Guide To Reseller Hosting

 If you are in the market for a web host, chances are that in the course of your research, you have come across some resellers. There are positive and negative aspects to purchasing your web space from a reseller - however, as long as you have made yourself aware of what to look for and what to avoid you should not have many problems by trusting your site to a reseller, in fact, a good reseller host can save you money and offer you more services than a traditional host.
Like any hosting plan, reseller packages come in all shapes and sizes, but are usually tailored to emphasize the strengths of the parent host. Depending on the size of the parent company, resellers range from offering a robust services for advanced web developers to lower-cost solutions for individuals, SOHOs and SME's. However, there are a few things one should know before signing on with a reseller.
What Is A Reseller Host?
Reseller hosting is the provision of web hosting services to third-party companies that in turn act as web hosts for other organizations - acting as the host for the client site and serving its pages to users. Many resellers augment their hosting packages with Web design and management services in order to provide additional value to their clients.When you purchase a package from a reseller, your web site will be stored on the parent host's equipment, and served via their high speed lines. The reseller from whom you purchased the package will be the one who interacts with the parent host on your behalf. You will make your payments to the reseller, receive technical support from the reseller, and generally rely on the reseller to act as your host in all areas of maintaining your site.
How Do I Know That I'm Dealing With A Reseller?
You may never know! The majority of resellers hide the fact that they are reselling, and the only way to know for sure is to seek out the information yourself. Many resellers insist that the parent hosting provider provide personalized DNS servers in order to protect their identity. In general however, the best way to find out if a host is a reseller is to ask them - most resellers will admit to you that they are just that, and will reveal who they resell for. Other ways to find out if a hosting business is really a reseller is to run trace routes, domain lookups, and visit various hosting forums, and resources.
Does It Matter Who The Parent Provider Is?
Definitely! It is very helpful to know who the business is reselling for. Once you have that information, you can easily compare the features and price of the true host to those services being offered by the reseller.
Why Not Skip The Middleman And Purchase An Account With The Parent Provider?
This is the first question you should ask any potential reseller. This will give the reseller a chance to outline the extra services that they offer (which may not be listed on their web site). Since the reseller should be well informed about the parent provider's service, they will be able to give you a cost-to-service comparison between the two. What may pay only for basic web space at the parent provider may get you many extra features by signing on with a reseller, including (but not limited to):

- Web and graphic design
- Database design and maintenance
- Search engine promotion
- Managed services
- Web-based applications
- Internet training

Furthermore, resellers are also familiar with the parent providers configurations, abilities, and points of contact, which means that in many cases they are able to provide you more support and assistance with your account. The majority of resellers serve a smaller client base than the parent, which means they can offer you higher quality and more personal support than the parent can provide. Additionally, resellers often receive large discounts from the parent provider since they are purchasing more services than a single domain client - which translates into robust service at a lower price than the parent would charge.
If The Parent Provider Is A Known And Trusted Brand, Is The Reseller?
Not necessarily. When looking at the parent provider's services, be sure to carefully examine what they offer to their reseller clients. This will give you an idea if the reseller is marketing what they can actually offer, and also give you an estimate of what the reseller is paying to the parent provider in fees every month.
This is critical, as if a reseller fails to make their payments to the true host - regardless of whether or not you have made you payment to the reseller - your site will be shut down. Since resellers do not have to invest the same amount of capital as the parent - as the reseller acts more as a sales and technical contact, rather than providing infrastructure - a reseller can go out of business much faster and easier than a true host can. Since reseller accounts can be purchased from the parent online, it can be simple for a reseller to use a false name, have no business license, collect funds from those that purchase their services, and disappear, leaving you out in the cold. Wise shopping is a necessity when deciding upon a reseller - same as any other business.
Does The Plan Have The Features You Need?
Look at your requirements and determine if the Reseller plan can meet them. For instance, does the reseller meet your needs in terms of storage and data transfer? Do you need Real Audio, Video or chat capability? Do you need robust E-Commerce solutions with secure servers, shopping carts and transaction software? If you see a plan you like but it doesn't include something you need, don't be afraid to ask them for it. Resellers are always adding new features, and they may already have what you need in the works.
Does The Plan Fit Your Budget?
No matter what your budget you need to consider your (ROI) Return on Investment. The initial costs of the reseller plan is certainly a big factor but other aspects must be considered too. For instance, you might want to consider future discounts for multiple signups and referrals - which can add up to significant savings. Can you save money on the development by selecting a Web Host company that provides pre-installed features? This way you won't have to develop them, this cuts down on your direct costs in terms of time and expenses:
Will Their Equipment Handle Your Sites?
Before you make your decision, you must make sure the reseller's parent provider can handle your client sites smoothly during peak periods. Find out if their systems are redundant with reliable uninterruptible backup power supplies in case of power outages. Make sure they perform daily backups of the data. Look at their Internet connections to ensure they have both the speed and the bandwidth you need. The last thing your client needs is for the servers to go down. You will get the blame, not the reseller.
When choosing a reseller, always remember that there are more resellers on the Internet than true hosts, so ask the right questions and do your homework. Regardless of whether your site is hosted by a reseller or a true provider, the bottom line is that you will need to be able to know for certain that your web site is being served as it needs to be