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Your own hosting vs re-seller hosting?

by s62731
27 replies
Hey guys

Note: I really appreciate anyone who reads this and helps me out

So as I am getting a few clients in the offline world I have run into a few small problems. 1 of them being hosting!

When providing websites hosting, am I better of hosting their websites on my own account, or using host gators re-seller system?

The main reason I ask is because 2 of my clients want their own email addresses and I cannot provide that when they are hosted on my own account (didn't think about that)

Because if I gave them access they would have access to all my accounts and stuff.

So this has created 2 problems:

1. I am not charging on going hosting because I just wanted to get my first few clients, so I would have to pay for it (until I charge my next 2 clients with ongoing hosting which would cover the costs anyway)

2. Is it possible to completely swap a website onto another hosting account?

So what do you guys think I should do?

Thanks a lot

- James
#hosting #reseller
  • Profile picture of the author iAmNameLess
    I think in almost 100% of cases you should put your client on your reseller. I even use resellers for my personal sites although I will be getting a few dedicated servers soon.

    Reseller is the way to go in my opinion. Don't even try to get them on a regular shared server, too many problems.
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    • Profile picture of the author Tim Brendel
      Originally Posted by iAmNameLess View Post

      I think in almost 100% of cases you should put your client on your reseller. I even use resellers for my personal sites although I will be getting a few dedicated servers soon.

      Reseller is the way to go in my opinion. Don't even try to get them on a regular shared server, too many problems.

      What if your business follows the Bower Formula? :p
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      • Profile picture of the author IMSince2003
        Originally Posted by Tim Brendel View Post

        What if your business follows the Bower Formula? :p
        That's easy. If you are using the Bower method, you have the sites on your own account. If you have a reseller account, you can setup separate cPanels, but you don't have to do that. Just setup their email accounts so that they can retrieve their emails from mywebsite.com/webmail/ That's it, nothing more complicated.
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        • Profile picture of the author Tim Brendel
          Originally Posted by IMSince2003 View Post

          That's easy. If you are using the Bower method, you have the sites on your own account. If you have a reseller account, you can setup separate cPanels, but you don't have to do that. Just setup their email accounts so that they can retrieve their emails from mywebsite.com/webmail/ That's it, nothing more complicated.
          Actually no because that formula states that you add them to a sub-domain. You'd only be able to do what you said if the client opted for the additional domain name. You can not host sub domains on individual reseller accounts. They require a unique domain name.
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          • Profile picture of the author IMSince2003
            Originally Posted by Tim Brendel View Post

            Actually no because that formula states that you add them to a sub-domain. You'd only be able to do what you said if the client opted for the additional domain name. You can not host sub domains on individual reseller accounts. They require a unique domain name.
            That's the Bower directory method. I always upsell to a unique domain. If they don't want to pay for one, I just buy a .info with a coupon for $0.99. In my contracts, they have the option to keep the domain if they transfer away from us for $250.
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            • Profile picture of the author Tim Brendel
              Originally Posted by IMSince2003 View Post

              That's the Bower directory method. I always upsell to a unique domain. If they don't want to pay for one, I just buy a .info with a coupon for $0.99. In my contracts, they have the option to keep the domain if they transfer away from us for $250.
              I guess that's an option but personally, if my business followed that Formula I would REALLY push TLD's (not .info) because I'd sell SEO services on the backend. We all know how .info's rank.

              $250??? That's a lot for a .info! I guess a fee is a fee though. I suppose if I got the domain ranked well while they were a paying customer, then I wouldn't want to let it go either. So I suppose the fee would be a good idea. Interesting approach! I may have to "borrow" it
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              • Profile picture of the author IMSince2003
                Originally Posted by Tim Brendel View Post

                I guess that's an option but personally, if my business followed that Formula I would REALLY push TLD's (not .info) because I'd sell SEO services on the backend. We all know how .info's rank.

                $250??? That's a lot for a .info! I guess a fee is a fee though. I suppose if I got the domain ranked well while they were a paying customer, then I wouldn't want to let it go either. So I suppose the fee would be a good idea. Interesting approach! I may have to "borrow" it
                Borrow away Tim! Yes, buying the domain has its advantages, especially if they want to take it from you later on. Just one comment, though. Info domains, contrary to prevailing wisdom, have done very well for me. Historically, I have not noticed any penalty whatsoever by building a legitimate offline business website (or even niche website for that matter) with a .info domain. That's my experience and I've built a LOT of sites over the years. Test it and see for yourself, don't take my word for it.
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                • Profile picture of the author Tim Brendel
                  Originally Posted by IMSince2003 View Post

                  Borrow away Tim! Yes, buying the domain has its advantages, especially if they want to take it from you later on. Just one comment, though. Info domains, contrary to prevailing wisdom, have done very well for me. Historically, I have not noticed any penalty whatsoever by building a legitimate offline business website (or even niche website for that matter) with a .info domain. That's my experience and I've built a LOT of sites over the years. Test it and see for yourself, don't take my word for it.
                  Well, the only reason that I shy away from them is that I was part of a webinar with Matt Cutts and he said that they while they aren't penalized by search engines, they are indeed frowned upon because spammers use them to, well... SPAM.

                  I currently have no reason to try them out because I prefer to stick with TLD's. I've used 2 or 3 .info's years ago when I got started in IM (For CPA campaigns from with YouTube videos) but they never ranked. I just got the direct traffic from YouTube.
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                  • Profile picture of the author s62731
                    Hi guys,

                    I tried to log in to the email through domainname.com.au/webmail

                    And used the specific log in details I had set up, but when in the webmail it still gave access to all email accounts associated with the hosting account.

                    I think it will just be easier to use re-seller hosting,

                    And setting up pop3 emails is far too complicated, and then they can only access the emails from the computer it is set up on. Much easier if I just use re-seller hosting accounts.
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  • Profile picture of the author globalpro
    If you are using Host Gator (contact them for sure) they will move things around for you if you upgrade. If you are hosting people on your account, you may need to set them up in the admin area for the reseller account, but I am sure HG will help you with that also.

    They are easy to work with and never have a problem if you upgrade.

    Thanks,

    John
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  • Profile picture of the author Mizzy Princess
    Moving your website from one host to another host is fairly simple and for most sites can be done without any downtime on your website.
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  • Profile picture of the author dtang4
    You can easily get an WHM reseller account and set up clients w/ their own separate CPanel installations. I use servint for this.

    I imagine this route would be much more lucrative (% wise) than HostGator's reseller option.
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  • Profile picture of the author sitefurnace
    Why cant you set up an email for their domain?

    If you are adding the domains as addons or sub-domains you can easily add email addresses to them. Just go to Email accounts and select the domain in the drop down - you can do as many as you want.

    I think it depends on what kind of sites you are hosting and whether the hosting part is important to them. If they are just simple 3-5 page sites with low traffic then why would they need separate accounts.

    The only benefit to creating separate accounts is

    1. if they need access to their cpanel for some reason
    2. If they have high bandwidth requirements or run a lot of scripts that hog cpu power

    Most business owners will definitely not want access to cpanel if they are paying you to make websites - if they have that kind of knowledge/interest they are likely to be doing things them selves - be someone that provides a website not a hosting company

    Benefits to keeping on one account:

    1. just one log in to cpanel - much easier to maintain and work on. Everything under one roof.
    2. Easier backups of account - just one
    3. Easier to move hosting accounts if the hosts piss you off

    I have a reseller account on VPS with whm and all i can say is that the amount of time i spend sorting out problems is huge - the more complicated you make it the more time you spend fixing problems, and you do get problems.

    Just my opinion
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    • Profile picture of the author StrategicCheetah
      Originally Posted by sitefurnace View Post

      Why cant you set up an email for their domain?

      If you are adding the domains as addons or sub-domains you can easily add email addresses to them. Just go to Email accounts and select the domain in the drop down - you can do as many as you want.

      I think it depends on what kind of sites you are hosting and whether the hosting part is important to them. If they are just simple 3-5 page sites with low traffic then why would they need separate accounts.

      The only benefit to creating separate accounts is

      1. if they need access to their cpanel for some reason
      2. If they have high bandwidth requirements or run a lot of scripts that hog cpu power

      Most business owners will definitely not want access to cpanel if they are paying you to make websites - if they have that kind of knowledge/interest they are likely to be doing things them selves - be someone that provides a website not a hosting company

      Benefits to keeping on one account:

      1. just one log in to cpanel - much easier to maintain and work on. Everything under one roof.
      2. Easier backups of account - just one
      3. Easier to move hosting accounts if the hosts piss you off

      I have a reseller account on VPS with whm and all i can say is that the amount of time i spend sorting out problems is huge - the more complicated you make it the more time you spend fixing problems, and you do get problems.

      Just my opinion
      Good to see someone in this thread posting a reasoned argument as to why one would be better than the other. I second your thoughts.
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    • Profile picture of the author ClarkKent
      Originally Posted by sitefurnace View Post

      If you are adding the domains as addons or sub-domains you can easily add email addresses to them. Just go to Email accounts and select the domain in the drop down - you can do as many as you want.

      I think it depends on what kind of sites you are hosting and whether the hosting part is important to them. If they are just simple 3-5 page sites with low traffic then why would they need separate accounts.

      The only benefit to creating separate accounts is

      1. if they need access to their cpanel for some reason
      2. If they have high bandwidth requirements or run a lot of scripts that hog cpu power

      Most business owners will definitely not want access to cpanel if they are paying you to make websites - if they have that kind of knowledge/interest they are likely to be doing things them selves - be someone that provides a website not a hosting company
      Agreed.

      Also, being a reseller will only rake in a couple dollars a month depending on how much you charge for hosting (maybe a little more).

      For those high cpu-usage clients you may be better off just signing them up for their own accounts and then pulling in the affiliate commissions ($50-$120 from HostGator depending on the amount of sign-ups per month).
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      • Profile picture of the author s62731
        Hi Guys...

        The reason for wanting separate accounts is because;

        If all their sites are on the same account, when they log in to see their emails they would have access to all the email address for all websites on my hosting.
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        • Profile picture of the author godinu
          Originally Posted by s62731 View Post

          Hi Guys...

          The reason for wanting separate accounts is because;

          If all their sites are on the same account, when they log in to see their emails they would have access to all the email address for all websites on my hosting.
          are you sure about this? once you set them up with email, set up pop3 for them or another way for them to access it without having to go through the cpanel or webpage-based access.
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        • Profile picture of the author SoCalMarketing
          Originally Posted by s62731 View Post

          Hi Guys...

          The reason for wanting separate accounts is because;

          If all their sites are on the same account, when they log in to see their emails they would have access to all the email address for all websites on my hosting.
          I think you are referring to clients logging in to cpanel which I see no reason for any client to do. You can use the POP3 account setup for each email address you create and send them that info, they can then setup on outlook and have regular email. I do this with some of my clients.

          I have tried the reseller account at hostgator and just could not see the benefit of working with the limitations in storage and bandwidth of reseller accounts so I canned it. I can buy a business account with unlimited storage and bandiwith for less than 20 bucks a month, host unlimited domains and put on all my clients on there and charge them each a hosting fee without giving them access to cpanel, they don't need it otherwise they would be doing their own online marketing thing.

          Additionally, you can purchase a separate account for each client through some of the WF hosting offers (I have a couple that charge me $20 a year for some very good accounts) and you can give cpanel access to your client for that account since it is a standalone, yet you can charge whatever your want for it.

          Good job at having paying clients! good luck in your business.
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  • Profile picture of the author TopKat22
    Hostgator reseller account is the way to go and they can each have their own emails.

    Hostgator is great so just contact customer service and they will help you will all this.
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  • Profile picture of the author sitefurnace
    Yes you could set it up to use a gmail account or something but you dont need to. Contact your host and ask them what your webmail URL is.

    Mine is mydomain.co.uk:2095

    When you go there you hit a login box where the client would enter their email/password )

    You don't have to access it via cPanel
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    • Profile picture of the author ClarkKent
      Originally Posted by sitefurnace View Post

      Yes you could set it up to use a gmail account or something but you dont need to. Contact your host and ask them what your webmail URL is.

      Mine is mydomain.co.uk:2095

      When you go there you hit a login box where the client would enter their email/password )

      You don't have to access it via cPanel
      Exactly,
      I have
      http://ipaddress/frontend/x3/mail/webmailform.html?user=username&domain=domain.com
      I know HostGator uses 3 mail systems, you should be able to give them webmail access from there.

      You could also pitch them on Google Apps and charge for setup ;-)
      Or do the Account Retrieve + Send As feature on Gmail.
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      • Profile picture of the author TheCG
        Why can't you just have them access it through their own domain webmail?

        Ex: http://www.theirdomain.com/webmail

        They can login with their email address and password that you set up for them.
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  • Profile picture of the author Tim Brendel
    Also, when you add a new domain to your "unlimited website hosting" hosting account you have to create a new user for logging into CPanel. If you setup the domain properly when you added it to your hosting account, meaning you didn't give the new user account access to your root directory (/), then they would not be able to see any other folders/files when they log into CPanel (which they shouldn't do anyway). If they absolutely had to log in for some reason, then they would log in with the new account that created when you added the domain.

    As far as email goes, They are only going to be able to see whatever email accounts that you give them, even when checking it via webmail. Adding-on domains to your "unlimited domain names" hosting account is a perfectly acceptable way to get started. I would recommend though that if you take on a lot of customers that you move to reseller. Shared web hosting servers get slower the more that you add onto them.
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  • Profile picture of the author Michael William
    I use reseller hosting ALL the time for clients and my own sites. I even use them to help make sales. I will tell prospects that I own my own hosting company so I can just sign over the site I am showing them for a discounted price.
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  • Profile picture of the author kayetaylor
    Same here... I'm using Hostgator.
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