There are all sorts of instances where someone might find they have more than they need of something, but it’s not always the case that there might be some dollars to be made with the excess amount of whatever that is. In those instances plenty of people will go ahead and make the purchase and justify it by saying that they can resell the amount that’s not needed, and that’s the premise behind reseller web hosting too. Someone has a package above and beyond shared hosting, and now they’re making the additional space available privately for someone else who needs hosting for their website too. Going with 4GoodHosting is as good a choice as any for the best reseller hosting in Canada.
There is the option to make web hosting available on your own, and that’s what we’re going to talk about here today. It can become something of a side business for a webmaster who has more bandwidth available to them than their website requires on its own. Of course you will not be able to offer the advantages that would come if the person went with managed hosting via an established webs hosting provider in Canada, but the way it works is that the person serving as the reseller is offering the available space at a significantly lower and more attractive price point.
How low those prices will be will vary based on where you are in the country, and also around what sort of variety of web hosting services are already available to people. One fairly common scenario is when a business has some type of VPS hosting package and can afford to make some of the space with the private server available to either subsidiaries of the company of other associated businesses that are smaller in scope or scale and need to have affordable web hosting. The key word there is affordable - that’s going to be the expectation they’re going to have if they are to see reseller web hosting as an alternative that makes sense for them,
It’s also not so simple as to make it available and then collecting payment for the server space being made available for the other websites. This is something you’ll need to keep in mind too if you’re thinking to start with reseller hosting in Canada, and as you might expect it’s probably going to be a more legit opportunity for someone who has at least some measure of ability with how to scale websites and address any problems that may arise. It’s also probably going to be the case that the folks behind the website who’ll be piggybacking your web hosting isn’t going to have any such understanding and will be trusting the reseller host to be on top of everything for them as the paying customer.
Which will be the case if you go with an established host as the best reseller hosting Canada, but again here we are going to focus on what the process will involve if an individual or business makes reseller hosting available to people. That’s going to be what we look at with this blog entry, so let’s get right to it.
Less than VPS
Let’s get underway by explaining how reseller hosting works. These types of web hosting packages usually work on a standard wholesale basis. The holder is then able to resell those packages to interested individuals with websites and also with the option of possibly advertising it as your own web hosting business. Some web hosts will charge a flat monthly fee as well as a fee for the services, while other reseller hosts may charge on a pay-as-you-go basis. The cost of these packages is usually less than that of a regular VPS and there’s not a whole lot required on the part of the hosting reseller as they prepare to make web hosting space available to people who need it.
They will first select and signup with a reliable Canadian web hosting provider if that’s something they haven’t done already. With a reseller account they will be able to access wholesale prices and offer customized hosting packages that have a nicer price point attached to them. Resellers have the option of adding their own branding too, and depending on the server location they may also choose to offer hosting services at a markup. If you’re a reseller through an existing host there may be restrictions as regards pricing and conditions though.
From there you will register a new account and allocate disk space or bandwidth to your hosting packages. One of the big advantages with reseller web hosting is that you don’t have to maintain the hardware or hosting software yourself as the software should already be set up with specific reseller packages that can make getting started easy. You would, then, only need to create an account for new client who approach you and express interest in getting their webs hosting from you.
Have a Plan
Resellers can also expand their service portfolio by offering extra value-added services with domain registration, SSL certificates for eCommerce website security, and website design and development. It may also be possible to register domain names as a sub-reseller with the primary host’s reseller accounts. With that customers can go directly to you for all their domain needs and this works to increased revenue-generations opportunities for the reseller. All of this begins with creating a business plan, as is needed if you are aiming to make prospective clients aware of what you have and if you intend to make profits from web hosting reselling.
You will then choose a reseller hosting plan and it is important to choose one that you foresee matching the needs of your target clientele. Determine what types of packages you will have and set your prices based o that, considering the cost of the reseller hosting plan, the value you’re providing to clients, and the competitiveness of the market. Create different hosting packages based on resource allocations, features, and pricing tiers. You may be surprised with how much you need to know about different pricing and packaging strategies.
Branding and customization is going to be something else you’ll want to evaluate and determine if it suits what you’re going to be offering as web hosting reseller business. You will want to set up your management software so that you are ready to take care of your customers. Once all of this is done then the next step is for you to set up a website and good online presence. This starts with creating a website and using it to show hosting services and share important information with potential clients. Include details about your packages, pricing, support, and contact information.
Marketing Your Reseller Business
It’s probably fair to say that the type of person who’s researching the best reseller hosting in Canada already has some level of familiarity with how to market products and / or services online. Make people aware of it via online advertising, social media ads, content marketing, and then solid SEO optimization for the website. Highlight the benefits, features, and competitive advantages of your hosting packages. You should also stress the way that you’re albeit provide customer support if people need it, and it’s common for the best web hosting resellers to set up a support system that will provide assistance to clients if they run into trouble.
Consider giving your customers different support channels like email, live chat, or a ticketing system. Reliable support with reasonably fast responses builds trust with your customers. You will also do all if billing and payment processing is made easier for clients, and one of the best ways to do that is to set up your billing process in your control panel. The security and reliability of your payment gateway is also going to be important. As is providing clear instructions on how clients can sign up, access their accounts, and use your hosting services. It’s good to offer comprehensive documentation and tutorials to help clients get started.
These are the consensus best marketing strategies for web hosting resellers.
- Word-of-Mouth Marketing : here you’re reaching out to friends and family about your new business. They can be your greatest brand ambassadors even if they are not in the market to buy your services. Any type of activity on their part can be spreading the word about the way you have affordable web hosting available for anyone who needs it. Then, as you build your clientele and reach out for feedback you can request testimonials too if you believe they are entirely satisfied clients. Encourage your happy customers to share their experiences online.
- SEO Marketing : SEO (search engine optimization) is big for marketing anything online and especially if that promotion is centered around a website. Customers rely on Google search results when shopping online or researching their options. When you rank higher your reseller business will appear in search that much more regularly and this equates to better odds of landing more customers. SEO and keyword research may be beyond the abilities of a lot of people, but there are paid tools you can use to maximize your SEO and they are always worth the cost as it’s an investment in the success of your business.
- Referral Programs and Affiliates : You can incentivize your existing customers to refer your hosting services to others. Some incentives can include discounts or credits for each successful referral they make. The way affiliate marketing works is with influencers or website owners promoting your hosting services. For each customer a partner refers to you, they can earn a commission.
Importance of Server Performance
As it relates to monitoring and maintaining server performance you may be able to take some cues from what a good host will offer with their managed hosting packages. This can be made easier if you are working with the parent hosting company to address any server-related issues fast. When you’re with the right hosting provider it’s more doable for you to be tracking server performance, uptime, and security. Encourage customer feedback to see what you’re doing well and where you can make improvements to web hosting reseller business.
Here’s the basics for what customers are going to expect from you:
- High-performance servers with reliable NVMe SSD storage
- Dedicated IP addresses
- Custom/vanity nameservers
- Softaculous installation scripts
- Website / data / online transaction security
And all of that is fairly in line with the general expectations for the best reseller hosting in Canada. Creating satisfied clients who then choose to stay with you as their web hosting provider is key to this venture becoming profitable and remaining that way, and so next we will look at the specifics of making money as a web hosting reseller.
Profitable Venture
Your base income may depend on the wholesale price you pay to the host and the maximum price your market can sustain. But, there are also plenty of strategies resellers can use when pricing and packaging their plans. Much of this will be determined by markup hosting costs, and this is made up of your basic hosting costs and then adding website maintenance, software updates, and customer support to those costs. Offering website maintenance and some support services as add-ons or premium packages is good too, as is bundling services to generate extra revenue and provide more value to customers.
You may also want to consider tiered pricing and upselling. The best way to do this is provide a number of plans with different levels of pricing and features. With them you are better set up to be upselling clients to higher packages as their needs grow and then increasing average revenue per customer. It’s advisable to offer special deals for yearly or multi-year contracts for and renewals. Resellers of web hosting tend to do better when giving discounts or rewards to clients who choose long-term contracts, and this is something you’ll see with any of the hosts that will qualify as ones offering the best reseller hosting in Canada.
Reseller hosting is not ever going to a huge production and it is a great opportunity for those looking to start a web hosting business. What you’ve read here will be a good introduction to learning how reseller hosting works but you’ll likely need to do more research to find the best reseller hosting option to suit your needs. If you’re a 4GoodHosting client and you see this as being a possibility for you then we’re happy to discuss it with your further if that’s something you’d like to do.
