Sunday, January 4, 2009

Shared vs. Reseller Website Hosting

By Gray Rollins

What is the first thing that you need to consider when you plan to set up a website? You actually have two options: to buy a web server and the other equipments required for its support and even employing a technician to help you run it OR look for a company that is in the business of running websites for others in return of a monthly fees as they will use their equipments for hosting your website. Even a small child can tell what you should choose between the two to avoid investing huge amount on the set up required for your personal website server infrastructure (unless you are a big company who can afford such expenses). This leaves you with an option to go for renting a server space from a web hosting company. How simple!

Not really. Once you start shopping around for web hosting services, they have several different options to choose from. One of the first big decisions to make is if you want shared or reseller web hosting. But what exactly is the difference?

The main difference between the two is their scale. A shared web hosting requires you to pay for server space for only website with one domain name. If you want to set up more than one website, you will have to pay additional fee for each website. A reseller web hosting requires you to pay for a server space that can be used for more than one website. You can divide the space to host all your websites and if some space is left, you can even sell it to someone else and become a web-hosting subcontractor. Both options have plus and minus points. Lets discuss them to help you decide which one you should choose.

The simplicity, efficiency and the low cost are the three main features of shared web hosting. If you require it for personal use or for running a small business website then this is perfect for you. Along with one website and one domain name, you will generally be allowed to set up sub domains for different parts of that website. You pay them the rent for the space on their web server equipment and you get their support as well. In a way they become responsible for making sure that your website is not only accessible all the time but also that it is running without any problems. They will be ready with their technical support whenever you require it. This takes care of a very important aspect for any businessperson. This option also requires less expenditure (5 -20 times less than reseller web hosting) as you may have to spend around $5 or even free.

Now some disadvantages of the free shared web-hosting sites. It is not very reliable. Imagine the site going down for some reason, you can't do anything but wait. Since you have not paid so there is no guarantee that your problem will be solved on priority. This kind of service is all right for a personal website but for someone running a business, it is not a safe option. You need a reliable support system to make sure your website is accessible 24/7/365 and solve all your technical problems without any delay. This makes paid shared web host a better choice. You will have to pay the amount depending on the size of your website as well as the traffic expected towards it. Hostgator is one such web hosting company that gives you an option of selecting one of the three packages varying from $4.95 to $12.95 per month. Another problem is that if you decide to set up another website, your expenditure will double as you will have to buy another shared web hosting plan.

Reseller web hosting has advantages like flexibility and economies of scales. It is better for you if you have a fast growing business or if you are running multiple businesses. With shared web hosting you will have to keep adding the cost with each addition of a website. But with reseller web hosting you have to pay once for all the space rented to you. You can divide this space to set up lots of websites and can even rent the left over space to other individuals or small businesses. It is also possible to relocate the resources of your website when it starts growing. With right approach, you will find that reseller web hosting will actually be cheaper than using shared web hosting on a large scale.

The main disadvantage of reseller web hosting is its cost. You can get the Hostgator shared web hosting package at the cost of $5 to $13 per month but the reseller web hosting package will cost you $25 to $100 for each month depending on your website's size and traffic. You can reduce this expenditure if you sell the unused space to someone else but then there is no surety that you fill find someone to but it. You may not find a customer when you want one. It is possible that in some months you will have to pay for all the space even when you don't use all of it.

Another problem is that when you sell the free space to someone, you have to provide him support whenever there is a problem. Since you yourself have no control over such technical problems, it becomes a major problem. You can provide some kind of administrative help but problems like an Internet outage will not get solved by you without the help of your web-hosting provider. When you are unable to help them, you will end up losing not only the confidence of your customers but the customers too. They will shift to other web-hosting provider and you will ruin your name in the business. This will have adverse effect on the financial conditions of your business. - 16928

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