Some information.

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blaineevans

New member
Hello.. I plan to very soon be opening a Hosting service that will be targeted towards other freelance designers such as myself within the community. I understand that it's not fair for me to attempt to compete with the larger company's that are better accomplished. I really just need to know what kind-of things Im going to need, how things are going to work once I start purchasing the dedicated server.. I've been told things such as "AutoPilot?" and something else, was just wondering if any of you can alloberate on that a bit. Just a little info ;)
 
You may want to consider getting a reseller account to begin with. This will allow you to learn the control panel, and to spend less time maintaing a dedicated server. Then, as you grow and decide that you want to stay in the hosting business, you can get a dedicated server.
Either way, you'll need an order/billing system, such as WHM Autopilot, ClientExec, Modernbill, AWBS (the old DRAMS) or for entry level purposes, you can go with something like whois cart, phpcoin, or write your own.
You'll need a way to process payments, and will need to either get a merchant account, or open a paypal account, 2checkout account, or other 3rd party processor account.
If you want to register domains for your clients, you'll need to have a reseller account with one of the domain registrars as well...most of the billing solutions mentioned above can integrate this as well.
This is just a start...there are a lot of things you'll find you need, the biggest 2 are time and knowledge. If you go dedicated, and are uncomfortable securing it yourself, find a management company who can do it for you. It's worth the price and you won't regret it. There are many tutorials that can help you secure it....but if you're the slightest bit concerned, get someone to do it for you.
Hope this helps
 
blaineevans said:
Hello.. I plan to very soon be opening a Hosting service that will be targeted towards other freelance designers such as myself within the community. I understand that it's not fair for me to attempt to compete with the larger company's that are better accomplished. I really just need to know what kind-of things Im going to need, how things are going to work once I start purchasing the dedicated server.. I've been told things such as "AutoPilot?" and something else, was just wondering if any of you can alloberate on that a bit. Just a little info ;)
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Whelp, first off you need a provider that you can grow with. I would stick with a small one that actually cares about your business. As far as the other things you have mentioned, going with a niche driven market is definitely a plus and will allow you to grow quicker than trying to go after the entire hosting market. Start with cpanel and grow, get a provider that will manage the server for you until you feel comfortable enough to do it yourself. Make sure to have some sort of billing method such as clientexec or modernbill. Get some sort of trouble ticket system, either use the one embedded in clientexec or use another industry norm such as kayako. Maintain some sort of marketing plan and budget, first starting off with friends and family then advertising on forums such as this!

PM if you have anymore questions! This should be a good start!
 
From a marketing point of view,

try using adwords and target very niche phrases, at the moment you would be paying anywere from 4-12 dollars per click for the term web hosting.
 
if i started adwords i would go for the less dense and populated words more precise more longer keywords get too grips with the idea and then jump in too the big words the real thing

G Luck
 
Reseller model is better for today's aggressive market conditions. However if you are experienced enough about the hosting industry plus marketing, new hosting company is a good model. Be unique !

P.S Stay away from PPC advertising models. Pay higher commissions for CPS (cost per sale) model (at least %50).
 
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