Question

I'm saying this not to be mean, but to save you some heartache. If you don't know the answer to #2, then you aren't ready for 1, 2, and 4 yet. Go to some place like webhostingtalk.com and read the forums there (especially Running a Web Hosting Business). After you've read those forums for 3-4 months, write a business plan. When you have those items done, then worry about 1, 2, and 4.

I'm saying this not to be mean, but to save you some heartache. If you don't know the answer to #2, then you aren't ready for 1, 2, and 4 yet. Go to some place like webhostingtalk.com and read the forums there (especially Running a Web Hosting Business). After you've read those forums for 3-4 months, write a business plan. When you have those items done, then worry about 1, 2, and 4.

I agree with the above but have to say sometimes it is better to learn as you go along by problem solving and troubleshooting, researching and asking the questions.

If any of you guys tell me that you have learnt more studying a book rather than actually doing a job and learning it then you might as well poke it! Its like saying I can be a Electrician as I have read all the information on it thus I can do it no problem, you have to have on job experience.

1.

To answer your qestion, if you buy the owned license, yes you own it forever however have to pay a yearly fee around $40 to receive further updates. When you purchase your license you get 1 year worth of updates free, after that year then you will have to pay a yearly fee if you want

2.

You need a domain and website to sell on, often a reseller account to start you off, a good webhost will help you out should you encounter any problems.

3.

Buying WHMCS allows you to link to a TOS etc when your clients register. When you have your own domain you can create your own TOS and Privacy policy yes but often you may need to stick to your suppliers.

4.

Yes you can customise the homepage and all template files. Live support can be added externally along with a flash design.

I think you should note WHMCS is not a website builder, it is a billing and setup software often used by webhosts to work alongside your website.

I hope this answers your questions.

Regards

Andrew.

sometimes it is better to learn as you go along by problem solving and troubleshooting, researching and asking the questions.

I'm not sure that your potential customers would agree.

I agree with the above but have to say sometimes it is better to learn as you go along by problem solving and troubleshooting, researching and asking the questions.

Obviously if you had read the post correctly then you may not have mis-read my post. I have highlighted the words you need to reference in green for you. You do need an ammount of underpinning knowledge to be able to even start in a practicle environment and I do agree that reading the forums for 6 months would be excellent, however I believe that if you have nothing practicle to work with then you will not learn as well either.

If this person gets a reseller account alongside 6 months worth of reading and testing it would be much more benofficial. Please note I am not saying this guy should start trading, there is a difference. Besides we all have to start somewhere.

I think the point was that there are already would be hosts out there that think all they need is a reseller account and then they can start raking in the money. Learning how to do it properly is an essential step that many fail to take, and the forums at WHT are full of examples of this. Newcomers buy a domain, get a reseller account and start selling $1/month, 2TB hosting accounts and get into trouble within a few months. Some because they failed to come up with a business plan that would eventually earn a profit, others that can't support the clients because of the inordinate amount of time hosting can sometimes take up.

Taking time to learn and research, then writing a viable business plan is good advice, though 6 months may be a bit much.

Its like saying I can be a Electrician as I have read all the information on it thus I can do it no problem, you have to have on job experience.

Bad analogy.

Not only do you need to know everything about being an electrician and how electricity works, you also need to be licensed, at least in the states. That requires passing tests. What you don't know about electricity can kill you.

Bear, I thank you for your warning and excellent disclaimer on electricity, you truely are the fountain of all knowledge.

I agree with you however how did you start? At no point did I say resellers are a get rich quick scheme nor did I state that you should not learn how to become a webhost.

At the end of the day whether you like it or lump it new people are going to come into our industry wanting to start, we all started somewhere, all I am saying is that with a good bunch of knowledge and a playground to test things out on, troubleshoot and replicate problems to solve then its better than sitting observing forums when you can do both.

Our reseller plans are for serious hosts who are interested in starting a hosting business. We all have to start somewhere as I have said many times and concur that WHT forums and a reseller account is a good starting point to learn, when you begin trading is a completely different discussion and maybe I should highlight as done in previous posts that trading is different to what I am stating my opinion on here.

Good come back though bear

When I began, reseller accounts were uncommon and expensive. I started out creating websites for people, and found a relatively cheap hosting service that I could mark up slightly so there was a little something in it for me.

As time went on, and the amount of customers I was working with grew, I became interested in maximizing that a bit, and researched what it required to do it myself. I learned how to administer a server environment, and eventually bought a reseller account. From there I progressed to a VPS, and finally on to dedicated server(s).

I'm generally a cautious person, making sure I can handle what's required before jumping in. I learned first, double checked, came up with a viable business plan and then began offering hosting publicly. For me, that worked quite well, and I'm currently debt free and doing rather nicely.

Many of today's startups visit WHT, see what others charge (typically a pittance over there) and think that's how to succeed; if they charge 2 dollars, I'll charge 1.

That doesn't work well, and WHT has lots of these failed efforts, where the seller just vanished once they got into trouble. If not for the broken businesses/customers they leave behind, I wouldn't care. This is why I agree that someone looking to get in should do the legwork first. It's *not* easy money, but it can be profitable.

When I began, reseller accounts were uncommon and expensive. I started out creating websites for people, and found a relatively cheap hosting service that I could mark up slightly so there was a little something in it for me.

As time went on, and the amount of customers I was working with grew, I became interested in maximizing that a bit, and researched what it required to do it myself. I learned how to administer a server environment, and eventually bought a reseller account. From there I progressed to a VPS, and finally on to dedicated server(s).

 

I'm generally a cautious person, making sure I can handle what's required before jumping in. I learned first, double checked, came up with a viable business plan and then began offering hosting publicly. For me, that worked quite well, and I'm currently debt free and doing rather nicely.

Many of today's startups visit WHT, see what others charge (typically a pittance over there) and think that's how to succeed; if they charge 2 dollars, I'll charge 1.

That doesn't work well, and WHT has lots of these failed efforts, where the seller just vanished once they got into trouble. If not for the broken businesses/customers they leave behind, I wouldn't care. This is why I agree that someone looking to get in should do the legwork first. It's *not* easy money, but it can be profitable.

Agreed. There are many ways to start out, and we all have our own story. If you're serious you've got to make sure you're ready to you take on customers. There's a large gap between someone who wants to startup a hosting business and someone who's ready to, and you've got to fill that gap anyway you can.

I personally took a job with a very successful webhost to learn everything I could. I was lucky that the CEO didn't mind at all and actually took me under his wing until I was ready to launch myself.

WHT is an invaluable resource. Spend as much time as you can there. Maybe you can buy a cheap reseller account and host a few friends and family members to get a real idea of what you're dealing with. Purchasing WHMCS is a minor step in starting your business IMO. More than understanding WHMCS, you need to have a great knowledge of your server's environment, control panel(cpanel, plesk,etc) and of DNS.

One thing many startup hosts look over is knowledge of server side languages. You don't have to be a developer, but if a customer tells you "blah" isn't working on your server you've got to know why, and how to fix it.

That's enough of my 2 cents. Once you're ready WHMCS is a great choice to help manage your business.

Hey Whmcs,

I just found found out that most script like forum,cms,etc always same.

if i want to start a hosting company.

All i need to do is buy the best host with a domain. Ex GhHosting.net

then buy whmcs script and upload in the public_html then install it.

Am i right? Thanks

If im right is it better to buy a shared host or vps or delicate plan.

or do i need to host from my pc?

I'd recommend reading the suggestions that have already been made in this topic, especially the parts about having a business plan. It's not just about the scripts, and it's not just about what sort of host to start with (but on your own pc is definitely not a good idea).