The Best Reseller Web Hosting Services for 2020
What Is Reseller Hosting?
Reseller hosting, which is also known as “white label hosting,” refers to the business of creating your own web hosting business from tools and services you resell from larger hosting companies, like the ones that appear in the above chart. You focus on sales and at least basic support, leaving the grind of maintaining servers, software, and bandwidth to those larger companies. Typically, resellers—the people who get into the reselling business—rent servers from web hosting services at wholesale prices, and then offer their own hosting packages to the public for profit.
There is a lot of demand for web hosting, whether it is shared hosting, WordPress hosting, dedicated hosting, or virtual private server (VPS) hosting. Web hosting is the backbone for personal blogs, corporate websites, podcasts, vlogs, and nearly anything else you can imagine that exists on the web. Resellers are aspiring entrepreneurs who look to make a few bucks in the web hosting arena, as well as web designers and developers who want to expand their client offerings (and also make a few bucks).
Resellers set the pricing structure for their offerings, not the web host that provides the servers and software. In many cases, resellers can brand their packages by using a customized control panel. This establishes a level of trust with people who may already be familiar with the reseller’s brand. Who wouldn’t want to set up shop with your company if you’ve done well by them in the past? And branding is important if you’re looking to get into the reseller hosting game. More on that in a bit.
How Does Reselling Work?
One of the main reasons people get into reselling web hosting, as opposed to building their own web hosting service from scratch, is the ease of entry. Reseller hosting does not require the extensive technical understanding of infrastructure that hosting from the ground up does.
Resellers are responsible for interacting with their customers, but are not responsible for hardware, software, or connectivity problems. Web hosts’ data center operators are responsible for that type of troubleshooting. However, resellers may be placed in the tricky position of liaising between the hosting provider and the customer for other kinds of technical support, such as billing and payment issues. In other words, you’ll need to demonstrate patience and understanding when dealing with irate customers.
Ideally, you should be able to provide some basic support yourself. For those problems you can’t solve, you’ll need to contact the web host yourself to find a solution. So, the level and quality of support provided by the service from whom you’re renting your servers to resell can be quite important.
In addition, you have to market your services to the public in order to attract clients. For example, if you already have an established web development company, then you have an established client base to which you can pitch your new hosting packages. Otherwise, you must hustle to spread awareness about your brand. After all, Person X may be familiar with GoDaddy’s web hosting packages, but she may not be familiar with your brand. If you’re part of a big company with big marketing dollars to spend, you may not have much to worry about. On the other hand, a one-person operation may have difficulty spreading the word about its new web hosting packages. Still, there are many would-be customers out there who prefer to deal with a smaller, more intimate company. That might be your sweet spot, as a reseller of web hosting.
Reseller Web Hosting Checklist
If you’re planning to become a reseller, consider all the steps below.
- Estimate how many customers you think you can bring on to start the business. This will determine the reseller package you’ll need.
- Determine the types and size of packages you will offer your customers.
- Determine the price you will set for your packages.
- Compare reseller hosting plans to see which company meets your needs and your budget.
- Contract for the best reseller hosting plan.
- Configure templates for each of the packages you decide to offer.
- Market these packages and sell them to customers.
- Support your customers.
Key Reseller Hosting Features
With a reseller account you get a selection of Linux- or Windows-based servers, email, custom cPanel account management apps, File Transfer Protocol, MYSQL database management software, standard and solid-state storage, money-back guarantees, and a variety of hosting types, generally including shared, dedicated, and VPS hosting).
You can also expect WebHost Manager (WHM) apps, reseller-specific software that lets you control your customers’ dedicated or VPS server accounts. You are also likely to encounter WebHost Manager Complete Solution (WHMCS) software that lets you manage many customer-related features, including sign-ups, automated billing, and account termination.
Web hosts typically let you charge your clients as much as you like, but they expect their monthly cut. The monthly or yearly fees that web hosts charge you for their resources vary depending on the server specs. We’ve seen prices as low as $7 per month, but the sky’s the limit in terms of pricing out high-powered hardware.
How Does Reseller Hosting Differ From Affiliate Programs?
Reseller hosting lets you sell hosting packages, while affiliate programs drop a few dollars in your pocket whenever someone signs up for a web host via one of your affiliate links. The former is an active role, as you must build your client base, pitch them, and deal with customers’ tech support issues. The latter is passive in that you can simply paste affiliate link code into your personal or professional website, YouTube description box, or social media account.
Should You Get Into Web Hosting Reselling?
Yes, if you want to get into the web hosting business without starting an entire operation from scratch, or if you’re a web designer who wants to host your clients’ separate control panels without ponying up money for potentially expensive dedicated hosting or VPS hosting. That said, you should know something about how web hosting works. You need to be ready for the inevitable problems that will arise, and you’ll sometimes need to act as the messenger between your clients and your web hosting provider.
If you’re just getting started in web hosting, make sure to check out our primer, How to Create a Website, as well as How to Register a Domain Name for Your Website. The Best Courses for Learning How to Build Websites is an excellent start, too.
Where To Buy
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HostGator Web Hosting
Pros: A variety of feature-packed hosting plans.
Excellent shared hosting offering.
Good for novice webmasters.
Useful site-building software.
Good customer service.
Outstanding uptime.Cons: No Windows-based VPS hosting.
Bottom Line: HostGator is an excellent web hosting service that’s simple to use and offers an array of useful plans for consumers and small businesses. It’s our top pick for shared web hosting and for novice webmasters in general.
Read Review
A2 Web Hosting
Pros: Robust hosting packages.
Excellent customer service.
Terrific uptime.
Good money-back refund plan.Cons: Not every plan has a Windows server option.
Relatively expensive.Bottom Line: Packed with features, A2 is a Web hosting service that’s more than worthy of being the foundation for your website.
Read Review
AccuWeb Hosting
Pros: Stellar uptime.
Excellent dedicated hosting plans.
Good customer service.
Offers a choice of Linux or Windows servers.Cons: Lacks unlimited email with Windows accounts.
No month-to-month shared hosting plans.Bottom Line: AccuWeb Hosting has many impressive features, including rock-solid uptime and customer service, but its excellent dedicated hosting plans are where this web host truly shines.
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FatCow Web Hosting
Pros: A wide array of hosting types.
Strong uptime.
Excellent customer service.Cons: No Windows-based servers.
Bottom Line: Web hosting service FatCow is stable in our testing and has top-notch support.
It’s particularly good at shared and WordPress hosting.Read Review
GoDaddy Web Hosting
Pros: Rock-solid uptime.
Excellent 24/7 customer support.
Windows- and Linux-based servers.
Email tightly integrated into Microsoft apps.Cons: You must pay for the website builder.
Intimidating WordPress setup.
Skimpy amount of included email.Bottom Line: GoDaddy is a stacked Web hosting service that boasts dependable uptime, top-notch customer service, and flexible website-building tools, but a few omissions prevent it from taking the Web hosting crown.
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Hostwinds Web Hosting
Pros: Excellent VPS hosting plans.
Good customer service.
Linux- or Windows-based server options.
Unlimited email and monthly data transfers.
Minecraft server hosting.Cons: Lacks managed WordPress hosting.
Difficult-to-find cancellation option.Bottom Line: Hostwinds offers robust Web hosting options, especially when it comes to the company’s Editors’ Choice-worthy VPS hosting.
However, a few minor missteps keep it from being the Web hosting top dog overall.Read Review
InMotion Web Hosting
Pros: Good uptime.
Excellent managed WordPress options.
All plans offer unlimited email.
Lengthy money-back guarantee.Cons: Lacks Windows servers.
Basic Web builder creates dated-looking sites.
Need to create separate logins for all add-ons.Bottom Line: The feature-packed InMotion Hosting offers many free tools for building a website, and it’s PCMag’s top choice for managed WordPress hosting.
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Liquid Web Hosting
Pros: Offers Linux- or Windows-based servers.
Excellent VPS and dedicated hosting plans.
Prorated VPS plans.
High-end specs.Cons: Underwhelming shared hosting storage.
Relatively expensive.Bottom Line: Liquid Web is a flexible, feature-packed online host with outstanding customer service and excellent dedicated and VPS hosting plans, but you’ll spend a pretty penny to experience it.
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SiteGround Web Hosting
Pros: Integrates with CloudFlare for improved performance and security.
Automatic backups.
Can choose server locations.
Phenomenal support materials.
Excellent customer service.Cons: Plans don’t offer a lot of storage, bandwidth.
No month-to-month shared hosting plans.
No Windows server options.Bottom Line: With SiteGround, you pay a bit more for a bit less in the way of technical features, but the solid security, customer service, and tutorials make this Web host extremely friendly for small businesses and new webmasters.
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A Small Orange Web Hosting
Pros: Inexpensive.
A wide variety of Web hosting plans.
Managed hosting option.
Simple control panel.Cons: Lacks Windows-based servers.
Limited telephone support hours.
No managed WordPress hosting.
High-end specs aren’t as good as the competition’s offerings.Bottom Line: Wallet-friendly and easy to use, A Small Orange is a solid Web host for those who don’t need an extraordinarily stacked server.
Still, the Web host lacks some of the features found in its competition.Read Review
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