Web Hosting
Shared hosting means just that. Your website is hosted on a server shared by other websites. The advantage of this setup is the shared cost. You can pay as little as $5 to $10 per month for sharing a super server with (probably) hundreds (or thousands) of other websites.
The biggest disadvantage of a shared hosting account is that you’re at the mercy of the other sites on your server. A really popular site may adversely affect the performance of your own site. On the other hand, if you’re the most popular site on the server, you get to use a super server for a very low price.
When most people start an online business they usually start out with a shared hosting plan to minimize costs, and they’re not likely getting a ton of traffic initially.
Shared hosting is good for a brochure type site or a newer site that doesn’t get a lot of traffic.
Price Range: $5 to $20/month.
Reseller hosting packages are basically a shared hosting account with extra tools to help you resell hosting space.
Reseller packages come with greater technical control (often via the Web Host Manager (WHM) control panel), billing software to help you invoice clients and other extra perks.
Some of those perks include:
- free website templates
- white label technical support — that means the hosting company handles your clients’ tech support issues
- private name servers — make your company seem even bigger by telling your clients to point their domain name servers to ns1.yourwebdesignfirm.com
Price range: Reseller packages range from $15 to $50, depending on features and resource limits.
If you’re planning on selling web hosting as a business then reseller web hosting is perfect for you. Otherwise, just stick with a shared hosting plan if you’re just starting out.