online. These are some e-commerce features which you should equip your site with.

Step 7: Offer the customers good support

Customer support is very important as far as web hosting services goes. You can opt for a platform or a Control Panel which has a built-in helpdesk, like H-Sphere. You can commence with supporting those services which you are selling, but beyond this, it all depends on you. You can have a Frequently Asked Questions [FAQ's] which will help the customers solve some of their common problems. Also, you must have a strong email support and a quick telephone support for enabling the customers to resolve their queries in very little time.

Step 8: Preparing the expenses of the customers

Get software for calculating with a trade entry, especially one that combines with the Control Panel like H-Sphere. Some of them are:

* H-Sphere: this is a complete expense calculating software that will get you complete power on all assets and helps you prepare expenses you will ask for.

* PayPal: This system is a moderately easier one that is well matched with many Control Panels.

* Authorize Net: It is an adaptable entry method that is well matched with the foremost credit card sellers, and many of the Control Panels.

Step 9: Design a welcome email

A welcome email is a must for your new clients. In your welcome email, you can include the following things:

* Complete details of the plan the customer has selected

* the registrar and the DNS changes

* a username together with a temporary password

* a direct link to the Control Panel

* links to the important areas like FAQ’s, customer support, etc.

Step 10: Promoting your website

Marketing is important as it will make sure that customers keep visiting your site all the time even though marketing a site is expensive and time-consuming also. Remember that website marketing is not a one-time matter, but an ongoing process. The following aspects should be considered:

* attracting search engine results

* Associate plans and remunerated promotion

* newsletters

These are the basic steps involved in marketing. Building a web hosting site is difficult but not impossible if you commit yourself to it. There is a shortage of good companies, and thus, the market has not reached saturation yet. You have to take good care of customer needs, and then word of mouth will do the rest of the work for you.

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