Eight Small Steps To Being A Great Nigerian Web Host 
Last year and last week, I kinda got some complains from folks who were tired of hosting with Nigerian web hosts. One thing was clear. Customer service sucked big time.
One guy even told me that when he submitted his last support ticket, his web host told him he/she was stressed out and couldn’t attend early enough to his ticket. (LMAO)
These many complaints eventually prompted my pulling down a past post I wrote on the Top 5 Nigerian Web Hosts. The last thing I wanted was to endorse web hosts I hadn’t worked it before and in so doing ruin the “brand” I’m trying to build.
Thus I decided to offer some tips to “ALL” Nigerian Web Hosts on how to ensure that their customers stay happy 
.
Let’s call a spade a spade, most Nigerian web hosts are nothing but web hosting resellers though some might disagree with me (All You Need To Know About Nigerian Web Hosts).
A lot of Nigerian Web Hosts are ruining the business for others as they’ve taken the web hosting reselling business to be a get rich quick scheme and it isn’t. It’s a business that ought to be nurtured to see profits somewhere down the line.
Hopefully these tips would help in making Nigerian Web Hosts offer better services.
- As previously mentioned above, reselling web hosting IS NOT A GET RICH QUICK SCHEME. Don’t treat it as one.
- Quit UNDER-PRICING your services: Most web hosts do this so that they can attract more customers and this is WRONG as it will only leave you with loads of customers for whom you might not be able to offer quality customer care support.
- Try as much as you can to learn the TECHNICALITIES involved in web hosting: By any means, I’m not saying you need an IT degree to run a web hosting business BUT reading up a little about servers and all other stuff associated with web hosting will go a long way in helping you attend to your customers problems.
- Endeavour to stay connected to the net 24/7: I strongly suggest you subscribe to GLO, ZAIN & ETISALAT internet services. This way you can be rest assured of attending to all support tickets within 24 hours or your stipulated time frame.
- Invest in one of those Smartphones: These phones come with the ability to alert you as soon as you have an email. Link your web hosting support email address to it and as soon as your customer leaves a ticket, you get it on your phone!
- Make Google Your Friend: If you don’t know the solution to a problem off-hand, try using Google to find the solution. If you end up clueless, contact your web hosting company as it could actually be a problem from their end. Please don’t go passing on the bulk of your support tickets unto your web hosting provider cos they might get tired of you and end your contract with them.
- Archive All Solutions: Make a note of all problems and their respective solutions as they could reoccur with other customers and you wouldn’t want to stress yourself out looking for a solution to something you’d solved before.
- Finally and most importantly, attend to your support tickets within the time limit stated on your site. If it’s 24 hours stick to it. If it’s 72 hours, make sure you provide a solution before 72 hours is up or you’ll have one pissed customer on your neck.
If you’ve been wronged in any way by your web host, kindly suggest your own tips as to how they could serve you better.
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Good highlight, sincerely it is very annoying when web hosts fail at delivering quality support.
Thanks
I’m glad you understood the purpose of this article
. Some would have taken it the other way around.
P.S: Sorry I took down the post. Maybe someday I’ll experience you through someone and then write a “TRUE” review
. Take care man.
The problem is that these guy thought that they found an easy way to make a dollar and found out the hard way that it’s not as easy as they thought. Whenever getting into any new business you need the proper training. If you don’t have that and get into it not knowing what you are doing you are bound to fail.
.-= Sire@WassupBlog hopes you will read…The Honest Truth About Blogging For Money =-.
please connect me.
Connect you to what?
The biggest headache with web hosting is those spread false information about web hosting being a “get-rich-quick” scheme. It has caused innumerable headaches for us. I wish I could do a full blog post on this issue but sounds like it would contradict the business of Web4Africa.
.-= Oluniyi David Ajao hopes you will read…Earthquake scare in Ghana. Is Ghana prepared? =-.
It definitely would, so don’t. Hopefully this blog post would do
All that is needed to become a re-seller is the ability to pay the monthly fee. All the technical details are handled by the parent company. The re-seller package usually includes everything – even name servers under your own name. All you have to do is to sign up customers and watch the money roll in. Easy – right?
Right: Technical details are handled by the parent company such as server hardware issues.
Wrong: Signing customers then watching the money roll in is what most folks think happen when they start reselling web hosting. When the complicated support tickets start rolling in, they begin to panic.
P.S: You’re responsible for your own support NOT your parent company.
Well done keep up the good work I think that the smartphone will be the top selling gadget in the next few years.
Thanks please for the info on this site. Please may i know how reliable web4africa is?
Thanks, man.
To be honest, Web4Africa had some issues few months back with their servers but they recently moved to a new server called Nexus and I was invited to try it out. In my opinion, it was 100 times better than the previous one for real
. I ain’t too sure if they’ve still got issues regarding email as I stated @ http://www.strictlyonlinebiz.com/blog/best-cheap-nigerian-webhosting/759/
If you’re ordering just make sure to specify that you need to be hosted on the Nexus server. Anyway, they’re even migrating everybody to that server now
Cheers
Though, I am just going into this line of business, with your post and the comments, I think I have an outline of what is ahead of me, thanks.
I would only need to be prepared for the challenges ahead! and for others reselling hosting, should just be a back for most of us.
My own reason was for my reseller hosting is to be able to make my website flipping business cheaper!
Thanks
With the upcoming launch of my blog setup service, I’ve been considering becoming a reseller too. I’m currently paying Hostgator N14,000/year. If I subscribe to the Aluminum Reseller hosting plan @ $25/month, I’d be paying N48,000/year and I’d move this blog into my reseller account. N48,000 a year doesn’t cost much in my opinion and I should be able to maintain that and keep the business up for life.
Anyway, I’m just speculating for now
I don’t whether what you meant has anything to do with shared hosting on hostgator, in my bid to get the cheapest and less stressful reseller hosting package, I stumped on this coupon ticket that gives you $25 dollar off,
“simply enter coupon- “slickdeals” when checking out”
It could help to offset some of your spendings!
I was referring to shared hosting with Hostgator. Hatchling plan to be precise.
can that coupon ticket help?
The coupon ticket can help if it’s still valid sha. I’ll probably check it out when I’m done speculating and I’m ready to become a web host
Plz who is the best host i can choose if i want to create a social network website.Thanx
I suggest you go play with the big boys. I recommend Hostgator.
Thanx a lot bro.About installing a blog,can u install a blog on mobile subdomains like uni.cc,co.cc,wapzan.com,xtgem.com and the rest of em,also,i will like to ask u,supposing i have a friend in a country that allows paypal,will it b possible 4 him to open the paypal account in my name with his adress,then afterwards,he transfers my funds via western union to ma local bank accnt.
I really don’t know if you can install a blog on those domains. The paypal issue is not possible as your friend has to use his real name to open the account.
how can i solve the problem i have with hostgator wanting me to send a screenshot of my websurfer card, i know you are use to this issue.
i know from here that most of you guys are already gone past that stage. please tell me what to do
The solution to your problem is right in front of you. Send them the screenshot!
Tanks a million,you are of great help to us,say novice.Already interested getting along.
Dr. Udegbunam Chukwudi, I must confess you are doing a great job with your blog. I have been following you for some time and I keep wondering – A Doctor/Blogger…How does he cope with the two?…lol.
Back to Subject matter:
I will agree with you that most Nigerian hosts “suck” because they don’t really treat their “Reseller” Hosting as a business. To them its all about the money (who cares about support). But they got it wrong. The truth is that only a few have a complete business plan for their hosting business..so tell me how they will thrive (just passing by).
Before I exhaust s my space sir, I must say a big thank you for the above working models you listed. Would ensure they all apply to my own web hosting business at: http://twichihost.com.
Best Regards. More power to your elbow.
It ain’t easy combining both but I’m trying sha. Thanks for your contribution and I wish you the best with your hosting business.
Thanks. we are striving to be the change Nigeria needs…still in the beta stage shaa.
Firstly, you are doing a great work here! Keep it up. We need more blogs like yours in the Nigerian Cyberspace, to educate Nigerians on the ‘truths’ about Internet businesses in Nigeria.
Sometime last year, I decided to get a website for my company. A well registered company in Nigeria, with about 7 years of history in Abuja. After combing the Internet for a Nigerian hosting company, I finally landed in nairaland.com, and found in a thread www.abimco.com. The guy presented his ‘criminal’ company on that thread like the ‘best’ in the Nigerian Cyberspace. After sometime, I got in touch, and paid N4K for the first package on their site, with space of just 100MB. I later called him to say I overpaid him by 500 but he reassured me that the ‘over paid’ money would be carried over to my next payment. I kept quiet and forgot that one.
Two months later, I started designing the website with Komposer. And I started uploading some text, header logos, side bars, etc. After uploading header logo of just 24kb, no other graphics could be uploaded. I started calling, texting, writing, to no avail. No response. I kept trying different things, I just couldn’t upload anything else to that website. Then I sensed that there was no more space. I called them and asked them to please return my space, and help me upload things to my website and get my website rolling. No replies.
This matter went on for 6 months to 8 months. Eventually I text them, notifying them of my interest to move my domain name to another hosting company, I think www.registeram.com. or so. I went to that site, tried the web host transfer but was told my website was locked. They asked me to request that my website be unlocked and I did but www.abimco.com, just located in Kubwa, Abuja, refused to respond. In fact, just 24 hours after telling them of my interest to move, they withdrew my site, and replied that they do not know me. I was surprised. I just was confused. I did everything I could, these refused to unlock and let me first move my files and all of that. In fact, I started searching the Internet for their parent company (forgotten exact name), and found them. I sent them a mail, and they said they would get back to me through www.abimco.com. After a week or so, I received a mail from their parent company and guess what? Www.abimco.com told their parent company that I was doing illegal/419 business on that website and that was why they withdrew it!!! My brother I became speechless! I became so confused and angry that I was ready to raid their small cafe office in Kubwa with Mobile Police men, just that then, I was in PH setting up a cafe for one of my clients. My brother, I could not use that name again. This guys made sure they frustrated me for opting to leave their useless hosting company! Since then, I decided never to host with any Nigerian company again until I found your site on the truth about master cards from GTBank and Zenith. I went for the Web Surfer, and I’m now planing to signup with Hostgator, possibly becoming their hosting reseller!
My brother, you know our laws are not yet suitable for fighting online crimes originating from Nigerian, done on Nigerians! I became useless in the hands of www.abimco.com and www.abimco.net. Totally useless hosting company.
Thanks for the space and time, bo.