Gonna buy, but have some questions...

[dropslash]

I am wanting to do webdesign and, at least at first, deal with local businesses, organizations, etc as there is no one around my area offering webdesign that looks as if it wan't made by crappy drag-and-drop software in less than 5 min. Aside from getting things going as far as business licenses, tax information, and all that stuff, I have been looking into whether or not I should pair the webdesign with webhosting. I don't think that $24.95 is a bad option to start off with. However, I have several questions and/or concerns that maybe those on here could help me with. I have read most of the posts within the first 30 pages of the pre-sales section and have a better understanding about things, but to seal the deal, I would like a few questions answered.

1. I understand that with a reseller account, I can control all the sites I have hosted through my cPanel account. This is good, because if I design their site, and they need help, I don't have to remember a lot of information and do server hopping going from one host to another to fix/update their site. However, can WHM be setup where I create their site accounts instead of them doing it?
2. Since I will be starting off small, paypal would be the best option for me right now as far as a payment system as I already have all that set up and I don't want to pay big monthly fees to accept the occasional credit card. Does anyone here use paypal as a payment system, and if so, how do you feel about the fee they take out on you for each transaction. Is it worth it and something I shouldn't worry about?
3. With WHMCS, can it be setup where it will automatically send them out an email before money is taken out? Does it allow users to setup payments every month, 6 months, or yearly?
4. How well does WHMCS and cPanel integrate together? Do they communicate well together?
5. Do I have to use WHMCS or can I use a payment system thats made for Joomla, like nBill?
6. I am wanting integration of cPanel and WHMCS into my Joomla powered site, would I just provide links into the user menu that they can access, possibly put them into a wrapper?
7. How well can WHMCS be styled? My only real reservation about using it is that I don't want the user to know they are using something that doesnt look like it belongs on my site.
8. Lastly, are the any good tips someone could offer about starting their own webhost? Any advice couldnt hurt! lol

Any info would be greatly appreciated!

[Chimpie]

I can only answer #1 so....

Yes, actually, in WHM only you can set up their account.

[herpherp]

Originally Posted by dropslash

1. I understand that with a reseller account, I can control all the sites I have hosted through my cPanel account. This is good, because if I design their site, and they need help, I don't have to remember a lot of information and do server hopping going from one host to another to fix/update their site. However, can WHM be setup where I create their site accounts instead of them doing it?

1. You can either set the account up manually or set whmcs to not activate the account until you approve it.

   Originally Posted by dropslash

   Since I will be starting off small, paypal would be the best option for me right now as far as a payment system as I already have all that set up and I don't want to pay big monthly fees to accept the occasional credit card. Does anyone here use paypal as a payment system, and if so, how do you feel about the fee they take out on you for each transaction. Is it worth it and something I shouldn't worry about?

   I utilize paypal and I do not see that the fees are overwhelming

   Originally Posted by dropslash

   With WHMCS, can it be setup where it will automatically send them out an email before money is taken out? Does it allow users to setup payments every month, 6 months, or yearly?

   You can set up whmcs to allow payment intervals such as 1 month yearly etc... They can also add funds to their account if they wish.

   Originally Posted by dropslash

   How well does WHMCS and cPanel integrate together? Do they communicate well together?

   Seamlessly

   Originally Posted by dropslash

   Do I have to use WHMCS or can I use a payment system thats made for Joomla, like nBill?

   You can utilize any system you wish but the most popular is whmcs

   Originally Posted by dropslash

   I am wanting integration of cPanel and WHMCS into my Joomla powered site, would I just provide links into the user menu that they can access, possibly put them into a wrapper?

   I do not personally utilize Joomla but have seen plenty of discussion at whmcs.com regarding it, whmcs uses smarty templates so you should be able to integrate without much hassle.

   Originally Posted by dropslash

   How well can WHMCS be styled? My only real reservation about using it is that I don't want the user to know they are using something that doesnt look like it belongs on my site.

   You can completely customize the template & css files for full integration

   Originally Posted by dropslash

   Lastly, are the any good tips someone could offer about starting their own webhost? Any advice couldnt hurt! lol

   Be Prepared!

[dropslash]

Thanks for the advice... if I get a smaller package, just to get my site going, can I then upgrade from a shared to a reseller without much hassle?

[skeetr]

The only hassle you would have upgrading from a shared to a reseller account is that your IP addresses would change since shared accounts are not on the same boxes as reseller accounts. This means that nameservers would have to be changed and propagation would then need to happen.

Other than that, it shouldnt be much to go from shared to reseller.

[regentronique]

Be advised that you MUST have a reseller package to be allowed to SELL hosting, in regard of HostGator TOS.

[slapshotw]

I also want to say, in addition to regentronique's TOS concern-- you can physically only get WHMCS on a reseller package, because it needs WHM integration to work, and WHM is available only to resellers and dedicated servers.

The $25/month plan you were referring to is a reseller plan though, so it shouldn't be an issue. And upgrading this to a bigger reseller package can be done instantly at anytime.

[dropslash]

I wasnt planning on trying to host site on a shared account... I was just going to purchase the initial shared account until I got 'my' site set up. That way, I didnt have to pay for the reseller plan until I was actually ready to host someones site.

[dgroesch]

Regarding your paypal questions - paypal is not too bad as stated above, includes email invoicing and buttons for your site. Definitely better than spending money on a Merchant account that you seldom use. Another option is Google Checkout - that has only a 2% fee for little users like us - and if you use adwords - you get some credit on your fee percentage as well. It also has email invoicing and buttons. I am dabbling into this new reseller territory just like you! I started right out with the reseller account (24.95) - I think it's a lot of bang for the buck and the support has been wonderful. Good luck.
Dave

[striddy]

Originally Posted by dropslash

I was just going to purchase the initial shared account until I got 'my' site set up. That way, I didnt have to pay for the reseller plan until I was actually ready to host someones site.

If you are running this as a hosting business, then I would think the small monthly price of a reseller account is worth you getting from the outset.

As a reseller you get access to WHM which you need to spend some time learning to be able to provide your customers service.

Also you mentioned using WHMCS. As posted by slapshotw, this is free for resellers only, which you need to install and then also learn the ins and outs of.

Probably best to spend some time using WHM and WHMCS so you have the hosting side of your business running just as you want it before you start getting new customers or moving customers over from an existing client base.