Like all starting out, i've thoroughly confused myself with how to start out.

I'm a web designer, and use intensive website scripts for my clients - scripts such as joomla, wordpress, phpbb, magento, etc.

Some of these don't always play well in a shared environment. Most of the time they are fine, but occasionally can lag.

I have enough clients to justify starting web hosting - but I don't want the business to just support my web design clients - I want it to be viable as it's own company. Being a webmaster, I have a good "tech" thumb. However, I am not comfortable in administering in root linux.

So - in choosing how to start this business I have 3 choices which all have their pros & cons and I'm in a mental quagmire deciding.

I can go reseller - I've been thinking about eleven2, hostnine, or westnic for this.
I can go managed vps - I have a vps with knownhost, but also thinking about hostv (due to backups & management) or with directspace.net (huge bandwidth).
or I can go with a managed dedi - I would probably choose directspace for this as well (managed dedi with 10tb of bandwidth)

So I'm stuck. Do I go ahead and front the money for the dedi but lay off of some of my advertising budget - or do I start reseller, and have more money for advertising but my clients would be in a shared environment (probably larger & possible more oversold than if I had my own dedi).

I haven't heard any real bad reviews about any of my potentials mentioned above.

So where to start?

it's the age old question...

Can you provide a little more detail like the amount of disk space and data transfer you're talking about?

Hey web,

for example - a 30g/300g vps wouldn't work for my needs. I'm really needing a large amount of space & bandwidth.

More like 200g/2,000g or larger.

Are your clients cheap? Or, will they pay for quality service?

My clients are small businesses - But they will pay for quality service. I will charge less than the only other game in town (or state for that matter) who grossly overcharge. It's obscene.

So short answer: yes

I'd go for a dedicated server based on your disk space and data transfer requirements and the fact that your web design clients will likely appreciate the fact that you/they have a box to yourself/themselves.

Check with your provider and see how much they'll support you in managing your own web hosting business. I probably wouldn't recommend starting a stand-alone web hosting company while being uncomfortable administering servers.

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