{"id":747,"date":"2025-04-17T17:49:17","date_gmt":"2025-04-17T17:49:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.prolimehost.com\/blogs\/?p=747"},"modified":"2025-04-17T17:50:31","modified_gmt":"2025-04-17T17:50:31","slug":"starting-a-hosting-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.prolimehost.com\/blogs\/starting-a-hosting-business\/","title":{"rendered":"Starting a Hosting Business? Some Tips"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.prolimehost.com\/blogs\/starting-a-hosting-business\/\">View Post<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-749\" src=\"https:\/\/www.prolimehost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/starting-a-hosting-business-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"starting a hosting business\" width=\"581\" height=\"387\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.prolimehost.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/starting-a-hosting-business-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.prolimehost.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/starting-a-hosting-business-512x341.jpg 512w, https:\/\/www.prolimehost.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/starting-a-hosting-business.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 581px) 100vw, 581px\" \/>Starting a hosting business &#8211; There are literally thousands of web hosting providers offering everything from shared hosting to colocation, and everything in-between, including cloud servers, VPS and dedicated servers, backup and management solutions and even DDoS protection.<\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_80 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.prolimehost.com\/blogs\/starting-a-hosting-business\/#How_startups_typically_occur\" >How startups typically occur<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.prolimehost.com\/blogs\/starting-a-hosting-business\/#Selecting_a_backbone_provider\" >Selecting a backbone provider<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.prolimehost.com\/blogs\/starting-a-hosting-business\/#The_transition_to_commercial_hosting\" >The transition to commercial hosting<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.prolimehost.com\/blogs\/starting-a-hosting-business\/#Do_you_have_a_business_plan\" >Do you have a business plan?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.prolimehost.com\/blogs\/starting-a-hosting-business\/#Projecting_the_return-on-your-investment\" >Projecting the return-on-your-investment<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.prolimehost.com\/blogs\/starting-a-hosting-business\/#Should_you_go_with_a_reseller_package_or_a_VPS_or_dedicated_server\" >Should you go with a reseller package or a VPS or dedicated server?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/www.prolimehost.com\/blogs\/starting-a-hosting-business\/#Add-on_domains_Good_or_bad\" >Add-on domains? Good or bad?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.prolimehost.com\/blogs\/starting-a-hosting-business\/#When_to_upgrade_to_a_dedicated_server\" >When to upgrade to a dedicated server?<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-4' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/www.prolimehost.com\/blogs\/starting-a-hosting-business\/#BROUGHT_TO_YOU_BY_PROLIMEHOST\" >BROUGHT TO YOU BY PROLIMEHOST<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-5' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-5'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/www.prolimehost.com\/blogs\/starting-a-hosting-business\/#VPS_SERVICES_LIGHTNING_FAST_SSD_VIRTUAL_SERVERS\" >VPS SERVICES: LIGHTNING FAST SSD VIRTUAL SERVERS<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-5'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-11\" href=\"https:\/\/www.prolimehost.com\/blogs\/starting-a-hosting-business\/#DEDICATED_SERVERS_BACKED_BY_A_999_SLA_NETWORK_UPTIME_GUARANTEE\" >DEDICATED SERVERS: BACKED BY A 99.9% SLA NETWORK UPTIME GUARANTEE<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-5'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-12\" href=\"https:\/\/www.prolimehost.com\/blogs\/starting-a-hosting-business\/#ASIA_OPTIMIZED_NETWORK_IMPROVING_CONNECTION_SPEED_AND_QUALITY\" >ASIA OPTIMIZED NETWORK: IMPROVING CONNECTION SPEED AND QUALITY<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_startups_typically_occur\"><\/span>How startups typically occur<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>With a fair amount of regularity, I see threads started on a number of web hosting forums with queries on how to start hosting for commercial clients. These are generally started by web designers who are looking to expand their business by hosting their client\u2019s sites, and expanding the hosting side from there.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Selecting_a_backbone_provider\"><\/span>Selecting a backbone provider<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>For the most part, they understand that going with any sub-par brand as their backbone provider isn\u2019t recommended by many in the hosting industry, at least if they want to avoid headaches down the road. Providing hosting for clients where you\u2019ve developed their site is a whole lot easier than simply opening your hosting services to the general public. Why? There\u2019s already that element of know, like and trust.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_transition_to_commercial_hosting\"><\/span>The transition to commercial hosting<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>As web designers, if you recommend to a client that they use xx and x, they\u2019re generally very open to your suggestions. One of those recommendations may be to always use some type of security plugin for <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/WordPress\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">WordPress<\/a> sites. Very few should disagree. As a straight up hosting provider though, you provision an account or server for a client and it\u2019s entirely up to them what they do or don\u2019t do, within the terms of your TOS.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Do_you_have_a_business_plan\"><\/span><strong><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-751 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.prolimehost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/business-plan-300x225.png\" alt=\"business plan for Starting a hosting business\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.prolimehost.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/business-plan-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/www.prolimehost.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/business-plan-512x384.png 512w, https:\/\/www.prolimehost.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/business-plan-320x240.png 320w, https:\/\/www.prolimehost.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/business-plan.png 640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/strong>Do you have a business plan?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>I\u2019ve heard some say you don\u2019t need a business plan, but that\u2019s extremely irresponsible. You need to map out how your new business will conduct business, and that includes protecting your assets by incorporating. If you go the sole proprietor route, you\u2019ll need liability insurance. A business plan lays out operational procedures, addresses marketing and so much more.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Projecting_the_return-on-your-investment\"><\/span>Projecting the return-on-your-investment<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>So many entrepreneurs in the hosting industry start out on a shoestring because the entry to launch is so low. Realistically, you need to be able to support operations for an entire year without touching any incoming revenue, and that may not happen for months. Far too many become frustrated and drop by the wayside as they envisioned hosting as a fast track to big bucks.<\/p>\n<p>While the investment in hard dollars is nominal, the investment in soft dollars is substantial. A considerable amount of labor goes into building a successful hosting operation from the floor up. When you\u2019re projecting a return-on-your-investment, you need to evaluate hard and soft dollar aspects of the business.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Should_you_go_with_a_reseller_package_or_a_VPS_or_dedicated_server\"><\/span><strong><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-753 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.prolimehost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/server-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"infrastructure for Starting a hosting business\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.prolimehost.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/server-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.prolimehost.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/server-512x341.jpg 512w, https:\/\/www.prolimehost.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/server.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/strong>Should you go with a reseller package or a VPS or dedicated server?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>If you\u2019re only talking about a minimal amount of clients, a reseller package is ideal because it will separate your clients from one another. However, if you want more control over what you offer, a VPS would be the better solution.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Add-on_domains_Good_or_bad\"><\/span>Add-on domains? Good or bad?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>I see a good number of people asking about add-on domains, but the issue there is security risks. Many shared hosting providers will allow you to have extra domains and websites on your account for free, and while upfront that seems extremely economical and the way to go, it ultimately exposes every single one of those websites to increased malware exposure.<\/p>\n<p>With a reseller account or VPS, those accounts are separate from one another, so if one WordPress site gets hacked, it won\u2019t affect the other sites.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"When_to_upgrade_to_a_dedicated_server\"><\/span>When to upgrade to a dedicated server?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>A VPS is simply a shared virtualized environment on a dedicated server whereby cores of a CPU and specific amounts of RAM and storage can be allocated to each account. As more cores, RAM and storage are allocated, the price goes up, sometimes more than the cost of a better spec\u2019d dedicated server.<\/p>\n<p>The amount of resources that you currently require, or project to need in the near future will determine when you should upgrade.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.prolimehost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2014\/08\/unnamed-e1408122780935.jpg\" alt=\"ProlimeHost Cheap Dedicated Servers\" width=\"400\" height=\"80\" \/><\/p>\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"BROUGHT_TO_YOU_BY_PROLIMEHOST\"><\/span>BROUGHT TO YOU BY PROLIMEHOST<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<p>We\u2019ve been in the web hosting industry for over a decade, helping hundreds of clients succeed in what they do best and that\u2019s running their business. We specialize in Virtual Private Servers (VPS) and dedicated servers, with data centers in Los Angeles, Denver &amp; Singapore.<\/p>\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"VPS_SERVICES_LIGHTNING_FAST_SSD_VIRTUAL_SERVERS\"><\/span>VPS SERVICES: LIGHTNING FAST SSD VIRTUAL SERVERS<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h5>\n<p>Our\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.prolimehost.com\/ssd-vps-server\/\">Virtual Private Servers<\/a>\u00a0all feature high performance Xeon processors and SSD storage in a RAID10 configuration to optimize your server\u2019s performance, which dramatically enhances visitor experiences on your site.<\/p>\n<p>That speed is backed by unparalleled 24\/7 support, featuring both outstanding response AND resolution times to maximize your uptime.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Now is the time to join the ProlimeHost virtual private server revolution.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"DEDICATED_SERVERS_BACKED_BY_A_999_SLA_NETWORK_UPTIME_GUARANTEE\"><\/span>DEDICATED SERVERS: BACKED BY A 99.9% SLA NETWORK UPTIME GUARANTEE<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h5>\n<p>We only use enterprise-class hardware in our\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.prolimehost.com\/los-angeles-dedicated-servers\/\">dedicated servers<\/a>\u00a0and offer a four (4) hour hardware replacement. Throw in IPMI for remote management, support for public and private networks, free operating system (OS) re-installs, and SATA, SAS &amp; SSD (including NVMe) storage. Call 1-877-477-9454 or\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.prolimehost.com\/contact\/\">contact us<\/a>. For everything from gaming, AMD and GPU servers to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.prolimehost.com\/discounted-dedicated-server-deals\/\">cheap dedicated servers<\/a>, we\u2019re here to help.<\/p>\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"ASIA_OPTIMIZED_NETWORK_IMPROVING_CONNECTION_SPEED_AND_QUALITY\"><\/span>ASIA OPTIMIZED NETWORK: IMPROVING CONNECTION SPEED AND QUALITY<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h5>\n<p>Procuring an Asia optimized server improves the connection speed and quality between the server and the users in Asia or China. This can reduce latency, packet loss, jitter, and bandwidth issues that can affect the performance and reliability of the server and the applications hosted on it. For more information, please call 1-877-477-9454 or\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.prolimehost.com\/contact\/\">contact us<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"View Post Starting a hosting business &#8211; There are literally thousands of web hosting providers offering everything from&hellip;","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":668,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"csco_display_header_overlay":false,"csco_singular_sidebar":"","csco_page_header_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1,10],"tags":[207,199,120,123,24,107,113,198,139,70,33],"class_list":{"0":"post-747","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-geneal","8":"category-tutorials-tips","9":"tag-ai-servers","10":"tag-amd-servers","11":"tag-asia-optimized","12":"tag-china-optimized","13":"tag-dedicated-servers","14":"tag-dedicated-servers-usa","15":"tag-gaming-servers","16":"tag-gpu-servers","17":"tag-prolimehost","18":"tag-shared-hosting","19":"tag-vps","20":"cs-entry"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.prolimehost.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/747","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.prolimehost.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.prolimehost.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prolimehost.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prolimehost.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=747"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.prolimehost.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/747\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prolimehost.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/668"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.prolimehost.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=747"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prolimehost.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=747"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prolimehost.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=747"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}