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Starting a free hosting company

Sain Cai

Sain Cai

Beautiful Daddy
NLC
Is there any legal things you need to do to start hosting for free? What would you need to get started, a Reseller?

Would you have to pay for a Cpanel license or is that covered in a reseller plan for clients?

I am thinking on trying a very small one (as a hobby), where I would never oversell. I have seen too much of that and would want to get regular sites that are responsible (I know that may be too much to ask lol)
 
Ok. A lot of people here will give constructive feedback to you like, if you don't know that, you shouldn't be a host!

Starting a free hosting company requires a lot of dedication and time. All you need to begin with in terms of a server, is a reseller account. cPanel Licenses are only required if you have a VPS or Dedicated Server.

In terms of starting a free hosting company, you need to oversell your server but you can do it responsibly. (Not Unlimited space / Transfer)
 
Cpanel License is usually already covered by your Web Hosting Company.

Most clients that sign up for Free Hosting usually would not finish using their Quota for their Account, as most of these are users who just wish to 'try-out' Web Hosting. However, there are exceptions.
 
I'd say stick with a small VPS then upgrade as time goes by, since if you go with a lame reseller you'd be offering a lame service. You wouldn't be able to change things as your service changes. Like hardware/network issues will be YOUR fault, you can't say "It's my hosts fault".
 
I think that you need to have permission from you mother company to run free web hosting company on the servers. That is very important
 
Cpanel license will be taken care if you are having a reseller account with some hosting company, do check their TOS for providing free hosting service before buying the Cpanel reseller account, if you run your own dedi it will be a costly affair to give free hosting, check the financial possibilities
 
cPanel should already be covered in your hosting package that you buy. They may also have another control panel instead of cPanel, like DirectAdmin or something of that sort.
Sain Cai said:
Is there any legal things you need to do to start hosting for free? What would you need to get started, a Reseller?

Would you have to pay for a Cpanel license or is that covered in a reseller plan for clients?

I am thinking on trying a very small one (as a hobby), where I would never oversell. I have seen too much of that and would want to get regular sites that are responsible (I know that may be too much to ask lol)
Click to expand...
 
I would likely get an inexpensive reseller (like 50-100$ a yr), and take whatever the package is and divide into reasonable accounts. I know they have the free resellers, but not too keen on their forced ads, as I know most people arent. I would likely have them optional (which means no one will place them lol) and have them on my site and forum. Maybe I can integrate a site of mine to help pay
 
Hi Sain Cai,

Free hosting is an ever-changing industry. New companies enter and exit at an incredible rate. There is always a steady stream of dissatisfied clients who will head your way from the competition. The trick is, can you keep them all happy?

You can't. I managed to do it for the first 1000 clients, answering with a 100% satisfaction rate, but after that, trouble began. Too many accounts, server lagging, and support requests. The larger you get, the larger the part of your job will be crisis management.

And absolutely do not do this if you are looking for income. Wrong industry...

I also want to mention, if you want an edge on the competition, build your own software. It might take a while, but here I am able to upgrade absolutely any feature for a client literally in the middle of a chat conversation (3 seconds), while the competition has to spend about a minute fumbling through the links of their 'Modify An Account', then select the account after it loads, then focussing on the textbox, typing it in, and finally it's done. (I hear it's even worse for the other panels.)

This is true for any industry - clients want to talk to people, and support is one of the most important jobs you can do. Always make sure you have addressed what the client has asked, or given a date/criteria when it will be done. And close your messages asking if they need anything else. The best support system avoids the use of numbers. Clients are people, not numbers. Well, that's how I run things anyways, and my clients all agree with it.
 
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azoundria said:
Hi Sain Cai,

Free hosting is an ever-changing industry. New companies enter and exit at an incredible rate. There is always a steady stream of dissatisfied clients who will head your way from the competition. The trick is, can you keep them all happy?

You can't. I managed to do it for the first 1000 clients, answering with a 100% satisfaction rate, but after that, trouble began. Too many accounts, server lagging, and support requests. The larger you get, the larger the part of your job will be crisis management.

And absolutely do not do this if you are looking for income. Wrong industry...

I also want to mention, if you want an edge on the competition, build your own software. It might take a while, but here I am able to upgrade absolutely any feature for a client literally in the middle of a chat conversation (3 seconds), while the competition has to spend about a minute fumbling through the links of their 'Modify An Account', then select the account after it loads, then focussing on the textbox, typing it in, and finally it's done. (I hear it's even worse for the other panels.)

This is true for any industry - clients want to talk to people, and support is one of the most important jobs you can do. Always make sure you have addressed what the client has asked, or given a date/criteria when it will be done. And close your messages asking if they need anything else. The best support system avoids the use of numbers. Clients are people, not numbers. Well, that's how I run things anyways, and my clients all agree with it.
Click to expand...
Great post. And I would whole-heartedly agree, but he wants to start a small company, just as a hobby. I don't think it's necessary for Sain to shell out all the money for a VPS or dedicated server, and spend all the time to develop a control panel when it's just a hobby.
My advice is to find one of those reseller plans that have good service and uptime. Space is not important, as long as there are 2 gigs you should be good to go for quite a while.
Next, make sure there is some sort of cP. While a custom control panel is easier to manage, a majority of people looking for free hosting will check to see if you offer cPanel. That's because they are familiar with the interface and prefer cP to other panels.
You do NOT need WHMCS. The license will cost more than is required for something small. I recommend The Hosting Tool for automated signups, which is developed by one of FWS' very own members.
And finally, have a little commitment.
 
Not Oversell - Collaborate with Users

[UW]Glenn;1053677 said:
In terms of starting a free hosting company, you need to oversell your server but you can do it responsibly. (Not Unlimited space / Transfer)
Click to expand...

I know what you meant Glenn, but Overselling is bad news, and it's basically a miracle that no one has slammed the coffin shut on our little practice yet.

What I believe we mean is "After the straight numerical allocation, find a way to borrow dynamic slack from under-built sites to cover the heavy ones." Since it's "my" bandwidth/space you want to swipe from under me, ... make it formal! If Provider "needs" my allocation THAT much, then compensate me for it! Set up a "loaner plan".

I typically use little resources, and when my site matures, it will use more space than bandwidth at first. So, skip the Posts, borrow my bandwidth, and call it a day.

I think users would love to stare at stats of "their loans"... and put ads on the stat page!! : )
 
azoundria said:
Hi Sain Cai,

Free hosting is an ever-changing industry. New companies enter and exit at an incredible rate. There is always a steady stream of dissatisfied clients who will head your way from the competition. The trick is, can you keep them all happy?

You can't. I managed to do it for the first 1000 clients, answering with a 100% satisfaction rate, but after that, trouble began. Too many accounts, server lagging, and support requests. The larger you get, the larger the part of your job will be crisis management.

And absolutely do not do this if you are looking for income. Wrong industry...

I also want to mention, if you want an edge on the competition, build your own software. It might take a while, but here I am able to upgrade absolutely any feature for a client literally in the middle of a chat conversation (3 seconds), while the competition has to spend about a minute fumbling through the links of their 'Modify An Account', then select the account after it loads, then focussing on the textbox, typing it in, and finally it's done. (I hear it's even worse for the other panels.)

This is true for any industry - clients want to talk to people, and support is one of the most important jobs you can do. Always make sure you have addressed what the client has asked, or given a date/criteria when it will be done. And close your messages asking if they need anything else. The best support system avoids the use of numbers. Clients are people, not numbers. Well, that's how I run things anyways, and my clients all agree with it.
Click to expand...

You are definitely not the first person I've seen mention that custom software is the way to go. It is what I am moving towards, and it is always encouraging to hear yet another person recommend it!

Also, kudos on giving some good advice. :)
 
I suggest starting with a Reseller than moving to a dedicated. You can go to a VPS also between those two, but I recommend a dedicated. They arn't expensive and you can get your own machine!
 
TaoPhoenix said:
Hi SainCai.

Great new avatar!

Did your little project-host ever come together?
Click to expand...

Not yet, I have been out of work since 4/08 due to back probs which I just had surgery to correct. Hopefully my disability claim for chronic back probs will go through and I can :)
 
Are you looking to profit from this or just for fun?

Either way, start small with a reseller and upgrade as necessary to cut costs ;)
 
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