Affiliate Programs Or Reseller Hosting: Which Suits Your Business Better

There is a variety of services that a web design and development business offer. From web development and design to SEO and social media, these services cover clients for everything they need to represent their business online. It is up to the web design and development company to choose whether or not it wants to offer additional services to its clients.

When it comes to additional services, there are two popular options for the firm to choose from including:

• Affiliate programs
• Reseller hosting

It can be overwhelming to choose the right fit for your business, especially when you are not familiar with what these services are. By offering hosting affiliate programs, you get a commission from the hosting company for bringing in sales. Whenever clients choose to buy a hosting plan through your website the hosting company pays you a commission.

On the other hand, reseller hosting means selling hosting plans as a service you offer. Keep the needs of your clients in mind before deciding which one of the above-mentioned avenues to choose.

In this article, we are going to discuss the main differences between affiliate programs and reseller hosting. It will help you decide which service suits your business better. So, without further ado, let’s get to the details.

What is reseller hosting?

Reseller hosting plans allow a web development firm to use a third-party provider’s servers to trade hosting plans. To rent these resources, you need to pay the hosting company a monthly fee. While selling these plans to your clients, you can charge them whatever you want.

Benefits of reseller hosting:

Reseller hosting offers several benefits some of which include:

1.  Steady secondary income:

Reseller hosting is a great way to ensure a fixed secondary income. It will help you manage the expenses of running your business in months when you don’t have new projects to work on.

2.  Expanding your business:

Reseller hosting is a great way to expand your business by adding more services to offer. You can offer your clients more value by providing them hosting services along with building their website. Providing your customers with an amazing experience will keep them around for longer.

What are hosting affiliate programs?

When you choose a hosting affiliate program over reseller hosting, you still sell hosting plans but in an entirely different way. In this case, you don’t advertise hosting services as your own plans. Instead, you market the services your hosting company provides. When a client buys these hosting services from your website, you get a commission from the hosting company.  Another important aspect of running an eCommerce business is cybersecurity. The startup must know about cybersecurity. Once they have chosen the hosting service of their choice, they should get an SSL Certificate. You can use coupons and discount codes to save money on your SSL Certificate purchase.

Benefits of affiliate programs:

Affiliate programs offer several benefits some of which include:

1.  Limited responsibilities:

Once a client buys a hosting plan from your website, you don’t need to further assist him with the hosting services. If they have a bad experience, you won’t be the one to blame. They will directly contact the hosting service provider if they need help with anything.

2.  Free to join:

While offering reseller hosting services you have to be available 24/7 to address your clients’ problems. However, that’s not the case with hosting affiliate program. That’s because the services provider will be taking care of everything hosting related. Moreover, it is absolutely free to join an affiliate program. All you need is the hosting service provider’s approval. This makes hosting an affiliate program a great way to generate passive income.

Reseller Hosting vs. Web Hosting Affiliate Programs

Both reseller hosting and affiliate programs have their benefits. Therefore, choosing between the two may not be easy. While making your final decision, you need to know which one of these services suits your business better. You also need to understand your clientele’s needs before making the final choice. So let’s compare these options and find out which one is a better fit for your business.

• Easier to pursue:

One of the most important aspects to consider while choosing one of the two hosting options is the time it takes for you to succeed with your venture. Even though reseller hosting is going to be profitable for your business in the longer run, it requires a lot of commitment and time as compared to affiliate programs. Therefore, the latter option is easier to pursue, if you’re a new business.

Of course, if you have an established business, you can make reseller hosting work. However, if you are a startup, you may require more time and resources to go with reseller hosting. If that’s not the case, you should resort to an affiliate marketing program.

• Price point:

You can join an affiliate program free of cost. However, with a reseller plan, you are charged on a monthly basis by your hosting provider. The cost is worth its price because the reseller can sell these services at his desired rate. He is free to price hosting plans. With reseller hosting, you have more control over the services you are offering your clients.

• Service that clients benefit from:

You need to consider the needs of your clients if you want to choose the best hosting program for your business. You need to get a service that your clients can actually benefit from. You need to see whether you have all that takes to provide your clients with the best hosting service through a reseller program or it's better to send them to an established hosting service provider.

If you think you cannot deal with your clients’ hosting service problems, then it’s better to refer them to professionals and earn a commission. Keep in mind that it’s your clients that keep your business afloat. Therefore, it’s important to value their experience.

Wrapping up!

As a web development company, you are expected to provide hosting services to your clients. There are two options for you to choose from when it comes to web hosting including reseller hosting and affiliate programs. You need to choose the service that suits your business better.

For established businesses, reseller hosting works. However, for startups and small businesses, joining affiliate programs is more lucrative. It not only offers them a secondary source of income but also enables them to provide their customers all-inclusive web-solutions. While choosing the hosting plan to go with, you also need to keep the needs of your clients in mind. When you value their experience, they stick around for long.