Web hosting providers usually offer a dedicated server or at least a very large amount of space on a shared server. Resellers rent this space and in turn are able to rent it out to many customers. The reseller benefits in the same way as anyone who buys in bulk. They receive discounts for purchasing in large quantity and then offer various hosting packages to essentially rent out smaller portions to their clients.
The reseller deals directly with the customers. The web hosting company simply provides maintenance and support for the reseller. For web hosting resellers, deciding which software to use is very important. Probably the single most important software feature is the user friendliness of the control panel. You will cover customers with varying levels of experience so you should strive to have a very uncomplicated control panel. This will allow many of your potential customers to use your service unassisted, reducing your customer service level demand requirements.
The 3 most accepted control panels on the market are: C-Panel, Plesk and H-Sphere. Some of the highlights of each include.
C-Panel
C-Panel is extremely straightforward to use and has many features including the ability to change customers plans, add or suspend websites, view bandwidth statistics park domains, and carry out other administrative duties. Customers are also able to administer their own sites with an end-user version of the C-Panel.
Plesk
Touted as the most stable and secure on the market, its easy navigation, and professional appearance are admired by both resellers and end-users. It offers controls on four different levels,
Server administrator
Client/Reseller
Domain owner
Mail user
Each level offers varying degrees of user-control, each being able to control the level below so the server administrator can view reseller information and the reseller can view details about their clients and so on.
H-Sphere
Offering hosting plans for both Linux and Windows systems, H-Sphere allows you to handle sites on various servers from a single platform. The completely automated software allows easy configurations, the ability to process credit cards and supports in excess of 20 payment gateways.
The one disadvantage with all the sophisticated features that are offered is, it is not as simple and easy to use as other control panels. Beginners often find this so complex. Despite of it, H-Sphere does come with the website builder allowing end-users to fashion their own websites.
To make the best use of your resources, you have to decide which one to choose.
