Whats the steps for start ups

[iCorp]

Hey just wondering what are the steps for start up web hosting owners. I have worked for allot of web hosting companies out there and they rated me well lets say 7/10 pretty good. I think i have the ability to deal with my customer in a professional and respective way. Now its time for me to start a Web host company. I have 2 registered companies but i use them just for my dad's car and other business they have bad names one is Mariam-Webhost.com and the other is Galaxy-Webhost.com (none of them are up as a website) so i decided to open with a new domain but on the companies name can any of you guy tell me like the steps to take such as

Shall i buy a Reseller, VPS, Dedicated Server
How should i advertise my business
and all other stuff

I am 19 years old and have a budget of around $900 to start off.

Thanks in advance

[SC-Daniel]

Hello iCorp,

I personally would start off with a VPS as they are relatively affordable and you have complete control over your environment.

I personally would recommend getting everything going and then advertising on here and WHT. The largest majority of my customers have found me from various hosting forums.

You are going to need to choose a control panel that you want to offer and then pick your billing/support system(s). I personally would choose cPanel and WHMCS as they are a great combo.

Try and submit your new site to various directories as well.

Pick a catchy name, it took me a good 3 weeks just to think of a name that I even liked.

Find a good niche that you can work from as that will really help in getting customers. Don't pick a niche that already has tons of hosts.

That should be a good starting guide for you ;)

[TSO]

Do you plan for this host to be a free host or a paid host?

[iCorp]

Wow Daniel that was great thanks for the guide i would put it in consideration anyone els.

[JasonS]

Hey,

This works for paid web hosts (my usual plan):

- Decide a name and purchase either .com/.net/.co.uk try not to go for .info etc
- Decide what services you are going to offer
- If providing VPS, get a dedicated with the correct control panel
- Make sure you have enough for at least 2 more months renewal
- Look at a few providers before ordering a server
- Get a web design sorted
- Sort our billing/support systems
- Decide plans/prices

The musts :)

[SC-Daniel]

Another thing to add:

This may be common since, but do not purchase a domain that has one of its variants already registered. If you check my domain (servercomplete.com) you will notice that I also own the .net, .info, and .biz to match. This helps prevent someone else from stealing my name ;)

[JasonS]

Okay,

I'm about to register servercomplete.co.uk, be right back ;)















Of course I'm not Daniel :)

[SC-Daniel]

Hmm Jason, I guess I need to go add the .co.uk, .org, and .us just to be safe ;)

Something else for you to think about iCorp:

Make sure you get a decent designer for your site :) I did ours myself back in early Jan. and it is poorly optimized and looks very 1998 :D

I have a good friend of mine working on something new for me, but it is taking a bit longer than I hoped.

If you have a good "web 2.0" style site that is unique, it instantly raises a buyers confidence. If your site portrays a lack of effort and/or professionalism, your sales won't be so good.

[iCorp]

Well my friend can do me a design. Its going to be a paid hosting provider. Thanks for all of you guys i have decided what i am going to get.

Small Dedicated Server
Domain which i got
WHMCS
WHMreseller v3
cPanel/Rvskin/Rvsitebulider/WHMsonic/Fantasico :)
First 100 purchases free domain what you think?
A live support chat and phone number (the number i can get for free)

[Decker]

Carefull with the free domain part :)

If you do that who will own it, do they lose it if they move hosts, the hassle of transferring it (and when do you do that? After 3/6/12 months of hosting) and supporting them to set it up properly (that's all very time consuming in some cases with just one client - think about doing 100 that have never done anything like it before!

[iCorp]

Decker Thanks for that. I was reviewing that domain part with my brother which is going to be my partner. We agreed that the domain will be under our reseller, they will have control over it but they cant transfer it. Just like Globat and Netfirms and all these other companies. The only reason i am doing that domain thing because now i have a huge budget some big stuff like that will boost my sales. Thanks everyone for their help :) i have decided what i am going to do.

[Darknight]

I read deckers post - Dont have time to read where it said "Im geting free domain" BUT -
900$ budget becomes 890$ - pay for a domain through a trusted company like mydomain.com or godaddy.com
For the reasons decker stated...
Get a VPS to start with (Reseller is old school now)
should allow 600+/year for a VPS (Dont pay yearly unless you trust the company)
WHMCS - +10/month
Fraud Protection - A must!
Staff? - If you register your company legally it may be best to find trusted staff and offer them a % of the hosting company to work with - You need staff dedicated to supporting your users, the best way to do that is give the member a invested interest in the company

[SC-Daniel]

Be sure to pick a good place to get your server from. You are going to want something with decent specs since you want it to last a while and you are going to be using WHMReseller

Personally, I would take a look at a good VPS to start. Go to SolarVPS and take a look at their fully managed cPanel VPSs. The connectivity is excellent and so is the customer service. That will allow you to grow quite large and then move to a dedicated once you absolutely need it.

To be honest, my Solar VPS outperforms some of my dedicated servers.

Also, make sure you pick up a Maxmind subscription to go with your WHMCS, it works very well.

I would stay away from the free domain thing, 100 free domains would not really be worth it. Maybe offer a free domain to those who pay annually or something like that.

[Decker]

Sorry to burst your bubble


i am doing that domain thing because now i have a huge budget

$900 is not a huge budget in hosting :wink2: it's good for a month :)

[SC-Daniel]

$900 is not a huge budget in hosting :wink2: it's good for a month :)

Yep, Decker has that right :)

$900 won't go very far in hosting. You are going to need to have cash stashed away in case some unplanned expenses just pop up.

[Decker]

You are going to need to have cash stashed away in case some unplanned expenses just pop up.

And trust me that can be a LOT of cash!

[iCorp]

Hey guys yea my budget extended my brother joined up with me :)

My brother is putting a $800 in it and i am putting $900 *plus 500 if google ad sense transfer to my bank*

I am buying a owned WHMCS
Seo and Adverting is easy for me because thats what i do most SEO, and Web mastering.

Just need your help in one thing guys
A good VPS provider
And that Fraud Protection thing

[SC-Daniel]

VPS Provider: SolarVPS - www.solarvps.com

These guys are absolutely awesome.

Fraud Protection: Maxmind - www.maxmind.com

The Maxmind integrates with your WHMCS and performs automatic checks and phone verification when an order is placed.

[[JSH]John]

I agree with the budget, once you start in the web hosting business it can become very addictive. Well that's me anyways, I seem to never stop spending on improving, advertising and all the other small things such as renewing domains, forum licenses, billing/support systems etc that you may not think about.

[Decker]

I think WHMCS are still doing a special deal on Maxmind fraud protection so check that out first :)

[hamster]

hmm... I couldn't find anything on MaxMind o.O

[Decker]

Guess they stopped it then, oh well :)

Maxmind is still worth it's price :D

[Darknight]

steadcom.com is a good company to work with..
I am working my own hosting, planning on investing around them at the moment - Going to get everything through them hopefully
They have been a really good company to work with over the last 6 or so months..

[cobrastrike]

What are you planning on paying monthly for your server/VPS and where would you prefer for it to be located?