Local Web Design Company-How would you do the hosting?

16 replies
I am thinking about starting a local web design company and have an important question. If it were you, would you have your clients websites on your own large business hosting plan or would you set each client up with their own hosting plan? If they were on my shared hosting plan then they could get a discount from me, if they have to have their own they will have to pay full price monthly or annually. What do you think is best?
#companyhow #design #hosting #local #web
  • Profile picture of the author jbyte
    Setup a reseller account with a good web hosting company and host each site on their own account.
    Signature

    I fix WordPress problems, PM me if you need help

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8191577].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Kingfish85
    Originally Posted by SupplementTalk View Post

    I am thinking about starting a local web design company and have an important question. If it were you, would you have your clients websites on your own large business hosting plan or would you set each client up with their own hosting plan? If they were on my shared hosting plan then they could get a discount from me, if they have to have their own they will have to pay full price monthly or annually. What do you think is best?
    I would advise "against" hosting customer sites on your single shared hosting plan. It raises concern for security issues. It's also against many web hosts' terms of service.

    Get a reseller plan with a good, quality web host and avoid one that sells unlimited disk space/bandwidth, even for shared hosting.

    The performance of said host will directly affect your reputation, especially when dealing with local customers.
    Signature

    |~| VeeroTech Hosting - sales @ veerotech.net
    |~| High Performance CloudLinux & LiteSpeed Powered Web Hosting
    |~| cPanel & WHM - Softaculous - Website Builder - R1Soft - SpamExperts
    |~| Visit us @veerotech Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8191644].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author MelanieandMiles
    Hostgator reseller package! We used to pass off clients through affiliate links for a 1 time fee... Then we started stacking them all on our shared account and as KingFish mentioned... that is a BAD idea!!! (Trust us, calamity will happen if you go that way and switching over to a reseller package after the ish hits the fan is WAY more difficult than starting out as a reseller from the get-go)

    They offer you everything you need including the web hosting management control panel, the billing system and a book that walks you through setting it up and getting your first 1000 clients.

    Definitely some more setup work, but don't worry, you can hire quality server admins on oDesk for under $10/hr!

    The best part is the residual income that keeps coming in year after year after year!
    Signature
    Free How-To Videos On Everything From Sales Funnels, Facebook PPC & More!
    https://www.YouTube.com/milesb
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8191942].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author SupplementTalk
      Originally Posted by MelanieandMiles View Post

      Hostgator reseller package! We used to pass off clients through affiliate links for a 1 time fee... Then we started stacking them all on our shared account and as KingFish mentioned... that is a BAD idea!!! (Trust us, calamity will happen if you go that way and switching over to a reseller package after the ish hits the fan is WAY more difficult than starting out as a reseller from the get-go)

      They offer you everything you need including the web hosting management control panel, the billing system and a book that walks you through setting it up and getting your first 1000 clients.

      Definitely some more setup work, but don't worry, you can hire quality server admins on oDesk for under $10/hr!

      The best part is the residual income that keeps coming in year after year after year!
      Thanks for the detailed insight. I'm actually with host gator now and think they are amazing. It looks like all 4 people that responded to my question said to go with the reseller route. Thanks everyone!
      Signature
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8192390].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author avandrunen
    I think the answer is fairly clear but to reiterate...reseller at a minimum...do not go shared...it makes it to difficult on you as a host/designer if you clinet wants access to their own site.

    I had a mobile client that was refused access to his sit due to the fact that it was on a shared account...the hassle we went through to get it moved to his own hosting was a pain but needed.

    Keep them all separate.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8191958].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Andrew H
    Go to a reputable company like Servint.

    Get a base VPS with Cpanel. Increase the performance of your VPS as your clients increase.

    Having a high quality host will save a lot of problems in the future.
    Signature
    "You shouldn't come here and set yourself up as the resident wizard of oz."
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8192982].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author 300SMG
    As already stated several times..reseller account. I started out in 2000 signing up clients to my shared unlimited domain account and just as also stated its a headache once the client wants to get access and no longer 'needs' you.
    Signature

    Don't focus on the money - focus on the plan!

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8193498].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author kpmedia
    I wonder how many HostGator lovers changed their tuned after the huge botch job from August 2013?
    That's a horrible host, and hopefully some have come to their senses.

    For too long, WF has had HG on the brain. Like a tumor.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8403900].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Marty S
      [DELETED]
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8404072].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author MrFume
        I think what is meant is to have one re-seller account to host all the clients, this allows you to have separate accounts for each-not a whole re-seller account for each, this would be ridiculous...The HG re-seller accnt is pretty good-also the Blue host, can work well if you have the volume of clients.
        Signature

        Journalism, the profession is undergoing a massive change since the WWW has arrived. I help people to build their personal profile and create a multi-media platform with WordPress, Podcasting, Writing and Video.
        Digital Media for a Noisy World

        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8413960].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author abelamorales
    I just started out and am charging my client $35 a month for hosting which includes weekly backups. I let them know upfront that any changes they need make is $50 per hour with a minimum of half an hour to be charged to their account. If I can acquire 50 clients at $35 a month, that's $1750 a month in recurring income plus any additional services I may offer, like SEO or graphic design work -- not including other clients I'll be designing websites for.

    The beauty of this business is that you can outsource everything -- my role in my business is to work as a Project Manager so my client receives exactly what they wanted.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8404225].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author natebunger
    I think it' still better to separate them for security issues. It can work for smaller sites to use shared hosting with you but I usually go for their own hosting.
    Signature
    ##ATTENTION##

    Do You Hate Writing Sales Copy?

    I create killer copy for squeeze pages, video scripts, email auto-responders and sales pages. Click here to see reviews.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8412952].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author ATAC
    I agree with Jbite the first comment but if money is tight you can get away with putting them on your plan and then later when business is better make a change for the reseller account because its pricey .

    I did that with a shared plan from hostgator with 10 local business on it along with my sites for a year and a 1/2 and when they renewed is when I switched everything after the first year.

    Best of luck
    Signature
    This all-in-one marketing platform saves me over $7,000 per year. See how:
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8413524].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author teeds01
    I'm kind of amazed no one has suggested leasing a dedicated server and buying cpanel? I host approximately 100 clients ( all wordpress, drupal, and a few Magento) and we charge between $29 - $249 but we sell bundles of other services to justify the headache. BTW Host gator is terrible - it's fine for little accounts but any traffic creates chaos.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8416662].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author OnlineStoreHelp
      Starting out doing an affordable reseller plan you can grow into. That is what I did and there are several reasons for it.

      Separate Cpanel: All it takes is one website hacked on a shared host and every other website is gone with it. Once they get into root access...

      Maintenance and Backup: Hi probability if there is an issue, you will be dealing with it. The ability to connect into each of those cpanel accounts from your main account is fantastic.

      Cost: Are you saying you can't afford $20/month? Your first client will pay for the cost of your reseller hosting

      Host your own sites too: with separate Cpanel you can run your own sites on better hosting.

      As it grows I would be willing to bet a quality hosting company could transition you to a VPS or dedicated if you grow enough.

      I did reseller through Veerotech after a ton of research and can't believe I didn't do it for my first clients. Two of them are on HG hosting and just waiting to eventually move them over.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8417114].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author Kingfish85
        Originally Posted by OnlineStoreHelp View Post

        Starting out doing an affordable reseller plan you can grow into. That is what I did and there are several reasons for it.

        Separate Cpanel: All it takes is one website hacked on a shared host and every other website is gone with it. Once they get into root access...

        Maintenance and Backup: Hi probability if there is an issue, you will be dealing with it. The ability to connect into each of those cpanel accounts from your main account is fantastic.

        Cost: Are you saying you can't afford $20/month? Your first client will pay for the cost of your reseller hosting

        Host your own sites too: with separate Cpanel you can run your own sites on better hosting.

        As it grows I would be willing to bet a quality hosting company could transition you to a VPS or dedicated if you grow enough.

        I did reseller through Veerotech after a ton of research and can't believe I didn't do it for my first clients. Two of them are on HG hosting and just waiting to eventually move them over.
        Thanks for the mention here. Glad to see that you're happy with our service!
        Signature

        |~| VeeroTech Hosting - sales @ veerotech.net
        |~| High Performance CloudLinux & LiteSpeed Powered Web Hosting
        |~| cPanel & WHM - Softaculous - Website Builder - R1Soft - SpamExperts
        |~| Visit us @veerotech Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn

        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8417777].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author SiteSmarty
    Rackspace Cloud Sites...
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8417805].message }}

Trending Topics