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If you want to make money online, you really have to spend a few dollars from time to time. That’s not to say that you can’t make money using free methods, but if you REALLY want to break the barrier where online entrepreneur becomes full-time job, you need to open up your wallet from time to time. If you don’t have the best reseller hosting on the market (Hostgator) you are truly missing out on an easy opportunity to save money, while helping to make your business a bit easier. I’m speaking to site flippers mainly, but a reseller hosting account is a necessity for everyone in my opinion.
Why Do I Think It’s The Best Reseller Hosting Program Online?
Hostgator offers reseller hosting starting at a measly $25. On top of that, each account comes equipped with it’s own cpanel, fantastico, and a great library of one click installs. But let’s get past the reseller web hosting hype for a second, and move into why you actually need one to be a successful site flipper.
When flipping sites, you have three main options to host websites that you’ll be flipping quickly.
1. Set up a hosting account for each site flip. $7 is another expense that really adds up to the site flipper. I flip a dozen or so of these a month, and it costs me roughly $150 monthly for hosting when I used to set up an account for each flipper blog. That’s flat out crazy, when you consider that you can have your own dedicated server for close to that price. It simply wasn’t working for me anymore, and I needed a better option. So I tried option two.
2. Sign up for a big hosting account. I first tried a $70 a month semi-dedicated server. It had a TON of space, and it was exactly what I was looking for. The problem? I had all of my sites hosted on that server, and it quickly became a jumbled mess. At least when I had a new hosting account for each site, I had my own dashboard to go along with them. I could backup, transfer, and install new things from the dashboard of each hosting account, now I had to do it manually. It was a bit of a learning curve, but I eventually mastered this as well. The problem was that for someone that sold sites as often as I did, it quickly became a mess. The server became cluttered, and I started to be unsure of what I needed on there, and what was just a left-over that I forgot to delete after selling and transferring a site. This option flat out sucked.
3. Setting up my own reseller account. Perfect, except, I had no clue how to do this. I set up a reseller account, and I really have no intention of hosting other people’s website, although it’s always a possibility now. Hostgator walked me through the basics, and I really commend the customer support team for spending an hour with me on the phone until they were sure I understood exactly what I was doing.
So what are the perks of having a reseller account? Well, first off, I can create and delete hosting accounts at will, all for a set price each month. With Go Daddy hosting, it took an hour or two for them to set up a new hosting account on their end, and then another hour if I wanted to utilize the one-click install of Wordpress. Now, I can have a new hosting account, with Wordpress, installed in less than 5 minutes, and it really is simple. Instead of a tangled web of leftovers on a server, I can backup and then delete a site right after I sell it. Then, I just start a new one. No more issues of a cluttered, messy, confusing server. What’s even better, is that I have my own dashboard (cpanel) for each one. I can utilize one-click installs, db backups, and lots more - right there from the dashboard. I no longer have to mess with my server at all. It’s been a breeze, and I wish I would have tried it sooner.
So what are you waiting for? If you honestly want to be a site flipper, this isn’t a luxury… it’s a necessity. You have to spend money to make money right? Go check out Hostgator Reseller Hosting. If you don’t agree that it’s the best webhost reseller program online, you can always switch back. They offer a 45 day refund policy if you aren’t satisfied.
September 12th, 2008 at 9:40 am
Thanks for the information. I am just starting to get into site flipping so every tip I can find is very helpful. Once I get more into site flipping I will look into getting a reseller hosting account.
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Bryan Clark reply on September 12th, 2008:
It’s a must-have! I definitely recommend it, and it saved my butt last night with the hosting issues I was having with Go Daddy
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September 12th, 2008 at 9:07 pm
I disagree completely…now, I’ve never flipped a site before but it’s not about that…I’ve given sites away to family members and the process of moving the site to a new hosting account would be the same.
When you sell a site don’t you zip the site files, export the DB and send it to the customer?
If that’s the case, that’s very easy to do with GoDaddy hosting. (or probably any hosting that allows multiple sites in 1 account)
If you have an account that allows for multiple sites to be hosted (less than $7.00 per month at GoDaddy) then you just keep them in a nice tidy structure…like say /mysites/domain.com off the root of the main hosted site. Now each site will have it’s own folder that is 2 folders deep to keep things really clean.
You can still do 1-click installs to these folders and exporting the DB and zipping the site contents is a breeze.
To say “yes, you need a reseller account” for the reasons that you stated is completely wrong.
However, if you wanted to up-sell a hosting package or offer “free” support if the customer hosts with you..a reseller account might be a good idea…but with the headaches that go with that it may be best to just get the quick commission for the hosting sale and be done with it…
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Bryan Clark reply on September 12th, 2008:
I guess we’ll have to agree to disagree. I sell multiple sites every week, and the reseller account works better than any other. Not to mention I can setup and delete accounts at will. I would really give it a try if I were you, before you go disagreeing and all
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Bryan Clark reply on September 12th, 2008:
Not to mention that Go Daddy hosting flat out sucks. They are at least 6 months behind other comparable priced hosts. Hell, they can’t even run a lot of the scripts that I use without calling support and getting additional features added to your account.
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Aldian Prakoso reply on September 13th, 2008:
I second that GoDaddy web hosting sucks. And it’s not just that, their domain registrar also sucks. I moved almost all of my domain name to Name Cheap from GoDaddy.
For web hosting, I use both Host Gator and Blue Host. It’s better to separate your websites and blogs on separate servers. So if one of the server is down, not all your sites are down. Furthermore, it’s also good for cross linking from different IPs.
Keith James Lock reply on September 13th, 2008:
Perhaps the reseller account is also a decent solution but I’m standing by the fact that it’s not necessary. It’s almost 4 times the price of something where you can accomplish the same thing that you are trying to accomplish. (and without the hour on the phone with tech support)
I can setup accounts easily as well:
I can purchase a domain, attach it to my hosting account, setup the DB and install WP inside of 15 minutes (propagated and all) and I don’t even bother with the 1-click installs (although they can be done).
GoDaddy aside and blog flipping aside…any hosting account that allows multiple web sites is a much cheaper alternative for what you are trying to accomplish.
I don’t see you as a guy that lies to get commissions, however it will make me verify any suggestion you make in the future that’s for sure.
A reseller account does not make what you are trying to accomplish any easier…just more expensive…plain and simple.
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Bryan Clark reply on September 13th, 2008:
Keith, you’re right, I don’t lie to get commissions. The only products I’ve mentioned on here are the ones I use, and they will help with your site flipping. We’re comparing apples to oranges here. You’ve never flipped a site, how would you know what the better solution is for high volume flipping, until you’ve tried it?
I’ll never pitch a product just for commission. You should take a stroll through the archives and see how many posts even have affiliate links attached. 10-15 maybe out of 80+ posts?
We’ll let this die for now, but I promise you that if you were ever flipping a lot of sites monthly, a reseller account is the way to go.
Skitzzo reply on September 13th, 2008:
Keith, reseller accounts are not that expensive AT ALL. It’s definitely the best solution if you have multiple websites. If money is an issue, don’t go with HostGator, go with one of the other cheaper reseller options out there.
That’s the route I started out with and the first time my host crashed because I hit the front page of Digg I switched over to HostGator.
And as for your comment of “lies to get commissions” sure you prefaced it by saying “I don’t see you as” but you then imply that it’s exactly what Bryan is doing! And that, my friend is a pretty hefty allegation that you’d better have something other than your ill-informed opinion to back up.
September 12th, 2008 at 10:41 pm
Hmmm…
I have hosting accunts with Hostgator, GoDaddy, and a few more hosts (to spread IP addresses).
Some are ‘easy’ hosts (instant installs, cPanel, etc) and some are more complicated (well, they were for me until I got used to them, anyway ).
But I must say that the worst of the lot (the slowest to install anything, the most unhelpful - even rude - customer service, the constant ‘you must buy this now!!!’ emails, and the sheer drudgery of wading through their dashboard) is GoDaddy.
But I guess we all have our preferences….
As to Hostgator…
Good for flipping I should imagine and the Reseller account would be ideal for that, I agree. And if they like you, their customer service is second to none.
But their shared hosting is definitely not for large-hitting websites.
But with site flipping, I guess this wouldn’t be an issue.
(Sorry, you caught me at a bad moment. I am still trying to find decent hosting for a few large hitting blogs, with no luck so far…)
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September 13th, 2008 at 2:20 am
Luckily, I went in for a HostGator reseller account last month and it’s made a world of difference.
I just hand over the cPanel account to my customers and offer them free hosting for a month.
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September 13th, 2008 at 8:23 am
I agree with you. Having a reseller account makes flipping websites a lot easier. Much better to maintain.
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September 13th, 2008 at 8:44 am
Or… as a savvy business person should do, you COULD offer to keep the hosting on your HostaGator reseller account for the new owner. I’m guessing that a major portion of folks buying websites have no internet bloodline.
Yeh, there are some experienced guys and gals out there, but you COULD charge a sweet fee on top of the site you sell for an already established hosting account. Need a sales pitch? Look into how Google frowns upon frequently changing IP addresses. Looks spammy to them, and on a flip, could possibly land you in the ol sand box.
You flat out can’t do that with anything BUT a reseller account. If you sell your quick flip for 250.00 and you charge 84 a year on top for hosting, you just increased your profit by over thirty percent.
Before you know it, you’ve got 50 or 60 accounts all paying you 7 - 10 dollars a month. It’s a pretty simple decision to me. Get a reseller account.
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September 13th, 2008 at 11:43 am
I’m sorry Keith, but you’re in la la land. Why don’t you flip some sites and then talk. I have a reseller account with the upgraded traffic and disk space options. As Bryan tried to tell you, you need this for flipping, not for being the neighborhood website guy. Here’s a concrete example: You setup a cPanel using the manager and from then on, the potential customers can verify the website’s statistics and all without messing with your other websites. And GoDaddy sucks.
TomG.
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September 13th, 2008 at 11:57 am
Bryan, that post was dead on the money!!!!
I successfully flipped my first site last Saturday (have two more going up for sale this weekend) and one of my goals for my new found windfall was a HostGator resell account. Great decision!
My first flip was with my normal hosting accout with AvaHost, which isn’t bad. But, as mentioned above by Keith, I had to zip the files, export the DB, and send it to the seller.
Not all that difficult, BUT IT WAS MY FIRST TIME DOING ANYTHING LIKE THAT!!!
It took waaaayyy longer than it should have, plus AvaHost sucks at times, but I managed to get through it.
Now, I have this reseller account and it is going to be easy to flip sites because I can just give the name and password info to the buyer and tell them to get down with it.
In addition, the fact that I am hosting it on my reseller account means that I can give them a 1,3,6, or 12 months of hosting free with their purchase, which will increased the Added Value of my site sale.
Recently, I figured out that the difference between a site selling for $75 and one that sells for $375 has a lot to do with the sales pitch. (Obviously, presentation and content is important.)
But the sales pitch is where you demonstrate the value to the buyer and get them to share their hard earned money with you.
Having this Reseller account gives me one more STRONG benefit that could push my buyer over the edge and click that BIN button!!!!
Sweet Victory!
Thanks Bryan and I would love to hear your thoughts on writing sales copy! Do you have any post like that out or planning any?
Peace!
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September 13th, 2008 at 12:00 pm
LOL! Bryan, right after I posted that message I scrolled to the top and say the Catagory link to Copy Writing.
Thanks!
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September 13th, 2008 at 1:30 pm
Sure, handing over the reigns to the customer and hope they stick around afterwards and pay you for hosting when you have a reseller account…that makes sense… but that wasn’t your point in the post.
you listed out 3 possibilities and made people feel that if they didn’t have a reseller account that the other option was buying a new hosting account for every flip which isn’t at all necessary as I pointed out. You even did the old trick of showing the numbers to try and make your weak point more concrete.
It’s really irrelevant about how many flips you have under your belt for this argument so stop hiding behind that…the point is you can give away sites (or sell sites) from a shared hosting account just the same as you can with a reseller account (but cheaper)..
If you start talking about upselling and long term customers (or the incentive of getting a free month of hosting) then of course it makes sense but if you notice…my response was to the post…and that wasn’t an argument made in the post….and as homeless pointed out…you get separate stats (I had never thought of that because I thought GA would be enough) but again, that wasn’t a point made in your BS post…which is all I was responding to.
I’m also not backing GoDaddy as a kick-ass server either, I never once said that.
And…I have read the archives…I’ve read every post which is why I said that I trust that you wouldn’t lie to make commissions..
However, besides some of the valid points made throughout the comments here….YOUR reasons, the one’s you stated in the post are BS.
It seems your ego and your recent article hype made you think that you can try to trick people into buying stuff from your links.
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Bryan Clark reply on September 13th, 2008:
In the post I believe I stated that it was my opinion, so take from it what you will. I’m not hear to argue with you, there ARE other options, but in my opinion it’s the best option. And I’m not hiding behind the amount of sites I’ve flipped, I’m just saying until you’ve tried BOTH ways, you shouldn’t have such a strong opinion against one of the options.
If you flip sites regularly, a reseller account is a must. If you want to argue, go to a chat room or something. This is my blog, and the opinions stated here are mine, with the goal of helping people to achieve the same income that I’m making, or more. If I give an opinion and you don’t agree with it, arguments are fine, but at least try both sides before you want to make a judgement. If you don’t like what I have to say, nobody forces you to come here
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Breakaway reply on September 14th, 2008:
I find it funny that keith is mad at you for affiliate links… while he has 7 ads/affiliate links all above the fold… i’m not against someone trying to make a buck… but it’s pretty he’s saying that you’re not trustworthy because u have ur hostgator affiliate in the post.
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September 13th, 2008 at 1:59 pm
Maybe for you it’s OK, but for someone that don’t have many sites that’s not necessary.
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September 13th, 2008 at 2:19 pm
I think that the post title should have been different. It should have been more along the lines of how having a reseller account can make site flipping easier.
You don’t NEED a reseller account to flip any number of web sites, having a reseller account can make it easier though. Everybody does things their own way and what may be easy for one person may be harder for the other. cPanel is a great tool to use in site management but you can still achieve the same things with any web host. To flip a site all you need is access to the database (if you are using one) and FTP access. When it comes down to using cPanel or anything other web based management software it is an accessory and not a requirement.
There is no reason to purchase multiple hosting accounts for site flipping. Like Keith stated you can purchase a web hosting account for less then what a reseller account would cost and as long as you don’t go over the limits you can host as many sites as you want. Like you stated Bryan, if you actually were buying an account for each website you should have researched further hosting options. You made the post sound like you have to buy a hosting account or spend way more money then you need to. You don’t need to spend $70 a month for a VPS or Dedicated server and you don’t have to spend $25 a month for a reseller account either.
I personally would have taken the time myself to find out how a reseller hosting account works before you even purchased it. Knowing how to fix a problem when it arises is always a good idea instead of relying on tech support to fix everything. If I was to ever purchase hosting from an individual and a problem arose, I would expect them to fix it and not whoever owns the actual server. I am buying the hosting from the individual not the hosting company, if that individual can’t give me the support that I need when a problem arises then I will take my money elsewhere.
Once again, it comes down to a reseller account making things easier for you, but you don’t need it as you made it out to sound in your post.
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September 13th, 2008 at 2:46 pm
Copywriting 101 - “Headlines should be attention grabbing”
That’s really all it was. You don’t NEED a reseller account, just like you don’t NEED a domain. You can blog at blogger or wordpress for free. It’s just something that helps, and it has proven beneficial for someone who flips as many sites as I have.
I didn’t expect everyone to run out and open a reseller account, it’s not for everyone, and if you don’t flip a few sites a month, I wouldn’t even recommend it. But it is definitely easier to keep track of things if you are a high volume flipper.
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September 13th, 2008 at 9:06 pm
Wow Bryan, you got some sensitive readers today. I plan on flipping site more regularly, so I wouldn’t dream of moving forward without a reseller account.
Although it is not NEEDED, but VERY HELPFUL!
Peace!
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September 14th, 2008 at 3:50 am
Am I the only one that uses domain pointers?
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September 14th, 2008 at 4:50 am
Bryan, keep up the good work with these imformative articles. I’m looking to do my first web flip pretty soon, and all the links and info you’re providing are proving to be invaluable. Thanks. I’d like to ask a quick question though.
I have a bluehost account, and for my first web flip I thought that I’d set up everything on that account. Then when I sold the site, I’d host it for a month from the day of purchase, and then send the buyer all the files they needed in a zip folder. Is that how it’s generally done?
Obviously in time, with more sites being flipped it would make sense to have a reseller account. Then I’d just send them the cPanel username and password?
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September 14th, 2008 at 7:31 am
@ phil: Not without charging them for hosting you wouldn’t The beauty of the reseller account is that you’re offering a one stop shop for people who are not a savvy or well informed about the offerings of the web. Charge 9.00 a month for hosting in 6 month cycles and you;re adding to your bottom line and creating a passive income that should require little to no work.
As mentioned in the comments, if there is a problem, you customer will be calling you, so not only do you use that as an added sales pitch, but you can use that to raise the fee you charge. If it’s a serious issue, then you’ve got it made, because HostGator is pretty damn good with customer service.
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September 14th, 2008 at 11:57 am
@homeless: How would I go about charging someone for hosting? I don’t have a reseller package right now, I’ve just got a bluehost account. I was thinking about selling through sitepoint which I presume is a one off payment.
I purchased my domain name today. Seeing as we’re heading for a recession I thought a money saving blog would be a good one to sell on. I now own http://www.moneysaverpro.com cost me $10. Good decision?
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September 14th, 2008 at 4:01 pm
@ Phil: See the difference between the accounts mentioned in the comments here is rather simple. However, the choice of which is better is simply up to the entrepreneur.
In shared hosting, you the admin are allowed to divide the server space you pay for and add domains as you see fit… basically, you’re dividing one server into many parts and managing everything through one control panel. So for the general online business owner, this solution would be affordable and easy to use.
In a reseller account, while still affordable, it allows you to create many individual accounts managed through their own control panels. This means that you can allow your buyer, access to the control panel associated with the domain, without having access to your entire network. Essentially, you’d be selling them the same type of product they would have to purchase to keep their site running. So as long as you’re not trying to rape anyone, you should have no problem selling them on keeping hosting with you.
I charge in 6 month increments paid upfront or annually paid upfront. I also charge 25.00 a month regardless of which option they choose.
Now… that price is VERY high… but I’ve never had one customer turn me down as they know my reputation for service. They get my cell phone number, and 24 hour support. They get someone who values their business, needs the money, and goes the extra mile to make sure all is well with every hosting account I’ve got. What has the effort earned me?
I’ve currently got something in the area of 400 hosting accounts right now across a handful of different servers, so as you can see, if you know your stuff, you can earn a pretty sweet residual income from it.
Now let me disclose here… I am not a site flipper. My clients come from my website and blog design services so while it works well for me, you may have to tweak the plan you offer, as well as the cost, to mmet the market head on.
Was this what you were looking for?
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September 15th, 2008 at 3:58 am
@homeless: To answer your question, that’s certainly what I was looking for. I think I’m getting to grips with it all now. My first project will be rather small, and I’m not looking to make heaps of cash, just a tidy profit. I’m a multimedia student, so doing this in my spair time would be brilliant, just for an extra $100 here and there. Many thanks!
I think I’ll start out by just offering 6 months webspace, at a low price like you suggested. Give them an FTP account to their domain and access to the blog. Then see how it goes from there.
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September 17th, 2008 at 12:59 pm
It’s not absolutely necessary to have an account like this but it’s way more handy. I used Keith’s method before I tried the OP’s method and I must say that the method mentioned in the OP is way more valuable. It may be more pricey but in the time it takes to mess around with Keith’s method, I could have made more money than it’s worth.
I guess it really depends on whether you’re a reseller or not and that little bit of experience is helpful.
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Bryan Clark reply on September 17th, 2008:
OP?
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paul reply on September 18th, 2008:
Original post/er.
I can think of way more obscene interpretations, but this is a family show
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September 20th, 2008 at 12:39 pm
I have a nice dedicated server, i really dont see the need to get a hostgator account, and for $10- more you can have a nice VPS with lots of space and BW, i saw your comment on how you forgat to delete sites that you had soled, i never had that happening to me when the deal is done and the site is moved it gets deleted right away.
But i guess it is each their own.
Great blog btw lots of great insides
Greets
Dave Z
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November 28th, 2008 at 4:47 am
Although it’s not neccessary to have a resellers account but it helps a lot when you are selling to new website owners who would need hosting. When you have a resllsr acount you can access a lot more potential buyers.
However from my experience all of my buyers from my flips all hadvthere own hosting accounts where I would transfer there website too. So I actually use a normal hosting account for myself –yes it’s messy and there are tons of MySQL databases, but it gets the job done.
I think it’s also important to note that when I did offer free hosting for 3 months that I did get inqueries rlfrom new potential buyers.
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