Originally Posted by schaefera I'm currently finishing up my web design degree and working on small web sites here and there to build a portfolio. I want to be able to do freelance work on the side after I graduate and am a little confused as to what to do about hosting and domain names. Do designers tend to have the client register for domains and hosting on their own, or is it easier to set up a reseller account and have clients get hosting through the designer. (this is all assuming the client doesnt have a current web site). I've found some pros and cons to both but nothing that is really helping me decide on one.

If you are a Web Designer and looking to get into Web Hosting as well, then a Reseller plan would be a good option to opt for. Web Designers have many clients who are looking for a good Hosting provider once their website is ready to go live on Internet. You as a Web Designer will designing multiple websites for various clients. So the client will be well aware of the quality of designing service which he has received from you. If the client gets impressed from your designing services, you can easily convince him to opt for your Hosting services as well. You can create multiple packages so the client has various options to choose from depending upon his budget.

There are many Hosting companies who offer Free end user Technical support along with their hosting plans. So you don't need to worry about all the technical aspects involved in Hosting as you can easily escalate those issues to the hosting provider and let his support staff to deal with those issues. Reseller has a inbuilt WHM (Web Host Manager) which is the master control panel via which he can manage his entire Reseller account easily. He can create multiple accounts, suspend them, increase/ decrease the resources like space and bandwidth on any plan which he has created and also monitor the accounts which he has created. End user gets a separate control panel to manage his individual account. This will help him to manage his account easily.

Some Hosting providers also offer Domain Reseller accounts as well which will allow you to register domains for your clients. You should be careful while choosing a Hosting provider whose services you wish to resell further, because the Hosting provider should be reliable enough and he mush provide you a good service so that you can pass on the same to your clients. If the Hosting provider fails to provide good service, you might loose many clients and might have to suffer from huge economic looses. You as a Reseller should have a good image in market so that you get more clients and your business flourishes and all this will only be possible when you choose a right hosting provider.