[bkatz540]

So yeah, I've started my own webhosting company to make some extra money. Basically, I need some advice...right now the site is running off of wordpress (not exactly ideal for a webhosting company), but I might swich to a CMS soon. What would you guys reccomend? e107 looks good, but I'm new to CMS systems so maybe you guys could give me a reccomendation.

Also, I'm currently running a not-so-good billing script. Some people have reported problems with it and I honestly don't trust it at the moment. Are there any free or open source billing scripts that will work with Web Host Manager (WHM)?

Website: http://ion-hosting.com
Billing system: http://billing.ion-hosting.com/order/


Thanks,
Ben

[harmor]

I created vHosting but you can only use it with vBulletin.

[haswalt]

I am a web hosting provider myself but i create all my own sites. A lot of sites out there use templates, which works i guess but if you are a real serious business or designer we tend to avoid these sites as it looks like a cheap resell. Most people will aim for companies with more unique, professional sites. As for billing software, i used Modern Bill for a while, it is only £15 a month and very powerful but a lot fo the bigger sites, and myself write our own systems. Also people won't want to use billing softare too much if i doens't urn over ssl.

Harry

[bkatz540]

Originally Posted by harmor

I created vHosting but you can only use it with vBulletin.

Looks interesting! I have vBulletin so maybe i'll check it out thanks.

[Sequal7]

Good for you to try to start your own hosting company, but I think your site really needs to be created or completed before going live to the public but that just my opinion.

I too would not got to a CMS system, I would also look at creating your own site as haswalt said.

CMS systems only offer familiarity to the users, in that they may know how to navigate them but the system is designed for a hosting company to use as their main site, they are ideal for personal webblogs.

I would only suggest perhaps using a CMS type of forum for FAQ and or support websites if you are unable to create your own forums, in that case vBulletin would be a great tool.

Your site is very basic looking as it would be with any CMS application so I also say stay away and create your won look and it needs to be created and completed before opening it.

If you are serious about charging for hosting, you need at a minimum;
To tell your clients when they sign up if its instant activation or not?
to verify they own the domain name they input (and if its valid)
Frequent questions area listing your most frequent signup, plan, upgrade/downgrade/refunds mail setup questions (or ones you can think they may ask and answer them)
Support web-site with contact numbers or emails (or a helpdesk ticketing system)
Way more detail on what your servers are (linux, windows etc)
Way more detail on what is included in each package (ip's, subdomains, cPanel or other Hosting panels)
Business location and services (IE data safety/power failure/ backup servers, connections etc)

I think your still a long way from opening your website....

[haswalt]

also don't use words like "cheap" that tends to make people shy away. If people see cheep they assume poor service, try affordable or jsut show them your prices alongside good deals.

I also watched a psycology program the otehr night about websites. The conclusions were basicaly,

Don't demand,
Don't say Do it now!
Don't try to rush people into making a purchase.

You have about 20 seconds to capture people attention, so having a blog style site is definately a bad idea. People will see that and leave. It doens't even look like you offer hosting from your home page. You ned more information as mentioned above. You ned to display your best deals on teh home page, to get people interested, and so they don't have to go hunting for the information they came for, people in general get bored very easily asnd are lazy.

Good luck tho.

Harry