Starting a Web hosting company can be a challenging and rewarding experience all in one. With the influx of cheap rack space and reseller accounts, just about anyone who can surf the Web can start his very own business that brings in semi-passive income every month. Whether you are a designer who wants to host your customers' sites, someone who wants to host your friends' and families' websites, or someone who wants to make a big-time business, it is possible.
Instructions
Difficulty:
Step 1
Locate a company that sells reseller hosting plans. Hundreds of them are available, but it's up to you to choose the one that you are most comfortable with based on the information provided (price, disk space, bandwidth, features and support) on the company's website.
Step 2
Determine a domain name that fits your perceived image of your company. Remember, the shorter the domain name, the better, but memorability counts (even if the domain is a bit longer because of it).
Step 3
Set up your hosting website by using one of the free templates that your hosting company provides, purchasing one online, hiring a designer to create one or using a CMS (content management system), such as WordPress. WordPress is free and has thousands of templates (some free, some paid) that you can easily upload and use on your website.
Step 4
Set up your reseller hosting package by following the tutorials on the website of the host that you chose. Most hosts have an option to pay and have them set it up for you as well.
Step 5
Establish automatic billing options. Automatic billing allows the customer to sign up through your billing provider, who handles billing and renewals while giving you an easy management area that allows you to add, upgrade or delete accounts.
WHMCS (see Resources) is the industry standard and offers monthly payment plans, or you can purchase a license outright. There are free options as well, the most popular being WHM.Autopilot (see Resources).
Step 6
Market your business to customers. You can buy ads on popular search engines, such as Google, Yahoo! and Bing, that allow you to pay only when your ad is clicked. Chatting with friends and family members who host elsewhere is another good alternative. One of the most effective tools is to add your company's link to every email you send, as well as in the forum signature of any forums that you frequent.
Step 7
Provide support as needed. Some hosts actually provide support to your customers for you, meaning you never have to answer a single support call or email. Of course, they charge a bit more for this service, but if you are a Web hosting novice, it might be worth it.