Faced with a challenging economy, businesses are seeking effective ways to boost their revenue. In turn, many are choosing to add new services on to existing products and up-sell their customers.

Reseller Web hosting is one avenue that has quickly emerged as a reliable revenue stream, particularly for small and medium businesses. With minimal spending up front, the low costs and recurring fees model make reseller hosting a highly profitable business.  In fact, a recent Fasthosts Internet survey showed that 80 percent of new resellers make a profit, and 74 percent found it ”achievable and easy.”

Today, the array of white-label Web solutions available to entrepreneurs has grown to include a full host of offerings that include domain names, hosting, email, ecommerce and internet marketing packages.  Users are able to rebrand products and sell them to customers from their Website as their own.

With the potential to become a profitable venture, a reseller Web hosting business requires a few essential Web hosting vendor capabilities to truly make this a successful opportunity. Below are five important aspects to look for when reselling Web hosting.

Web space and bandwidth

Reseller Web hosting providers often limit the Web space available per each end customer and impose expensive charges for extra bandwidth. It is important then to choose a plan that removes these risks and offers both unlimited Web space and bandwidth to resellers.  Resellers, however, can still provide limited web space and bandwidth to their customers, enabling them to sell a subscription-based upgrade path that has no additional costs.

Flexibility

The right reseller package must be flexible so that entrepreneurs can create their own Web hosting brand and retail Web solutions at their own price points.  Complete freedom to structure their hosting plans is a key capability for any reseller. For example, a flexible plan gives resellers the option to create a customized package for each end customer, design and create their own range of packages, or simply resell the hosting provider’s own off-the-shelf packages. This flexible platform lets resellers tailor their services closely to their customers’ needs.  A wide range of reseller services may include, for instance, both Linux and Microsoft Web hosting, a comprehensive range of domain name registrations and award winning Microsoft Exchange email packages.

Quick ramp-up

One essential tool to consider is a hosting provider with instant activation and that does not require a time-consuming or intrusive qualification process.  This way, resellers can immediately launch their Web hosting business, and start making profits quickly.

Easy administration

An easy-to-use, efficient control panel is important for selecting a hosting vendor. Resellers should look for controls that reduce administrative duties on their end, without becoming less effective overall.  This dashboard will become a vital catalyst for their reseller activities.  The hosting vendor should also provide custom branding tools that let resellers customize their customers’ user interface, including Webmail and site builders.  A reseller calculator, for example, provides instant cost transparency while the advanced customer management area gives end users an excellent overview of the reseller’s hosting business.

Reliable support

Resellers must ensure that hosting providers offer dedicated service 24/7.  This should include technical support over the phone and through email.  The hosting provider must also provide a high-quality reseller Web hosting service, meaning Websites are hosted within a state-of-the-art data center and benefit from superior high-speed connectivity and resilient network and power supplies.

So, when considering Reseller Web Hosting as a way to generate additional income for your business, it’s important to partner with hosting vendors that greatly reduce the cost risk and make it easier for starting resellers to achieve a stable stream of revenue.

About the author

Stephen Holford is chief marketing officer at Fasthosts Internet.  He has worked at Fasthosts since January 2006, where he is responsible for all marketing campaigns and product marketing strategy.  Prior to joining Fasthosts, he was Director of Internet Services at Video Networks Ltd. and gained product & marketing management experience at major UK brands including NTL, Argos and Tesco.

Comments:

Related posts:

1. How to Resell Web Hosting to Boost Revenue
2. 1&1 Internet, EV1Servers, Boost Growth of GeoTrust Security Firm
3. A-Link Network Services To Resell Excedent Managed Email Hosting
4. Hawaiian Telecom to Resell Interland Web Hosting Products
5. Servers from Dell, Newly Developed, to Boost Small Businesses