Reseller vs. Affiliate Programs
The web hosting industry has grown leaps and bounds over recent years since an increased number of businesses are looking to get online. Many people in the web development or design business are offering additional hosting services to their clients – web hosting. This is possible via two options – Reseller Hosting Packages and Affiliate Programs. In this article, we will compare affiliate and reseller programs and help you choose the one best suited to you.
What is Reseller Hosting?
In Reseller Hosting, you can purchase resources from a hosting provider and sell hosting plans. You can buy a Reseller Hosting package and rent the resources from a provider, divide it into smaller customized packages, and sell them to your clients. It allows you to generate a secondary income. When you offer hosting services along with your other services, you can offer a better experience to your clients.
It is important to remember that with reseller hosting, after-sales support to clients is a must. Further, the hosting quality will depend on the hosting service offered by the provider. You can look for cheap Reseller Hosting plans initially and scale up as you go.
What are Affiliate Programs?
You can also sell hosting services via Hosting Affiliate plans. The difference between affiliate and reseller plans is that in affiliate plans, you do not purchase resources but simply promote the hosting provider’s services. In these plans, you try to get as many clients to the provider as you can and get paid a commission. Affiliate programs offer the following benefits:
- You are not responsible for the client’s experience after they have purchased the plan
- There is no initial investment as you do not have to purchase a hosting package
- It is a great way to monetize your website or online presence
How to choose between Reseller and Affiliate Programs?
As you can see above, both affiliate and reseller programs have their own benefits. Hence, you need to choose wisely. One important factor to take into consideration is the effort involved in making either of them successful. Affiliate programs tend to demand lesser effort than reseller programs. If you are starting a hosting business as a side-venture to your existing business, then you might want to consider the time commitment to your main business before choosing between reseller and affiliate programs.
While an affiliate program is free and a reseller program has a fee, the former is a better option if you are not looking at spending money upfront. However, reseller programs offer the possibility of earning better revenues in the longer term. You also have better control over the services offered by you. Choose your reseller hosting provider after careful consideration.
Conclusion
Reseller and Affiliate programs are designed to help you offer hosting services to your clients. Before you choose one, ensure that you consider all the aspects well. While Reseller Hosting is recommended to those who want to offer customized services to their clients, affiliate programs are better for those who simply want to direct their clients to a host.
