By Damien Gleadall

Introduction
Shared and Reseller web hosting have many similarities, many web hosts offer both shared and reseller hosting. The main difference between the two are in the names ‘shared’, you are sharing resources, which is the same for ‘reseller’ in a way but yo can resell the server resources. You can create your own web hosting accounts and share your allocated server resources with your clients.

The host still remains in control of their server and are responsible for updating server software and maintaining the server. The host will usually also provide support to the reseller, so if there are any issue or faults the reseller will be able to contact the host.

Do I need a Reseller Hosting Account?
Most personal and small business users will have no use for a reseller account, a reseller account is useful to those users who have a number of web sites and want to save money, as a reseller account can be cheaper than purchasing multiple shared hosting account.

With a reseller account you can also sell hosting, so this can be a relatively cheap step into the hosting business. You have the flexibility of controlling your own clients, creating, suspending and terminating accounts. You also have the knowledge that the server is being maintained for you, so you only have to worry about your clients and web site.

The Benefits
If you own a number of web sites, using a reseller account can save you money, and you can create accounts when you need them and share the resources between your web sites easily. You can find reseller hosting accounts with plenty of bandwidth and disk space for around $25 - $50 a month, which can be a big saving if you have a number of web sites needing hosting.

You also don’t have to worry about the maintenance of the server, since the web host should have this covered. You should also receive technical support included with your account.

If you have plans to start to own web hosting business, a reseller account can be an easy first step in the hosting industry. It is a relatively low cost solution, meaning you can concentrate primarily on building your business slowly and generate a steady monthly income. One of the biggest mistakes new hosts make is try to accomplish too much in a short period of time. This can lead to unhappy customers and evidently losing clients.

The disadvantages
Potential clients may not be totally confident purchasing a hosting account from a reseller, because you in affect are the middle man. If a problem arises with the server or a customers account, they need to contact you and if you are unable to deal with the problem yourself, you would in turn have to contact your host. This can be a long process from initially receiving the first support request to getting the problem resolved. However if you have proper customer support in place this shouldn’t be a major problem.

As a reseller like I said above you have limited access to admin functions, and if you have experience with the control panel and server software you may find this annoying. The only thing I can suggest is asking the host if it would be possible for them to enable your account more with admin privileges. The worse thing the host can say is ‘no’, so it’s worth a try.

Final thoughts
In my opinion reseller hosting is worth the money you can pay out, it is a good step in selling web hosting and if done properly enables a small business to generate a profit from reselling shared hosting accounts.

If you have high bandwidth or disk space requirements reseller hosting may not be the best solution, possibly a dedicated server would be better suited if you have the technical knowledge.

About the Author: I have had experience with a number of hosting companies over the last year and have learnt alot about running a successful business. I am currently involved with Web Hosting Complete a free hosting forum site This article was submitted to www.isnare.com.

Source: www.isnare.com

Permanent Link: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=68492&ca=Internet

By Trevor Mulholland

Smart resellers know how to make the most of their web space, and to sell it in a way that attracts all kinds of people who may be interested. If you are a reseller, you will want to attract “sub-resellers,” and you can do this if you have sufficient command over the features that come with WHM reseller hosting.

WHM reseller hosting is a kind of hosting account that can only be purchased by resellers directly from a web host. WHM stands for “web host management,” which in itself should describe its purpose. It is installed in a web host, usually along with cPanel, which is a web panel software which is actually another bestseller of the company that created WHM: cPanel.net.

While it makes sense for a reseller to target only a specific sector - individual users who want to make personal websites, or small business entrepreneurs who want to put up small online stores - a service provider who aspires to become truly successful would know that branching out is essential to the growth of a business. And to branch out efficiently, one needs to be able to market one’s services efficiently. After all reseller vendors are, first and foremost, marketers of web space that they do not personally own - therefore markting skills are paramount.

But on top of being marketing professionals, resellers are often service providers, too. Smart resellers take it upon themselves to handle the customer relations end of the web host distribution business, and take care of their customers’ needs. Now - in case a customer wants to be able to “resell” web space at a truly optimum cost, a reseller should be able to acknowledge this as an open market, because there is a wealth of customers out there who want to be able to earn from their purchased web spaces at all, by any way possible!

And above all else, a reseller should not view these “sub-resellers” as competition. Sub-resellers serve to address the needs of other interested web space buyers, while shouldering the cost of maintaining the web space they redistribute! Quite like the reseller does, they sell web space at a profit, while shouldering the agreed-upon retail cost of the web space they already enjoy.

At any rate, “sub-resellers” are not competition to legitimate reseller vendors on the strictest sense. WHM reseller hosting is only available to first-level resellers… which means “sub-resellers” will have to create user accounts only through the cPanel. WHM allows first-level reseller vendors to create user accounts for sub-resellers, and sub-resellers can only make user accounts for other people who need to “squat” in their web space. Further sub-levels of user accounts may not be generated.

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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Trevor_Mulholland
http://EzineArticles.com/?Creating-Sub-Resellers-With-WHM-Reseller-Hosting&id=328017

One of the problems with reselling web hosting, as in any other business, is the competition. There are a lot of web hosts out there, all competing for customers and all trying to offer the best deals.

How can you, with your new reseller hosting website, hope to compete against the established web hosting companies.

Well, there are a number of things that are in your favour.

Firstly, web hosting is an expanding market, so although there are a lot of competitors, there’s plenty of room for you to set up your reseller hosting business.

Secondly, the big web hosting companies need to concentrate on the general market.

This means that, as in other internet based businesses, concentrating on niche markets can be more profitable, especially if you choose a niche that other people aren’t exploiting.
You can differentiate yourself from all the other web hosting companies out there by offering a different combination of features, or maybe even just by emphasizing different features that might appeal to a particular niche.

For instance, maybe you could concentrate on hosting for real estate sites. Now most cPanel hosting with Fantastico has Open-Realty available for installing. Yet I don’t know of anybody who makes that a selling point for their web hosting.

Of course, you’re not just limited to what comes with your reseller package.

By concentrating on a niche market, you can become recognised as an expert in the field, and benefit from recommendations from existing clients in that niche. It also enables you to concentrate your advertising and marketing efforts into an area where there may be little or no competition.

There are vertical niches i.e. particular market sectors, such as doctors, architects, auto spares, cycle shops, etc, and horizontal niches, such as local small businesses etc, so you shouldn’t have difficulty finding a niche that you can identify with and become a trusted partner in.

The next question is - when am I going take my own advice and which niche am I going to choose for my web hosting business…hmmm.