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Business Plan for Web-building Business

by OKFarmgirl
9 replies
Hey everyone!

I've been hanging out mostly in the Adsense forum, but I've got a general question, and I don't even know if the warrior forum is the place to ask, but here we go:

I have had pretty good success building my siggy line website. I've also be hired on a contract basis to build/manage two others. I LOVE building sites in Wordpress. I'm not a super tech guru, but I do know my way around WP, and can edit .php and .css pretty well (what I don't know, I can figure out on WP forums). So my services would be cheaper than your average tech and not as fancy as some other sites. I'm looking more for local businesses to work with me to start so I can build my portfolio. Looks like I might have two restaurants that are going to work with me as well.

So. I had an idea that if I did a 5-year plan with HostGator, I could host all of the sites that I build and charge a modest monthly fee ($10/mo) for hosting. Is this feasible? Is it also legal for me to have a business that uses WP themes and whatnot for commercial use? I have one theme that I really like, so I would probably use that one almost exclusively (it's super customizable) and then I'd be able to pay that theme designer as I was able.

I was thinking of doing the host gator thing just for my own site and my niche sites as I build them, because my current host (I love them) doesn't have unlimited domains available. They're pricey comparatively, but I love their customer service.

Anyway, advice? Or advice about where to go to get more info about starting your own service hosting and building websites? Thanks a million!
#business #plan #webbuilding
  • Profile picture of the author Christian Little
    HostGator will ban you if they find you are reselling hosting on a shared hosting account, as will almost every other hosting company. So make sure you look at a Reseller plan if this is what you are intending to do.

    BTW our Level 1 reseller plan works out to $10.91/month if you pay annually with our warrior discount if you're interested (and it can scale up as you grow and the warrior discount will continue with you). It's cheaper than HG's lowest reseller plan ($19/month), and you don't need to get locked into a 5 year contract to get the best rate.

    As for the legal question, it depends on the terms set by the specific theme. You said you have a specific theme you like to work with and customize usually (I'm guessing a Woo theme? They seem to be very popular lately). You need to read the terms and conditions of the specific theme, most of them say 'not for commercial use' and most of them demand you keep the footer links intact. If you are caught violating the terms of the theme you could open yourself to multiple lawsuits.
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    cPanel Shared and Reseller Web Hosting - 30 Day Free Trial Exclusive for Warriors!
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  • Profile picture of the author OKFarmgirl
    Thanks for the response. I went to hostgator and saw the reseller program after I posted, so I assumed that would be the case. And if I didn't charge the users for the hosting, just for the site building, would it be the same? The theme I like best is Swift for Wordpress, so I'll have to take a look at what their terms are. I always leave the footer info - I think it's important to give credit where credit is due.
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  • Profile picture of the author iAmNameLess
    iAreNameLess is my skype name, contact me on there. I was in the same boat as you and have designed over 160 sites in 6 months. Can outsource some stuff to you to get you started.
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    • Profile picture of the author OKFarmgirl
      I added you on Skype.

      Thanks!
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    • Profile picture of the author OKFarmgirl
      I spoke with Host Gator on chat this morning. They said if I didn't charge for hosting, I could host clients' domains on my account and give them access only to their Wordpress logins (not the cPanel). Then, if I wanted to switch to having them pay after a year, I can move to a reseller account without a problem. I think this may be my best bet to secure a portfolio and an initial client base.
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    • Profile picture of the author OKFarmgirl
      I took a look at Fat Cow too - does anyone have experience with them? It didn't encourage me that their chat support person was clearly not a native English speaker. Their reseller plan is about the same as Host Gator, but they are a bit cheaper on the unlimited personal hosting. Whatcha think?
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  • Profile picture of the author Christian Little
    Farmgirl - what features are you specifically looking for?
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  • Profile picture of the author OKFarmgirl
    I'm just trying to find something I can do in my scope of knowledge that will help supplement my part-time job and support my family. So - basically, I'm looking to help local businesses and anyone else who wants it to build Wordpress web presence for their company, family or whatever. I'd like to eventually be able to sell domains and hosting, but I can't afford the fees right now. For now, I'm looking for unlimited bandwidth, unlimited domains and unlimited storage. I think that's it.
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  • Profile picture of the author iAmNameLess
    Go with a reseller, it is your best bet. You will make your money back in no time.
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