How to Start a Successful Web Hosting Company

With a title like that, I feel like an SEO spammer. I’ve spent some time in web hosting, and I know it’s not an easy task. I don’t currently have any ties to web hosting, and it’s something I like not being attached to. Here’s your formula for success, and I invite you to take it or leave it.

I’d recommend an initial investment of about $500 for a (good) shared web host, and about $1500 to be a (good) VPS provider.

1. Decide whether you want to go for VPS Hosting or Shared Hosting.

2. Think of a name

This needs no explanation. If you can’t think of a good name, then good luck answering advanced support tickets.

3. Find a Reseller Program or Dedicated Server Provider (VPS Hosts)

I’ve already found a reseller host that I really liked and used, called “So Cheap Host“. I was very happy with them when I had a reseller account there. Their support is excellent, and nothing I would expect from a budget provider. I don’t know if they’re still the same.

4. Set up a Website

In order to even look reputable, you’re going to need to have a website. There are some great templates from Themeforest for very little, and I would recommend using those to start. Make sure your website has no spelling or grammatical errors. Nothing looks more professional than “We r a w3b h0st. Trust us w/ ur data”.

Part of your website should be your billing portal. WHMCS is widely used, but it can be a bit of a hassle at times. It’s a very powerful system, and it’s a lot to get set up, but it will automate account creations (that’s a must).

5. Find Clients and Promote

I would recommend contacting a few YouTubers and making deals with them. I would also recommend setting up a Facebook page, and potentially a Twitter page. You might even want to set up a 800 number that people can call into that goes to your cell phone (not necessary, but a huge plus). Clients generally like having a single person to go to if they’re having a problem or their website is down.

Encourage your clients to put a “Hosted by ___”. This link will help your website in its page rank, brand recognition, and it will make your host seem elite. MediaTemple did this incredibly well.

6. Encourage Reviews

I set up a program where people who posted an honest review would receive $5 credit. People really liked that, and it got a lot of positive reviews. People will be wary of working with a web hosting company if they’re new and have no reviews.

7. Grow Passively

I’ve always wanted to make money when I am sleeping and make money when I am not actually working. That should be the goal for your web hosting company, and people want to know how to make that happen. With web hosting, it’s the absolute hardest because there is so much competition. You’ll notice that you grow passively with the amount of clients you have, and as you gain clients, you will notice more people signing up without any coaxing at all.

The best way to encourage this would be to get a lot of website traffic and reviews, but your site has to sell as well. Set up a blog, and just start talking. It’s even more effective if the people behind the company have their personal brands that they can utilize themselves (say, a YouTube channel with thousands of subscribers or a popular blog could be an effective start).

8. Moving Technical Support Duties

Chances are that you and your friends won’t want to be doing technical support for long. I don’t blame you. I recommend Xieles for outsourced technical support (I used them on an emergency basis), but I would do my research before handing off my clients to an outsourced agency.

If you don’t want to do that, I understand. You will need 2-4 technical support representatives, and you will find them all over Web Hosting Talk looking for jobs. Make sure they’re at the computer a lot, have good linux skills, and pass your tests. Remember to pay your technical support people well, because they’re the people who are working with your clients on a day to day basis, and if they’re not happy, it will show.

I would keep your billing team internal as with sales. It would be useful to write some policies for your clients’ ease, and for your general ease but I understand that there are more important things to do in the beginning stages. If you can write policies, then you can probably have other people take care of the web hosting.

9. Check in

This is something I didn’t do enough, and I can’t emphasize the importance of it. Check in with clients, check in with support representatives, check in with management. Make sure that tickets are being handled properly. Be your clients’ ombudsman. They’ll thank you by rewarding your brand after that free month of hosting you gave them or that extra email account.

Make sure to be proactive, and be absolutely sure that your web server is still speedy. Don’t overload it.

What are your thoughts? If you want my advice privately, feel free to contact me. Let me know if you start a hosting company with the methods I have given, and let me know how it works out. By the way, if you choose to follow some of these steps and not all of them, I am taking no responsibility for this.