How many MB to start?

F

Fellow

New member
How much disk space and bandwidth would you recommend a new reseller start out with? Would something in the market of 1000 MB per each be too little? Would breaking this down to 100 MB per each to resell be about appropriate or would larger amounts be desired by most?
 
Well, the majority of companies out there sell 1GB of space and up so you should focus on that setting. To start out I recommend getting the following specs. Offer a good amount of bandwidth is a plus also. Most people don't need space but need lots of bandwidth.

10GB space
100GB bandwidth
Unlimited features (DBs, Add-ons, etc)


Look for a host that can give you this and offer you a free WHMCS. WHMCS will make your job a lot easier and give that added touch of professionalism.

I hope my post helps you.
 
I agree with romes. You should start out small and then upgrade your account as you get more clients. It might be hard to find free WHMCS but you can also use other billing systems that comes with web hosting packages.
 
Yep the WHMCS is almost a necesity these days. If not WHMCS then other similar billing program that will setup the accounts and make life a little easier.

I think the specs that Romes put out are about right for starting out. You can always upgrade later - no point spending money if you don't need to.

Many of the VPS places will include WHMCS or offer it for $5.00 or something. All depends on your budget and what you want to get out of a host. I prefer the VPS method for Resellers myself as it means that you'd have full control over the portion of the server and resources and you'd be able to configure it as you want.
 
Conor, I notice that you have VPS in your sig. You have an affiliate program which is something I had not considered. Do you recommend reselling or affiliate programs? For someone with limited free time, which would you think would be more appropriate and profitable?
 
Affiliates are great in the fact that all you do is refer the customer to the hosting company and you get a kickback for doing the advertising. All hosting issues are dealt with by the customer to the hosting company. This is often the downfal of smaller hosts in that they don't provide the quality of service desired, and the person moves on (thus leaving you with a $0.00 recurring check). So you want to be sure the host you're recommending is reliable and helpful. Also, since you're recommending them, it puts YOUR reputation on the line too.

Reseller accounts are great for those starting out in the hosting industry and wanting to make some money. Be aware that just because YOU may treat it as extra money, the customer that is paying you expects that you'll be there 100% of the time and answer tickets and phones in a timely manner. Taking off for the weekend and not checking in on the helpdesk is likely not possible as you grow, and especially when you're just starting out. These users will be your CORE users and the ones that are going to hype your services to all their friends helping you to grow.

So if you have limited time, I say go with the affiliate programs, but if you're looking at doing more, then reseller programs are a good match. If you're a reseller, you are responsible for collecting fees from the customer, dealing with their technical support questions, and making sure that the bill to YOUR host is paid on time.

We do have affiliate programs at Hands-on, feel free to go to the site and check it out - 10-20% recurring monthly for the life of the account.
 
The problem with being an affiliate is that you're not growing a brand of your own (with the exception of referral programs such as those run by say Godaddy or Resellerspanel, where you're not really a reseller, and not really an affiliate).
 
Very true Dan. If you're looking at building a brand then you almost have to go on the reseller path of things, unless you've setup a special arrangement with a hosting company in which you are an affiliate but you manage your customers data/questions. If things flop, you can then turn the affiliate directly to the host and have them communicate without having to move them to new machines etc. MANY hosts do not allow you to collect affiliate credit on accounts that you own, so watch for the fine print.
 
handsonhosting said:
Affiliates are great in the fact that all you do is refer the customer to the hosting company and you get a kickback for doing the advertising.
We do have affiliate programs at Hands-on, feel free to go to the site and check it out - 10-20% recurring monthly for the life of the account.
Click to expand...

Oh that is great! I know most of the affiliate programs I read about did not do a recurring monthly commission, so that was one thing I hadn't checked into any further. I think I may be more fit for an affiliate type thing myself, thanks so much for replying. I am going to check out hands-on and read all the specs on it. :thumbup:
 
I assume in any case that would be wise to get started with the smallest package. That would be right step and will allow you to exclude over payments
 
Fellow said:
How much disk space and bandwidth would you recommend a new reseller start out with? Would something in the market of 1000 MB per each be too little? Would breaking this down to 100 MB per each to resell be about appropriate or would larger amounts be desired by most?
Click to expand...

How much Space you need:


Think of your web hosting account as a sub-directory (or folder) on your hard drive. To determine how much disk space you will need, In Microsoft windows simply open explorer or my computer and click on the folder that contains your web sites files. Create a new folder for your web site if you don't have one and then move all of files you plan to host on the web server into that folder. All you have to do now is right click on your folder to check the size of that folder and now, you know how much disk space you will use on the server. This entire site is around two megs.

How much monthly (bandwidth)Data Transfer do you need:


Try using the following formula to estimate your site's monthly data transfer.

[Average size of your web page(s) + any graphics included within] * [number of visitors you expect each day * number of pages each visitor will view] * [30 days in a month] = Total Monthly Data Transfer Usage.

For example: if we had a site with 30 pages averaging 8 KB each, 50 KB worth of images in each page, and 50 visitors each day who viewed an average of 4 pages, you would have the following formula:[8 KB + 50 KB] * [50 visitors * 4 pages] * [30] = 348,000 KB So we would be using 348,000 KB, or approximately 340 MB, of bandwidth each month. Well within the limitations of our hosting plans.

It's hard to generalize how much data transfer a site will use without looking at it specifically, but in most cases it is very rare for a personal or small business site to use more than one gigabyte (GB) of data transfer in a month. Starting with a data transfer limit of one gigabyte per month is probably appropriate for most new sites. If your average web page is 20Kb in size. 1 Gig of transfer allows for well over 50,000 hits per month at that size! If your average page size is smaller obviously more hits per month.:smash:
 
I think 25 GB space and 250 GB bandwidth is good enough to start with. You have enough resources to expand your business. :)
 
The good thing about shared hosting and even VPS hosting is that it is scalable so you don't necessarily have to buy more than you need up front. Try something small and build up your business and then expand as you need it. If you do get to the point where you need more space than the reseller account can give you, many hosts will move your account for you to your own VPS or to your own dedicated server. I know we do that for people all the time when they outgrow a reseller account.
 
atjeu said:
The good thing about shared hosting and even VPS hosting is that it is scalable so you don't necessarily have to buy more than you need up front. Try something small and build up your business and then expand as you need it. If you do get to the point where you need more space than the reseller account can give you, many hosts will move your account for you to your own VPS or to your own dedicated server. I know we do that for people all the time when they outgrow a reseller account.
Click to expand...

I like your reply very much. I am so glad that I wouldn't have to buy upfront however I'm looking more towards going with an affiliate account at this point I think, maybe. Well to be honest I'm still fairly undecided.
 
Fellow said:
How much disk space and bandwidth would you recommend a new reseller start out with? Would something in the market of 1000 MB per each be too little? Would breaking this down to 100 MB per each to resell be about appropriate or would larger amounts be desired by most?
Click to expand...

I think most mid-level plans should be good for resellers starting out and who are serious. If you're really unsure and want to keep costs to a minimum then any basic reseller plan will do. The two more important things are to ensure that you have the option to upgrade easily and for free should you end up needing extra space, and to read the terms of service of any company carefully so that you know what you're paying for.
 
Rock125 said:
How much Space you need:


Think of your web hosting account as a sub-directory (or folder) on your hard drive. To determine how much disk space you will need, In Microsoft windows simply open explorer or my computer and click on the folder that contains your web sites files. Create a new folder for your web site if you don't have one and then move all of files you plan to host on the web server into that folder. All you have to do now is right click on your folder to check the size of that folder and now, you know how much disk space you will use on the server. This entire site is around two megs.

How much monthly (bandwidth)Data Transfer do you need:


Try using the following formula to estimate your site's monthly data transfer.

[Average size of your web page(s) + any graphics included within] * [number of visitors you expect each day * number of pages each visitor will view] * [30 days in a month] = Total Monthly Data Transfer Usage.

For example: if we had a site with 30 pages averaging 8 KB each, 50 KB worth of images in each page, and 50 visitors each day who viewed an average of 4 pages, you would have the following formula:[8 KB + 50 KB] * [50 visitors * 4 pages] * [30] = 348,000 KB So we would be using 348,000 KB, or approximately 340 MB, of bandwidth each month. Well within the limitations of our hosting plans.

It's hard to generalize how much data transfer a site will use without looking at it specifically, but in most cases it is very rare for a personal or small business site to use more than one gigabyte (GB) of data transfer in a month. Starting with a data transfer limit of one gigabyte per month is probably appropriate for most new sites. If your average web page is 20Kb in size. 1 Gig of transfer allows for well over 50,000 hits per month at that size! If your average page size is smaller obviously more hits per month.:smash:
Click to expand...
Nice explanation and example.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Supporters

Back
Top