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[Relix]

Not sure how much discussion this will spark but here we go anyway....

A long-ass time ago (decade +) I used to run a web hosting "company" for, generally, anime and gaming sites. I remember I had a RackShack server with Plesk Panel. I ran this for a while and surprisingly it was profitable, but as a HS student I got dead tired of it.

Now, older, more skilled, etc etc, I've been looking to make a new web hosting business but its so crowded, and most people just use Wordpress(and the like) products to make their pages and nothing more. I am not very sure about the viability of offering a hosting service these days. So there comes to question...

Is web hosting still viable? Not looking to make crazy profits but if I can double what I spend, why the hell not?

 

[Pop-O-Matic]

Buisness as a whole is no longer viable, what with Obama's Communist Unions.

 

[BomberMouse]

Not sure how much discussion this will spark but here we go anyway....

A long-ass time ago (decade +) I used to run a web hosting "company" for, generally, anime and gaming sites. I remember I had a RackShack server with Plesk Panel. I ran this for a while and surprisingly it was profitable, but as a HS student I got dead tired of it.

Now, older, more skilled, etc etc, I've been looking to make a new web hosting business but its so crowded, and most people just use Wordpress(and the like) products to make their pages and nothing more. I am not very sure about the viability of offering a hosting service these days. So there comes to question...

Is web hosting still viable? Not looking to make crazy profits but if I can double what I spend, why the hell not?

Just web hosting? No. You'd have to give some kind of added value or rely on stupid costumers to choose you instead of your competitors.

 

[Stumpokapow]

Not sure how much discussion this will spark but here we go anyway....

A long-ass time ago (decade +) I used to run a web hosting "company" for, generally, anime and gaming sites. I remember I had a RackShack server with Plesk Panel. I ran this for a while and surprisingly it was profitable, but as a HS student I got dead tired of it.

Now, older, more skilled, etc etc, I've been looking to make a new web hosting business but its so crowded, and most people just use Wordpress(and the like) products to make their pages and nothing more. I am not very sure about the viability of offering a hosting service these days. So there comes to question...

Is web hosting still viable? Not looking to make crazy profits but if I can double what I spend, why the hell not?

It's still possible to get a VPS, or a dedicated server, and resell hosting to people--but given that the start-up cost is 0, no tech knowledge is required in the age of automated control panel stuff, and there are a bazillion competitors out there, I can't imagine you'd make much.

 

[Somnid]

As in design and development?
As in administration?
As in physically hosting?

From the sound of it you weren't hosting just administering sites. There's business in that because it's a little technical.

 

[Relix]

Just web hosting? No. You'd have to give some kind of added value or rely on stupid costumers to choose you instead of your competitors.

Agree with you 100%. I kinda have a few things thought up but not sure if its enough or worth it.

It's still possible to get a VPS, or a dedicated server, and resell hosting to people--but given that the start-up cost is 0, no tech knowledge is required in the age of automated control panel stuff, and there are a bazillion competitors out there, I can't imagine you'd make much.

Exactly. This is what I mean by viability. Is just so easy.

As in design and development?
As in administration?
As in physically hosting?

From the sound of it you weren't hosting just administering sites. There's business in that because it's a little technical.

?

I rented d-servers, and sold space, CPU time and bandwidth to people who paid for it. Or.. I didn't get it?

 

[Somnid]

I rented d-servers, and sold space, CPU time and bandwidth to people who paid for it. Or.. I didn't get it?

So you were essentially reselling hosting? Yeah that's not viable, AWS is that automated for pennies with the ability to scale-out infinitely. Again you'd need some administration service or something to sell.

 

[ronito]

Unless you have a ton of capital I'd say no. If you do have a ton of capital then probably.

 

[Relix]

Unless you have a ton of capital I'd say no. If you do have a ton of capital then probably.

I do. Up to four 0s... but I am not finding it to be the most viable "side business" one can have. You'd have better returns with stocks

 

[ronito]

I do. Up to four 0s... but I am not finding it to be the most viable "side business" one can have. You'd have better returns with stocks

No. I mean as in 5-6 zeros. The whole thing about web hosting is that it's the reverse of diminishing returns. There's a huge cost and very little profit to do it at a small-mid level. But once you break into large+ level it costs less to keep up and profits can be great. The problem is getting to that level and the fact that everyone with a bit of money and some technical know how thinks they can compete against something like Rackspace. That ship's sailed. You can carve yourself a space I guess. But to me, unless you had a large amount of capital then it's sort of a crapshoot.

 

[Relix]

No. I mean as in 5-6 zeros. The whole thing about web hosting is that it's the reverse of diminishing returns. There's a huge cost and very little profit to do it at a small-mid level. But once you break into large+ level it costs less to keep up and profits can be great. The problem is getting to that level and the fact that everyone with a bit of money and some technical know how thinks they can compete against something like Rackspace. That ship's sailed. You can carve yourself a space I guess. But to me, unless you had a large amount of capital then it's sort of a crapshoot.

I've been informing myself about this for the past few days, and it seems that with about $1000 you can jump start something and then have enough capital for at least 6 months of operation. This would include a server management group and a 24/7 support team, plus server costs, would amount to around $300 a month. 1000 + (300 x 6)= $2800 baseline capital for 6 months. This doesn't include spikes in promotions or getting new equipment. The break even line is then at around $300. Doesn't seem that hard to me, especially since I know some places I can advertise and have a good impact with a nice product. I'd basically need 30+ paying customers using a base plan of $10 to break even. If I calculate I can get 1 per week for the next 6 months... 4*6... 24 customers. I'd be under the baseline but one customer per week is very pessimistic.

Don't know... still considering it. Could make for a good supplemental income down the road and give me a better return than stocks in the long run. (If nobody realized I am looking for places to invest money).