What Should you Know about Starting a Web Hosting Business from Scratch?

The website hosting industry is one of the most competitive you will find. However, it’s also full of opportunity.

Every single website and blog requires web hosting to operation. There are also many other applications needing a server to function properly.

Going into the web hosting industry is a huge decision and one that can be very lucrative. You have the option to choose reseller hosting or set up your own data center to start your web hosting company. Here are a few things you should know before you start a web hosting company from scratch.

Using a Reseller Hosting Plan

Most small web hosting companies start with a reseller hosting plan. This is one of the easiest ways to get into the business. However, it’s not the most lucrative way to start your web hosting business.

A reseller hosting plan will allow you to buy a package and sell portions of that package for a profit. Some hosting companies will fully support resellers, while others expect the reseller to provide support to their customers. Make sure you understand what you are getting before you commit to a long term reseller plan.

Using Dedicated Servers

Another option you can use to start your new web hosting company is dedicated servers. Many dedicated hosting companies will allow you to rent a server and resell the hosting as shared or VPS hosting packages. This has the opportunity to be much more lucrative as you will have a larger set of resources to sell.

With a dedicated server, you will need to provide your own hosting support, which is something you can outsource. You may also need to pay for licensing for the right software to set up your system to sell hosting packages.

Buying a Server and Using Colocation

If you want to make the largest profits possible, you will want to purchase your own servers and use colocation. The right data center will provide you with support and monitoring for your servers.

Once you have a server set up with a data center, you own it. Now, you can sell the resources however you prefer and make a profit.

Support and Service Matter Most

After you choose the model for your business, you will need to understand how to provide great support and service. Price is irrelevant when it comes to website hosting, for the most part. If you want to compete, you will need great support and service.

One of the best ways to gain great support for your web hosting business is to outsource hosting support to the experts. This allows you to take one thing off your plate and let somebody else handle it. In addition, it’s a more cost-effective solution and a great way to get 24/7 hosting support.

Branding and Advertising Your Business

Whether you choose reseller, dedicated server or colocation to set up your website hosting business, you need to create excellent branding and advertising. Make sure the cPanel and other backend areas of your hosting are branded with your company name and not your hosting provider. This will go a long way to help spread your brand and create brand loyalty.

In addition, you need to reach out to potential customers with your advertisement. You can use SEO, social networking PPC advertising, blogging and many other advertising methods to get the word out.

There are several things to understand if you plan to build a web hosting business from scratch. If you want to start fast and cheap, reseller hosting is the way to go. However, if you want to gain the highest potential profits, buying a server and using colocation it will provide an opportunity for huge profits.