Web Hosting Business?

[Penguin]

Hey guys,

Me and a friend are seriously looking at renting a server sometime soon and jumping into the hosting business. Has anyone got any experience in this field or any tips they would be willing to share? For example getting first customers.

The server we're looking at should come with unlimited bandwidth, cpanel (with unlimited domains), automatic backups etc..

Ofcourse one of the most important things i'll be working on is keeping the customers (If we get any) happy (Customer Support etc.) - If they're happy they're far more likely to reccomend their host to their friends etc. and thats a good way to start off/build things up i reckon -

As for hosting plans, i'm very keen on having a cheap plan for starter websites with small space / bandwidth - We're still thinking about plans but if anyone has any ideas please do share them.

We're confident we know what we're doing, it just needs more planning, but i'm very grateful for any tips/help -

Cheers,

- Penguin

 

[Chilly]

It's not easy and the margins are tiny, unless you are going to do it properly dont bother, unless you can afford a server running at 0.1% capacity most of the time.

I run a similar scheme and I have a few punters, I dont use cpanel cos its cheating and I do it mainly as a learning exercise anyway. If you cant admin a linux system, or you dont know where to look something up then you shouldnt really be getting into it.

 

[ECA]

check out www.theplanet.com
If you can't/dont want to setup them up that way you can do it via hostgator.com ( who use the planet ).

 

[Penguin]

It's not easy and the margins are tiny, unless you are going to do it properly dont bother, unless you can afford a server running at 0.1% capacity most of the time.

I run a similar scheme and I have a few punters, I dont use cpanel cos its cheating and I do it mainly as a learning exercise anyway. If you cant admin a linux system, or you dont know where to look something up then you shouldnt really be getting into it.

I must admit that myself i know nothing of Linux really, my friend is more into this kind of thing. I do however have another friend who knows Linux very well (And already has his own server - or 2, i forget) he'll probably be able to help us out.

Perhaps it would just be easier if we went with a reseller plan rather than renting a server?

Thanks for the links ECA - I'll check those out.

- Penguin

 

[Maljonic]

Does anyone know about heartinternet.co.uk? I keep getting cards through the post from them trying to get me to sign up for a reseller package for £29.99 a month.

 

[Penguin]

Looking at hostgator.com - Their reseller plans do look very good - Much more interested in this now than renting a server - Thanks ECA.

About Heard Internet - I'm sure i've seen them before, but never used them myself.