As internet users, we all know the importance of web hosting to the life of a website and it’s the owner. Web hosting keeps the website up and running and emails are also kept updated.
But did you know that you can also make money by providing web hosting services? In fact, if you’ve never been told, one can make a fortune without hardly dipping a toe into the market.
This article will expose you to different ways you can make money from web hosting. But first, let us consider what web hosting is and how it works.
- What is Web Hosting
- How Does Web Hosting Work
- What Are The Types of Web Hosting
- Which Web Hosting Should You Choose?
- How Can You Pick a Web Host For Your Website
- Is Web Hosting Still a Profitable Business?
- How to Earn a Living From Web Hosting Service
- How Much Does It Cost to Start a Web Hosting Company?
- How Can You Promote and Grow Your Web Hosting Business?
What is Web Hosting
When a hosting provider allocates space on a web server for a website to store its files, they are hosting a website. Web hosting makes the files that comprise a website (code, images, etc.) available for viewing online. Every website you’ve ever visited is hosted on a server.
Read Also: Make Money Online As A Web Hosting Reseller
The amount of space allocated on a server to a website depends on the type of hosting. The main types of hosting are shared, dedicated, VPS and reseller.
They are differentiated by the kind of technology used for the server, the level of management provided and the additional services on offer.
Simple put, web hosting is the process of renting or buying space to house a website on the World Wide Web. Website content such as HTML, CSS, and images has to be housed on a server to be viewable online. But what is a server?
A server is a computer that connects other web users to your site from anywhere in the world. As the name implies, web hosting service providers have the servers, connectivity, and associated services to host websites.
By offering a variety of hosting plans, they cover the spectrum of hosting needs, from small blogs and large organizations.
If you’re planning on creating an online presence, reliable web hosting is essential. There are literally hundreds of web hosts available today providing thousands of varieties of web hosting services.
Plans range from free with limited options to expensive web hosting services specialized for business. The plan you choose will depend primarily on how you plan to use your website and how much you have budgeted for hosting.
Choosing the right hosting plan will mean having access to the right allocation of resources to keep your website loading quickly and reliably for your visitors.
Think about how many businesses these days operate primarily online; their sales and business leads come from their website. If someone lands on a website and there’s a problem — it takes too long to load or doesn’t appear at all — potential customers won’t wait around.
They’ll bounce off that site in search of a one that works correctly and can deliver what they are looking for, seamlessly.
If you’re new to operating a website, web hosting and related lingo can be a puzzling topic. Many a novice website owner has used the cheapest option or anything bundled with their domain name purchase under the mistaken belief that all hosting options are essentially the same.
Now that we know what web hosting is and we have some basic information about it, let’s know look at how it works.
How Does Web Hosting Work
Web hosting happens when the files that make up a website are uploaded from a local computer on to a web server. The server’s resources, (RAM, hard drive space, and bandwidth) are allocated to the websites using it.
The division of server resources varies depending on the type of hosting plan chosen. To choose the appropriate hosting plan, you first need to differentiate between the plans available.
This doesn’t have to be complicated. For the non-technical readers, let’s use a simple analogy: Choosing web hosting is similar to searching for office space:
How do you decide which type of office space is right for your needs? Is a workstation in an open co-working space enough, or the next best thing; an office within a business center.
Do you have intentions to expand quickly or expect a lot of people coming and going? Would you consider renting an entire building or would building your own space appeal?
Aside from the style of office you use there are other considerations. How easy the rooms are to access, which functions they offer (extras such as a whiteboard, high-speed internet, and other facilities), and where are they located and the overall cost.
These considerations will determine your needs and help decide which type of office is right for you.
Let’s compare this selection process to deciding which web hosting fits.
- Shared hosting is similar to renting a workstation in a busy, noisy, open plan office or co-working space. You have all the modern conveniences: a desk, internet connection and some stationary and you share the space with other co-workers including the kitchen, printer, and restroom. You can’t do any makeovers to the space such as installing whiteboards etc. This is a popular option for launching small websites and not appropriate for large-scale commercial projects.
- A virtual private server (VPS) is a nice step up from shared hosting. Medium sized business will benefit from renting an office within a business park. With a VPS, users are isolated from each other. You have neighbors, but you are less dependant on them, and you can carry out any makeovers (customizations) as you like and organize your workstation on your own.
- Renting an entire office building is comparable to hosting on a dedicated server. It’s a more expensive option and best for websites who value reliability and high performance. Since you control the entire space, you have more say over configurations and plenty of space, but it’s not worth investing in if you won’t use the space included.
We’ll discuss all the above types of hosting in full details in this article.
What Are The Types of Web Hosting
There are many options that will all get your site on the web. However, each of them cater directly to website owners needs – whether those needs be big or small.
While they all act as a storage place for your website, where they differ is the amount of storage capacity, control, technical knowledge requirement, server speed and reliability.
These are the six types of web hosting you will most often come across:
1. Shared hosting
Shared hosting is perfect for entry-level website hosting. This is where your website will be stored on the same server as multiple other websites.
With a shared hosting plan, all domains share the same server resources, such as RAM (Random Access Memory) and CPU (Central Processing Unit).
However, because all resources are shared, the cost of shared hosting plans are relatively low, making them an excellent option for website owners in their beginning stages.
In most cases, beginners will find shared the simplest method of hosting their website; so regardless of whether you’re a small business owner, a community group, or a stay-at-home mom with a desire to blog, your site will be accessible on the web.
Shared hosting plans often comes with many helpful tools such as: website builders, WordPress hosting, and the ability to email clients.
Although shared hosting provides website owners with a more simplistic approach to the web, the trade-off is that you’re sharing the server with multiple other website owners.
This means that surges in usage can ultimately affect your website’s user experience. Shared hosting plans are ideal for website owners that do not receive a large amount of web traffic.
2. Virtual private server (VPS) hosting
A VPS hosting plan is the ultimate middle ground between a shared server and a dedicated server. It’s ideal for website owners that need more control, but don’t necessarily need a dedicated server.
VPS hosting is unique because each website is hosted within its own space on the server, though it still shares a physical server with other users.
While VPS hosting provides website owners with more customization and storage space, they’re still not able to handle incredibly high traffic levels or spikes in usage meaning that the site performance can still be affected by other sites on the server
Typically, VPS hosting is used by website owners who want dedicated hosting but don’t have the technical knowledge needed. VPS hosting offers the cost benefits of shared hosting with the control of dedicated hosting.
A great choice for advanced users and those that want specific software and package installations.
3. Dedicated server hosting
Dedicated hosting gives website owners the most control over the server that their website is stored on. That’s because the server is exclusively rented by you and your website is the only one stored on it.
This means that you have full root and admin access, so you can control everything from security to operating system that you run.
However, all that control comes with a price.
Dedicated servers cost are one of the most expensive web hosting options. Typically, they are used by website owners with high levels of website traffic, and those who are in need of complete control of their servers.
In addition, a high level of technical expertise is required for the installation and ongoing management of the server.
4. Cloud hosting
Cloud hosting is the current buzzword of the technology industry. In regards to web hosting, it means many computers working together, running applications using combined computing resources.
It’s a hosting solution that works via a network and enables companies to consume the computing resource like a utility.
This allows users to employ as many resources as they need without having to build and maintain their own computing infrastructure. The resources that are being used are spread across several servers, reducing the chance of any downtime due to a server malfunction.
Cloud-based hosting is scalable, meaning your site can grow over time, using as many resources as it requires and while the website owner only pays for what they need.
5. Managed hosting
Most hosting packages you will find online are likely to be managed. Hosting companies provide technical services such as hardware and software setup and configuration, maintenance, hardware replacement, technical support, patching, updating and monitoring.
With managed hosting, the provider looks after the day-to-day management of the hardware, operating systems and standardised applications.
Although there are many different options to choose from when it comes to web hosting, it all comes down to choosing a plan that fits your needs.
Each plan caters to the specifications of different groups and realizing what your needs in a website are will help you ensure that you’re choosing the right plan for you and your business.
6. Colocation
Instead of keeping servers in-house or at a private data centre, you may choose to ”‘co-locate” your equipment by renting space in a colocation centre. The centre will provide the power, bandwidth, IP address and cooling systems that your server requires. Space is rented out in racks and cabinets.
Colocation gives access to higher levels of bandwidth than a normal office server room at a much lower cost. You’re left to your own devices (literally) and will be expected to take care of everything including the hardware, software and services.
Which Web Hosting Should You Choose?
Although there are many different options to choose from when it comes to web hosting, it all comes down to choosing a plan that fits your needs.
Each plan caters to the specifications of different groups and realizing what your needs in a website are will help you ensure that you’re choosing the right plan for you and your business.
The crucial factors that you should keep in mind when selecting a web host include the type of website you have, the resources you need, your budget, and expected traffic.
Here’s a quick overview of the advantage of each type of hosting:
Shared Hosting: The most cost-effective option for low traffic websites.
Managed Hosting: Ideal for non-technical users who’d rather defer the more technical tasks to experts.
VPS Hosting: Simply put, this is the best option for websites that have outgrown shared hosting.
Cloud Hosting: Works best for websites that are growing rapidly and need scalable resources.
Dedicated Hosting: Expensive option for large websites where you need to be in control.
Colocation Hosting: The most expensive option that gives you maximum control over the hardware and software.
How Can You Pick a Web Host For Your Website
Your selection of an appropriate and reliable web hosting service provider is an important step in coming online, especially if you are launching a business website.
Hosts not only make your site available to others, but they also offer services related to managing these servers and its software, support, bandwidth, speed and so on.
Factors Affecting Free Web Hosting
Bandwidth Allowance
Bandwidth allowance (sometimes loosely referred to as “traffic” or “data transfer”) is the number of bytes required to transfer your site to all of your visitors when they browse your content.
Does the hosting provide enough space for your needs? To give you a rough idea of the typical traffic requirements of a website, most new sites that don’t provide video or music on their site use less than 3 gigabytes of bandwidth per month.
If you anticipate quick future expansion or your needs include sound, video, etc., then consider the extra space offered by a paid hosting provider.
If you’re thinking about going for a free host, think first about the size of your site and how many visitors you expect on a daily basis. Many free web hosts impose daily or monthly limits on the amount of traffic your website can use.
If your content includes lots of images or videos that attract over the “agreed” amount of visitors (traffic) per day/ week/ month, the host is within its rights to disable your website for breach of contract – or send you a bill.
Another consideration before using free hosting providers is that they frequently impose a maximum size on the files you upload.
If you wish to distribute software or high-resolution imagery, a paid host offers you the ability to load the larger file sizes you’ll need.
Advertising
Many, but not all free hosts impose advertising on your website to cover the costs of providing your site with free web space. Most people are put off by commercial banners and pop-ups.
Sites littered with adverts are generally considered low quality and even spammy, which is an immediate put-off. To be on the safe side, check the fine print to see if adverts are expected in exchange for free hosting before you sign-up.
Upgrade Options
Look out for is whether a host gives your site room to grow. Most new sites start on shared hosting which is pretty powerful these days.
However, as you expect a website to grow over the years, you might need to consider a more powerful server (virtual private or dedicated for example).
Check the host has suitable plans to upgrade to and that the process is as straightforward as possible.
Why You Should Consider Paid web hosting?
Uptime (reliability)
Reliability is extremely important for both free and paid services, but you should only expect any real reliability with a paid hosting plan.
It’s likely that you’ll want your website to operate 24/7, and you’ll only get that from a web host with reliable servers and stable network connections.
Before you decide on a host, check out its uptime history. You can read reviews and check their advertised uptime guarantees.
A site that is hard to reach or frequently down loses visitors, customers, and can hit revenue hard. If someone finds your site and tries to access it only to find that it’s unavailable, they won’t hesitate to go to a competitor site.
Slow access is also very frustrating for dedicated visitors (and for you also, when you upload new content).
Traffic/Bandwidth
Read and understand any limitations placed on the bandwidth you use and select an appropriate plan. If your site is going to incorporate video, audio, or other elements that require a higher level of bandwidth, you want a plan that matches your needs.
PHP, .htaccess, SSH, MySQL, FTP etc
- If you need to install PHP or Perl – make sure you can do this without needing your host’s approval. If not you will have to wait for their say so before you can implement a feature on your site.
- Assuming you want to do things like customizing your error pages (the messages displayed when visitors land on an extinct page on your site), protect your site from bandwidth theft and hotlinking, etc. and to password-protect your folders, you’ll need the ability to create or modify “.htaccess” files.
- SSH access is useful for maintaining databases such as MySQL and when you want to run a blog or a content management system.
- FTP is a popular method to transfer web pages and other files from a local computer onto a web hosts computer (servers) so that it can be viewed by anyone worldwide. Some hosts only don’t allow you to design and upload your own pages. Instead, they ask that your pages are designed and uploaded using their online site builder. Unless you are an absolute beginner and plan a pretty trivial site, make sure you have FTP access or the ability to upload your pages by email or browser at the very least.
Control Panel
The purpose of a control panel is to allow you to manage various aspects of your websites hosting account yourself. You should expect a control panel from a commercial host so you can perform everyday maintenance tasks without having to wait for technical support to make simple changes.
A ‘cPanel’ provides a simple dashboard to manage email addresses, account passwords and basic server configurations. It can be time-consuming to go through a technical support operator or be obliged to pay an additional fee each time you want to perform simple admin tasks.
Multiple Domains Hosting
It’s common to own more than one domain, they’re cheap these days, and it’s hard to resist owning a few. In this case, you need to accommodate extra domains with extra hosting space.
To simplify the hosting process, it’s possible to host more than one domain from a single account. Each separate website hosted on the same account is called an add-on domain.
Most shared hosting providers allow addon domains. It’s advisable to check in advance how they charge for it.
Cost
With web hosting as with everything, you often get what you pay for. If you have a basic website not expecting a large amount of traffic, expect to pay between $10 to $150 per year for shared hosting. Higher capacity hosting plans can start at $150 and go up from there.
Most commercial hosts offer the flexibility to choose how you want to pay with monthly and annual payment plans; the latter gives you a cheaper rate.
Once you’re reassured they offer a reliable service, you can switch to the cheaper annual payments, or switch hosts quickly if they don’t meet your expectations.
Finally, let’s discuss renewals. If you’re satisfied with the price of a package, check the price for renewals. It’s a norm in the industry to offer low signup prices but charge much higher amounts on renewals.
Unless you are ok with switching between hosts every few years, renewals prices are unavoidable.
If you want to host email accounts alongside your website, check that your host allows you to set up the email addresses you want on your domain – before signup.
It looks a bit shabby to have a random email address not associated with your domain: How much more professional does info@yourdomain.com sound over info.yourdomain@gmail.com?
In the case that emails are provided, it’s not a big deal. There are other ways to get your hands on an email account at your own domain name.
Technical support
Things can go wrong at the most inconvenient of times so best check your host has 24/7/ 365 professional support.
You’ll want someone there to throw you a lifeline when you press the S.O.S button and to know the person picking on the other end is technically equipped with the knowledge to help you, there and then.
To get a feel for this, read online reviews with accounts of real customer experiences.
There will be times when you have a non-urgent query. You might want to solve it in your own time while getting a better handle on your server settings. Does the host have a knowledge base or FAQs to browse to help advance your understanding?
Whether you prefer to chat over the phone or rather have comprehensive documentation at hand to solve problems yourself – check they are available.
Is Web Hosting Still a Profitable Home Business?
A lot of factors will determine what you can achieve in your web hosting business.
Modern web hosting must have a guarantee 99.9% network uptime, fast servers (or your clients websites will load slow and they will go to another host), support that will act quick upon problems reported.
Having that in mind, you need very good hardware infrastructure setup. Ideal location is to be very close to main regional internet hubs (direct optical link with local internet provider, nothing less).
All that will cost significanly more than the basic home internet connection, because you will need much larger upload speed for serving websites.
You servers must be running 24/7 so you can not use your home computer to do it, though you need to setup a real server with mirrored backup drives (solid state drives are recommended as best option).
Not to mention that you too need to be available 24/7 to adress any problems that might occur when your clients call.
Having all that in mind, money that needs to be invested is something you can expect to be returned over long period of time, since hosting prices are very low at the moment.
Some form of marketing will have to be used and though you can use some free way to promote your business online, paid targeted advertising will have to be done up to some extent.
Considering all aspects, if you can invest money, work hard on keeping the service running, and use spare time to advertise your business, there is a chance to be profitable.
How to Earn a Living From Web Hosting Service
1. Make Money with Reseller Hosting
Here’s how web hosting works: large companies like HostGator, JustHost or GoDaddy have massive databanks of hardware connected servers that service all of their clients.
These servers are each partitioned up into tiny chunks that can be sold individually to new users looking to start a website. When a single server is split into multiple, yet conjoined, units, this is called shared web hosting.
This is typically how most websites are started, and these web hosting companies tend to make a lot of money out of the technology. However, with a reseller account, you can profit from the arrangement as well.
If shared hosting is like an apartment, where the purchaser leases a room in a much larger complex, reseller hosting would be like purchasing a handful of rooms from the landlord to redistribute.
You buy a chunk of the hosting provider’s servers, allowing you so much disc space, bandwidth, and processing power to work with. Then, you partition this chunk into exactly as many pieces as you like, before reselling it to someone else.
Essentially, it’s like founding your very own hosting company without having to start from the ground-up, developing a server and then fixing up the technology yourself.
An even better way to think about it is as if you’re leasing digital ground. The hosting company gives you the space to work with, and then you build the units on-top at half the cost of a total operation.
This is a great way to make money from web hosting, particularly if you deal with clients through your own business who need web hosting—this would be jobs like graphic design, web development, etc.
Best of all, these reseller accounts are typically pretty cheap, starting around $30 a month. Of course, though, the amount of profit you make depends on how many of your units you can actually sell.
There are a couple of ways to ensure you land yourself at maximum occupancy, though, all of which are key.
The first is networking, which is vital to any business. The more people you know in need of web hosting, the better off you’ll be with your reseller account. If you’re somewhat lacking, try placing text and graphic banners on sites likely to draw traffic.
Also, be sure to mark up the personal nature of the hosting experience, as it’s what differentiates you from the rest of the pack—and there’s quite a pack, we promise.
2. Join Hosting Affiliate Programs
However, becoming a reseller host isn’t the only way to make money from the business. Another fantastic method to make some additional spending money is to become an hosting affiliate.
Let’s assume you already have an account with a site like WebHostingHub, iPage, FatCow or GoDaddy to host your own website.
With a hosting affiliate program, you can take a small portion of your site to add a tiny banner (or a larger one, we suppose) for the hosting company you use.
This banner rests on your site, and when users click it, they’re taken to the sign-up page for the company.
Once there, if they choose to purchase an hosting plan themselves, the company you’re affiliated with kicks you back quite a lot of money: potentially as much as a couple hundred per sale.
There are a couple of ways you can optimize your traffic for this kind of program. For starters, it’s best to not become affiliated with a multiple companies.
Most hosts pay you for the number of users you recruit, making it a better practice to send all your referrals to one location. Below are some profitable web hosting platforms you can profit from.
| Company | Commission | Products | Sign Up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1and1 | $15-300 USD | Shared, VPS, Dedicated | Details |
| HostGator | $50-125 USD | Shared, Reseller, VPS, Dedicated | Details |
| GoDaddy | $65-105 USD | Shared, VPS, Dedicated | Details |
| InMotion Hosting | $50-100 USD | Shared, VPS, Dedicated | Details |
| Web Hosting Hub | $100 USD | Shared | Details |
| iPage | $105 USD | Shared | Details |
| FatCow | $100 USD | Shared | Details |
| BlueHost | $65 USD | Shared, Reseller | Details |
| GreenGeeks | $50-100 USD | Shared, Reseller, VPS | Details |
You can also write about the host on your blog or personal website. You never know when a reader might be in need of web hosting, and will take your word over anything the Internet says.
Word of mouth, in general, is a powerful tool, making your friends and family potential dollar signs, too.
All in all, choose the best hosting affiliate program (recommended by WHGeeks team as the highly converting) and start making money without much effort on your part.
3. Create Web Services on a Dedicated Server
Another way to make money out of web hosting is to lease a dedicated server from a reliable hosting company like InMotion Hosting, and then use it to create your own free web service. This could be a free blog, subdomain, email or polling service.
Regardless of what that is, though, make sure it’s something a large portion of users will want to use.
The idea is, after all, that you will start serving adverts to your users, making up for the overhead costs you’ve sunk into the dedicated server.
This method requires a bit more cash on the front-end, but if you can develop a following for your service, you’ll quickly find yourself making a tidy bundle off the ad-revenue.
How Much Does It Cost to Start a Web Hosting Company?
Managing the costs of a new business is critical, especially at the beginning. How much you spend on reseller web hosting depends on your initial customer accounts and the audience you’re seeking to serve.
At the most basic level, you’ll need a domain name (roughly $10 per year) and web hosting — not a major investment, but you’ll likely need to add more.
Here’s a very rough estimate of the expenses you may face:
- Domain name registration: $10 to $15 per year
- Reseller web hosting account: $15 to $400 or more
- Website design template: $100 one-time fee
- *cPanel/WHM license: $200 to $425 annually
- *WHMCS license: $16-$40 per month
- *Domain reseller account: $50 one-time fee
- Customer support software: $0 to $300 per month
From there, however, things can get interesting. Introductory reseller plans are typically set up on a shared server environment, but you can often resell hosting resources on more expensive VPS or dedicated server plans.
You can even resell reseller hosting packages as a master reseller. Additionally, some hosts will use an alternative reseller hosting strategy where you can purchase individual shared hosting accounts for resale (Hostwinds), buy credits that can be redeemed for various services (SiteGround), or take a percentage discount from a portfolio of options (GoDaddy).
If you’re a masochist — and extremely experienced in the world of web hosting — you can stop there, for a theoretical investment of less than $30 per month.
However, you likely want to quickly launch a professional website; that theme may come with a price tag. And what about those tools we talked about earlier?
We strongly recommend selecting a reseller plan that includes free and unlimited cPanel and WHM, plus WHMCS. Otherwise, those licenses can get expensive quickly.
How Can You Promote and Grow Your Web Hosting Business?
Once you gain that first foothold, don’t be afraid to look for more. You may think that solely revolves around continually attracting new customers, but don’t forget those who helped you get to where you are.
According to experts, the customers you already have are your best bet for increasing sales.
Read Also: Make Money Online With This Affiliate Marketing Tips
Do whatever it takes to help them grow their online presence to a point where they need to upgrade to a more expensive plan, spring for extra add-ons, or want to start an entirely new website. In turn, they’ll advocate for your business to others, bringing you even more clients.
Promoting your business doesn’t have to cost an arm, a leg, or a massive advertising budget, either. Be sure to leverage social media into an effective way to communicate with existing customers and reach new ones.
Nearly 75% of marketers surveyed believe their efforts on Facebook, Twitter, and other platforms have been somewhat or very effective for their business.
Because your reseller web hosting business isn’t a brick-and-mortar shop that gains customers based on a geographic radius, adding your business to Google, Yahoo, or Bing’s online directories may not be as relevant.
You can, however, appeal to the search engines and gain higher placement in search results by optimizing the keywords, page load speed, and other metrics as part of SEO.
Bottom line
Find out what your clients like and don’t like. This information can be used to reach out to new customers based on your strengths.
Pay attention to issues with your web hosting services — your customers will love you for it, and it will mean a very polished product.
Starting a web host company is hard work, but it can be very rewarding when done properly.
