Reseller Web Hosting – Pros and Cons
Just as many other services and goods can be bought and resold for a profit, so too can web hosting services. While with small amounts of reselling business the profit is not that high, reselling can be a great service to use to add value to your already existing business. For instance, if you provide web design or production services then you may be able to roll web hosting into your business to make any packages you sell more attractive to the buyer. Before your dive headlong into a web hosting reseller business, here are some things to think about.
Pros
Earn Money – One of the primary motivators for wanting to resell web hosting services is the desire to make money, plain and simple. It is a simple proposition in which you contract out the service from a larger hosting service and sell it for a profit to the end user. Aside from that straightforward chance to earn money, there are some great opportunities you can take advantage of when you bundle the reselling service into another business.
No to Low Maintenance – When you resell web hosting services, you are not in control of the servers so you are not responsible for maintaining them and keeping them up to date. The maintenance process can be extremely costly over the long term, especially if you encounter any unforeseen difficulties. But when reselling, all of that is handled by the original web hosting company you have contracted from.
More Value to an Existing Business – Reselling web hosting is a great way to add value to your already existing business. By combining the web hosting service into another one, such as graphic design or web production, you can charge more for your original sales package and pump the price of the hosting plan just a little, as it is now associated with a larger package with larger value.
Cons
Lack of Control – When you work as a web host reseller, you are not actually the provider of the plan. As such, you do not actually have access to the physical servers or the administrative architecture of the server. That also means that you cannot service the server if there is problem. Therefore, your company’s reputation can be viewed negatively if the original hosting company experiences a problem. Make sure you really trust the reputation of the web hosting company you plan to buy the initial service from.
Technical Limitations – Again, the lack of control can cause some problems for a reseller of hosting plans because you cannot control the ultimate operation of the actual server space you are selling. If a client wants to run a special site or use a sophisticated program, it is up to the original hosting company to approve and manage those applications.
Lots of Competition – There is a lot of competition in the web hosting reseller marketplace, so be sure you are taking the right angle when marketing your services. Many resellers have already begun to incorporate special discounts and features so be sure you know what you’re up against.









