Help me with some web hosting questions

[DT4K]

I know this isn't directly related to programming, but I figured programmers are the ones who could help me out.

I'm going to start doing some websites for local small businesses and I have no idea what I need as far as hosting, domain registration, etc. I've got plenty of development experience, but I've never been involved in any of the administration stuff.

Most of my experience is with .Net and SQL Server, so finding a hosting provider with those resources would be ideal, but I'm assuming that this would be quite a bit more expensive than a site that only provides things like PHP and MySQL. Is this true?

Is a reseller account what I need? Or is there something else I should be looking for?

I don't care about templates, or sitebuilders or any of that stuff. I just need a database, a place to put the pages, and a way to manage the permissions and stuff.

 

[troytime]

i can help you out.

You don't need to be a domain reseller or registrar. Just get your domains from godaddy or namecheap. I prefer godaddy due to fatwallet cash back

For hosting, a reseller account is good - but keep in mind that YOU will be the middleman for all of the clients you host. Which means when they have issues with their service they come to YOU, and then you fix it or contact the host to fix it (normally you contact the host)

When you choose a host, do not base your decision on price alone. In fact, price shouldn't even be a top priority.
Research your host - www.webhostingtalk.com is a site full of web devs and hosts. Its a VERY good place to start your search. (in the forums)

I've been with elitehosts.com for over a year now and thus far they've been the best host i've ever had (and i've had at least 10)

 

[Markbnj]

I agree with troytime. You don't need a reseller account of some kind. Basically, you get a hosting agreement that gives you x gigs of space, y ftp accounts, z email accounts, etc. You decide how to use that space. So for example I've had some server space at Network Solutions for the last couple of years. For around $10/mo. I get 20 gigabytes of storage, 400 gigabits of monthly bandwidth usage, two databases, 100 email accounts, etc. Something along those lines.

I can register as many domain names as I like and point them to that hosting account, and then use them in email addresses. So I can sign up the local auto parts store, create a directory for their home, register their domain, point it to that directory, assign them some email addresses, set up forwarding, develop a site and copy it to their home, and they're in business. Netsol doesn't know or care who I get money from for creating content in that server space they rent me.

Note that I don't actually use my space for this, and I'm not in the business, so there are other aspects of it I'm surely leaving out, but that's the model in general.

 

[milehigh]

I'm not a domain reseller but I think being a hosting reseller is a very good idea. I've been with Jodohost on thier reseller plan for about 2 years now. I give them about an 8 out of 10 overall. I also have a group of websites with rackspace that needed some dedicated hosting but chances are you won't need that in the beginning.

I'd be happy to share some experience with you, shoot me a pm if interested.

Alot of how you set this up depends on if you want to take more of a role of an internet consultant to your clients that gets paid monthly as part of an ongoing service or just some guy who throws together a few web sites and gets paid once. Be careful though...you want to CLEARLY define what is included and what is not included in terms of not only the sites you create but your time in general.

 

[DT4K]

I'm not sure yet exactly what I want to do. But since the idea here is just to do a little side work and make some extra money (I'm not quitting my full-time job), I will need to minimize the amount of time I spend doing any kind of support after the site is up and running. I'm not looking to do anything super complicated. There are a lot of small businesses in my area that currently don't have a website at all. They are my target clients, at least to start. So my plan is to build them a fairly simple site and a very easy to use interface that lets them update their own content.
I plan to have a flat fee for the initial site, a monthly hosting fee, and a per hour fee for any customizations they want done.

I'm not looking to start a hosting company. I just want to be able to provide the hosting for any websites I sell. Although making some profit on the hosting wouldn't be a bad thing either.

 

[troytime]

sounds like a hosting reseller account is exactly what you want

like i said, i'm really happy with elitehosts.com, i pay around 30 a month...but its php/mysql
check webhostingtalk forums for some good .net host resellers