The internet is still growing at a rapid rate. According to Forbes, 252,000 new websites are created every day. That's a lot of new websites each day and they all need to be hosted on a server.

Now while this all sounds good, if you're just looking for quick profits, you may as well stop reading now, because success in the Hosting industry requires a significant investment of time and effort.

Profits in Reseller Hosting, like in any other business, will directly correspond to the amount of time and work you put in. And remember that success will come in small increments over time as you consistently build a client base.

Also considering the Web Hosting industry is somewhat saturated you will need to make sure you find a way to stand out from the competition, provide something different, and focus on a niche product or service. The competitive nature of Web Hosting means you'll need to invest the majority of your time in marketing, looking for new clients and keeping current clients happy.

Ok if you're still reading at this point I'll assume you're serious about working hard and putting in the required amount of time.

So Where Do I Start?

Firstly we need to clarify the difference between regular Reseller Hosting and Alpha/Master Reseller Hosting. While you can still make money from standard Reseller Hosting, there is much more opportunity in Alpha and Master Reseller Hosting.

Two platforms offer Alpha/Master Reseller Hosting plans. These 2 platforms are WHM/cPanel and DirectAdmin. I know this because I am the developer of the two Alpha/Master plugins that run on these platforms, WHMreseller (cPanel) and DAreseller (Directadmin). So keep this in mind as you are looking to purchase your first Alpha/Master Reseller Hosting plan. I recommend you seek DirectAdmin Alpha/Master Reseller plans as these will offer you more value for money.

Standard Reseller Hosting

Standard Reseller Hosting plans only allow you to create and manage User control panels. User control panels were originally designed to allow a single user to run a single website. While functionality has improved over time, now allowing multiple websites in a User control panel, it still only remains accessible to a single user (single customer). So with standard Reseller plans, you could only ever sell one type of Hosting plan, Shared Hosting plans.

As an entrepreneur starting a new Web Hosting business, you want to be able to offer more to your customers. This is where Alpha and Master Reseller Hosting plans come in.

Master Reseller Hosting

A Master Reseller hosting plan allows you to sell standard Reseller Hosting plans (Reseller control panel) to your customers. The WHMreseller and DAreseller plugins facilitate the ability for "Master Resellers" to create and manage Reseller accounts on servers running cPanel and DirectAdmin. So on your Web Hosting business website, this increases the types of plans you can offer your customers, you can offer Shared Hosting plans (User control panel) and Reseller Hosting plans (Reseller control panel).

Alpha Reseller Hosting

An Alpha Reseller Hosting plan allows you to sell, Master Reseller plans (WHMreseller/DAreseller control panel), Standard Reseller Hosting plans (Reseller control panel), and Shared Hosting plans (User control panel). This gives you 3 types of Web Hosting plans to sell your customers, the more options you provide the more potential sales for you.

There is one trade-off to consider. At first glance, it might seem obvious to purchase an Alpha Reseller Plan as it gives you 3 types of plans to sell. While this is true also be aware that resources typically get used up faster in Alpha Reseller plans. This is because your customers who have Master Reseller plans will be able to create their own Reseller plans. It just means that disk and bandwidth can get used up faster than you may be aware, you will need to regularly monitor how much space you have left to ensure you don't exceed your limits.

Another consideration is Alpha Reseller plans will typically cost more. I would recommend starting with a Master Reseller Plan - you can always upgrade later to an Alpha Reseller plan.

Providing a Reliable service

When Starting a Web Hosting Business you need to prioritise reliability and security. These 2 are essential to keep in mind when you are setting up your business. These basics steps will ensure your customers are getting the right service:

1. Go for quality but at a good price. Investing in quality hardware and software will help ensure your business can handle the load. To protect your customers you need the essentials to be right, these include, good servers, a firewall, and an antivirus program.
2. Partner with a reliable reseller hosting provider. Be certain to select a hosting provider that can guarantee security, uptime and 24x7 support. Do your homework by seeking customer reviews and other research to make sure you pick a service provider that offers high-quality services.
3. Setting up backups. All Web Hosting businesses must regularly back up their customers data. Do not solely rely on your reseller hosting provider to do all the backups for you. While they should have backups as part of their service, this is not enough, you must regularly manage and maintain your own copy of your clients backups. This will safeguard you from data loss and allow you to recover more quickly from any potential disasters.
4. Providing good customer service: Any business must offer good customer service. Make sure your clients can access fast and reliable support whenever they require it.

How do I manage Billing?

Assuming you have decided on an Alpha/Master Reseller Hosting provider, you now need your own website and billing system to process new and existing customer orders/invoices.

I am the developer of a billing system called AutoBillMe which will be available soon for free (with some limitations). The free version will always exist and the paid version (unlimited version) will always be priced substantially lower than competitor billing software. If you're interested in Beta testing our billing software before release please contact me at sales@autobillme.com.

There are of course many other options when it comes to billing, the most popular billing systems are WHMCS, HostBill, WISECP, and Blesta to name a few. These billing platforms will work with different payment gateways and credit card processing facilities. Typically I would recommend starting up with Paypal and Stripe, both are free to set up and use, they charge you each time you perform a successful transaction by taking a small percentage. You will also need to set up a business Bank Account to use Paypal and Stripe, this may incur a small monthly fee.

Once you've decided on a billing system you then need to build your website around this billing system. This may take some research, personally I prefer to create a website using a Bootstrap 5.0 theme with my own billing software (AutoBillMe). But there are also many other ways to approach this, many businesses use WordPress and purchase a WordPress theme. How you decide to set up your website is something you will need to figure out and decide.

Marketing

Assuming you now have an Alpha/Master Reseller plan from a reliable provider, a billing system set up, and a working website you will need to market your new Shared and Reseller Web Hosting Plans. The first place to start is Webhostingtalk.com, if you haven't already, signup for a new account and start posting your Hosting plan offers weekly under their Shared and Reseller forums.

In my opinion, the best long-term marketing strategy for a Web Hosting business is SEO and content marketing. This is where you optimize your website for organic search engine traffic by generating content that's also useful for potential clients. This would be in the form of a blog with articles all focused on topics that would interest your potential clients. For example, articles related to running and maintaining a website, gaining traffic, SEO, etc. This is something you will need to do weekly and maintain over years to really give your business a chance to shine.

Other ways to promote your new Web Hosting business could include checking out industry events, and conferences, and even organizing local meetings with potential clients in your area.

You could also try online advertising through platforms like Google Ads and social media to reach your target audience. I'd also recommend actively and consistently engaging with potential clients through social media platforms and online forums, like Webhostingtalk.com.

Encourage others to promote your Web Hosting business by setting up a generous affiliate program. Also remember to encourage your existing clients to refer new customers by offering incentives or discounts.

Look for Web designers and influencers to collaborate and partner with. Offer free services from your website to build an email marketing list and then regularly send out emails offering specials and discounts. Include testimonials on your website to showcase your credibility and trust.

Most of all it takes patience and dedication. As with any business, if you put in the time, remain consistent, and don't give up, you will eventually succeed. It's only those who give up that fail, unfortunately this is what happens to most people.

Quick 8 step summary:

1. Market Research Mastery Understand your audience and competition. Delve deep into market analysis to grasp the needs, preferences, and pain points of your target customers, while also assessing competitors' strategies and identifying gaps in the market.
2. Niche Selection Savvy Find your specialized Hosting focus and identify a specific segment or industry within the hosting market where you can excel and differentiate yourself, whether it's catering to small businesses, e-commerce sites, or niche communities.
3. Provider Proficiency Choose the ideal Hosting provider by evaluating factors like reliability, performance, scalability, and support to ensure they align with your business goals and can deliver the quality service your customers expect.<.li>
4. Blueprint for Success Craft a comprehensive business plan developing a detailed roadmap of your business objectives, target market, pricing strategy, marketing approach, financial projections, and growth milestones to guide your operations and decision-making.
5. Website Wizardry Establish your online presence by creating a professional, user-friendly website that showcases your hosting services, features client testimonials, provides clear pricing information, and offers easy ways for visitors to contact you or sign up for hosting plans.
6. Billing and Support Brilliance Streamline operations for customer satisfaction. Implement an efficient billing system to handle customer payments, invoices, and subscription management, while also setting up robust customer support channels such as live chat, ticketing systems, and knowledge bases.
7. Strategic Marketing Mastery Promote your Hosting business effectively by developing a multi-channel marketing strategy encompassing SEO, content marketing, social media, email campaigns, partnerships, and targeted advertising to raise awareness, drive traffic, and attract potential customers to your hosting services.<./li>
8. Continuous Improvement Command Monitor and optimize performance by regularly monitoring key metrics such as uptime, server response times, customer satisfaction scores, and marketing ROI. Use data-driven insights to identify areas for improvement and refine your business strategies for sustained success.

Diversify and Expand your Offerings

Why stop at Reseller hosting? Once you have started to have some success, it's time to diversify and expand into new markets. Here is a list of service ideas you could offer to take your business to new levels:

1. Start selling VPS plans. If you're feeling confident branch out and offer VPS services
2. Provide a "Get Found Online Service" (SEO). Help make clients' websites easier to find on search engines so more people can see them.
3. Create and Update Websites. Make new websites for clients and help them keep their sites looking good and working well.
4. Build Online Stores. Give clients everything they need to make and run their own online shops.
5. Resell Domain name Registrations. Help clients buy and renew their domain names.
6. Make and Share Content. Write things for websites, like articles or social media posts, to get more people interested.
7. Advertise for Your Clients. Run ads campaigns on the internet to help clients' businesses get noticed.
8. Provide premium management services Help to keep clients' websites running smoothly. Assist clients in adding different tools and programs to their websites, like customer management or analytics software.