how ideal is reseller hosting?

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.

"Ideal" is not a word to be used for web hosting However a Reseller Account would work good for you, because you'd be able to manage a number of websites from different control panel ("Domain Owner Panel" in cPanel) interfaces. Please also be advised that you can also use a Multi Domain option is cPanel which allows you to host a number of websites as add-on domains. Reseller account is more expensive than a regular Shared Hosting multi domain service. It makes sense to get one only if you think of making some money by providing Shared Hosting services to your clients.

As far as for the domain names, you can then them either from your hosting provider or from any domain registrar.

It's not usually a good idea to be a hosting provider for your clients. You would have to assume the role of manager and support for them, something they probably wont want to pay for and you certainly can not do cheaper than webhsots. I never host stuff for my clients.

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.

Reseller hosting business is not easy; it's being very competitive. I have seen a lot of changes, and most of them are worst. I wish you all the success in the web hosting world, but remember you will have a long hard battle to establish your business in the right manner. In my opinion, at initial stage target local audience, and be honest with them and offer them something that no one else does ( And don't ask me what it is, because I don't know )

Reseller hosting is the good idea but you to choose best provider and give your clients best support

Reseller hosting is ideal, but the whole web hosting community likes to offer cheap cost rate packages so it's really hard to make your identity different. In my opinion, it's not all about the price I think providing decent customer support is more important. Undercutting is not the best way or approach to hosting. Your focus should be on clients satisfaction, because these days a lot of people frustrated with big belly hosting companies. One more thing, local market should be your prime concentration area at initial stage...

I wouldn't recommend you to host your clients websites because they will keep bothering you and won't leave in peace. I know because I already experienced something like this, once you did your project suggest some reliable web host to your client and wish them good luck.

If you want to stay away from hosting and concentrate on your Web Development business, you can join Affiliate program of a reputed Web Hosting company. Affiliate program is where you refer clients to a Hosting company and earn commission on each referral. Signing up for a Affiliate account is free and your Affiliate account gets activated within a few hours. So you can start referring clients to that provider.

How does Affiliate works.

You need to sign up for a free Affiliate account with an Web Hosting company. When your Affiliate account becomes active, you will get a unique Affiliate link. After that if you refer any client to that Hosting company, you must ask that client to order the package using your affiliate link. Once he clicks on your Affiliate link, he will be redirected to the providers website. He can then select a plan depending upon his budget and requirements and sign up. Once he signs up using your link, you will be entitled for a commission from the Hosting provider. You will get the commission within a couple of days and the amount will depend upon the commission structure designed by the Hosting provider. If you have your own website, you can place banner ads of the Hosting provider and include your Affiliate link in that banner, so that your clients gets redirected to the hosting providers website directly.

In this case, you will not be responsible to provide support to those clients. Your clients will directly contact the Hosting provider incase of any technical issues. So you will get commission without the headache of managing those accounts.

But you still need to consider a Reliable Hosting provider to sign up for and refer your clients to. If the Hosting provider fails to deliver them good hosting services, your clients will curse you for suggesting that provider. Commission slabs are also very important and you must check them as well. You should choose a provider who offers you maximum commission on referrals.

There is nothing ideal. I think that success will depend on you on your skills and on your possibilities and marketing skills.
So if you want to have your business successful you need to take care of that.