Web Designer confused on reseller hosting!

GWD · 25th February 2007

Hi,

I am just starting up a web design company but know very little about hosting. I know that in order to provide hosting for my (potential) clients, I will need a reseller account, BUT I haven't a clue who to choose.

Obviously I want a reliable service and as I'm starting small, an affordable solution where I'm not paying for extra webspace etc that I don't need (however, the option to upgrade must be available). This doesn't mean I want to skimp on important features though.

Can anyone recommend a reliable, affordable reseller host specialising in catering for a small web design business?

Thanks,
Mike.

JSamuel · 25th February 2007

Hi Mike,

We're not really allowed to self-advertise in this section of the forum (the majority of this board is comprised of providers)

If you create a thread:
http://www.webhostchat.co.uk/forums/...isplay.php?f=9 with questions and/or requirements that you believe you need, you'll be flooded with loads of responses

AdamC · 25th February 2007

He didn't ask for hosts to sell their own services - he asked for recommendations. Its hardly a recommendation if it comes from the supplier.

I can recommend any of the companies owned by OthelloTech though.

Jon-NC · 25th February 2007

I'd recommend going for a vps of some form. It may cost a bit more but you'll have the ability to customize your VPS for your needs. You could also look at a fully managed VPS which will allow you to concentrate on your website work.

aguk · 25th February 2007

Why limit to a single VPS when with a decent reseller account he may have access to multiple webservers, sophisticated mail and database clusters?

To OP,

You need to consider what kind of sites you will be designing and developing. Will you be using a programming language such as PHP, ASP, .NET?

Will they be simply HTML 3/4 page sites or complex e-commerce sites requiring a database backend?

Jon-NC · 25th February 2007

It depends on how important your clients are. Shared reseller packages are shared and thus can have problems and lack of flexibility.

As you've stated. It depends whats been hosted. If its simple website stuff then a reseller package would be ok.

Jon

GWD · 26th February 2007

Blimey!

Right, first of all, I'm more of a graphic designer than a coding wizz so ASP, .NET etc don't mean a lot to me, however, I am learning as I go with coding and I've dabbled in some PHP. Basically, even if some of it's too advanced for me at this stage I don't want to be limited by my hosting package at a later stage.
Also, I will be offering ecommerce sites, so a hosting package which includes a quick and easy (though highly configurable) way of doing this is most preferable. I also want databases for installing forums and photo galleries.

As for the VPS - what are the pros and cons of going down that route as opposed to becoming a reseller?

thermaldegree · 26th February 2007

VPS pros = no other users to cause you problems (such as, say, another site being overloaded which may affect the whole server), generally more generous disk/bandwidth allowances

VPS cons = you need to know how to manage a Linux/Windows (whichever you choose) server, as a VPS is essentially a full dedicated server, just with fewer resources. Unlike a Reseller account on a shared server, there is nobody to administrate the system for you unless you opt for a managed solution.

Reseller account pros = all you have to worry about is setting up your accounts - no system-level bits. So if you don't know much about hosting, I'd suggest it's the best route for you. After all if it's not good enough, you can upgrade to a VPS and take out a management package if necessary

Reseller account cons = your site could be down for no reason connected to you, if another user abuses the server. Good companies should respond to these issues promptly, though, so it shouldn't be a large issue. If you require 100% uptime for, say, an e-commerce site then you would also probably have the budget for a proper load-balanced solution

Be wary of companies which will offer an integrated ecommerce solution - there is plenty of extremely good ecommerce software out there which can be installed of virtually any server running PHP/MySQL (or, say, ASP and MS SQL if you are a Windows shop) - such as X-Cart, Zen Cart, and a whole host more. Wikipedia has a great page somewhere

You do need some sort of knowledge in order to run an e-commerce site - I always advise against these 'all in one' packages because they (in my opinion) reduce your willingness to learn about the systems upon which business depends, meaning that when you get into trouble you're at the mercy of your host's support

Most e-commerce software has excellent documentation and community support - and of course with the paid software you can expect decent support.

In summary - I'd choose a reseller account, since in your early days you don't want to be plagued by a server setting which you thought you had set correctly, for example

aguk · 26th February 2007

I think you need to spend some more time on a business plan and how your design business will develop.

You want databases to install forums and photo galleries. Ok but what technology will these be in PHP / ASP or will you just find them off a script site?

You may be better looking to partner with a developer OR offer your design skills freelance to an existing design company/companies.

Just my observations.

Cranky · 26th February 2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by thermaldegree

VPS pros = no other users to cause you problems (such as, say, another site being overloaded which may affect the whole server), generally more generous disk/bandwidth allowances

VPS cons = you need to know how to manage a Linux/Windows (whichever you choose) server, as a VPS is essentially a full dedicated server, just with fewer resources. Unlike a Reseller account on a shared server, there is nobody to administrate the system for you unless you opt for a managed solution.

Most VPS providers offer fully-managed VPS's for the same or similar prices to their unmanaged VPS's.

Typically,

Unmanaged: You handle everything except hardware/network problems

Managed: Your provider keeps your VPS updated, secure, backed up, etc. and provides technical support to you for everything.

Also, with a VPS you can scale up as you grow so that for example you start with a VPS with 256MB memory, 10GB diskspace, and as you outgrow this you upgrade to the next package up and double your resources, until you outgrow VPS at which point many providers can migrate your VPS to its own full dedicated server, then to a higher spec dedicated server, all with zero-downtime or interruption to service.

VPS's also mean you are completely isolated from other customers on the server, so if they run dodgy scripts which crash services on their VPS, or use a lot of resources, it has near-zero impact on you.

A distributed shared hosting platform still leaves you at the mercy of other customers slowing things down for you and security from other users on the same server is not as effective as a VPS would be, but in many cases it can be more redundant (if your provider chooses to make it redundant, as many distributed hosting platforms aren't).

GWD · 26th February 2007

Cranky - what is your opinion of reselling then?

Cranky · 26th February 2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by GWD

Cranky - what is your opinion of reselling then?

I sell reseller and VPS hosting and I frequently see web designers successfully using both. You're better with reseller if you have a smaller budget and/or don't see your usage increasing much, but better with VPS if you do expect to grow and your budget is a little higher ($40/£30 per month I'd say as a starting price for a reasonable VPS) you're better with a VPS so you're in complete control and can scale your VPS up easily to a dedicated server.

GWD · 27th February 2007

Well I've definitely decided on reseller hosting.

I had a look at heartinternet but I tested out their support staff's knowledge and was not impressed! Plus they are very misleading wiht their prices.

I've also looked at rapidsite.net and they seem quite good! Anyone had experience with them?

Darcy · 27th February 2007

reseller hosting is very good but please verify with your future provider wether they will provide technical support for your customers as well as many host refuse doing that

heypresto · 27th February 2007

And rightly so! The contract is with the reseller not their customers!