Addon domains vs Reseller Hosting

[cjm1982]

Hi all,

I know there's quite a few web hosts on here and people who know their stuff when it comes to hosting so just looking for some help clearing something up.

At the moment I have a USA-based hosting account with one of the big names which allows for 'multiple websites', but this is only through subdomains and addon domains.

I'm keen to move hosting over to a UK-based host, as most of my target audiences would be in the UK but am unsure whether building multiple websites on addon domains is the best way to go. Looking at some of the pricing for reseller accounts which can start relatively affordably, is this a better approach for hosting several different websites under one account?
Something doesn't feel quite right about using addon domains to run different sites, not sure why exactly, but I don't know how this affects site speed, SEO etc.

The various sites which are/will be hosted include a mix of my own freelance services business site, a couple of affiliate sites, couple of static sites and an ecommerce site, all of which would fit into the small business category in terms of traffic etc at the moment, but obviously the flexibility to upgrade hosting should any of them (particularly the ecommerce site which isn't launched yet) need it.

So in short, getting started with multiple (small) sites - which would you choose, addon domains or reseller hosting packages?

 

[Jolt.co.uk]

Hi,

I'm assuming you are using cPanel with the addon domain terminology. cPanel added addon domains (they came after reseller hosting) as an answer to host multiple sites in a shared environment. It is multi-domain hosting but not ideal for multi-user multi-domain hosting whereas reseller hosting is.

Site speed would probably be more influenced by the provider you go with. We load our reseller servers with fewer reseller accounts in the knowledge that resellers will create a number of accounts to fill them up. Our shared servers are loaded differently; we look at an average number of addon domains across all of our servers to determine how we load them. In raw performance terms they should be equal.

For the ease of management alone, however, I'd definitely recommend a reseller account as the way forward. And the difference in price isn't that great.

Matt

 

[Oakley7]

....but am unsure whether building multiple websites on addon domains is the best way to go.

In one word I would personally say the answer is no, although the definition of an "addon" does vary.

It sounds like you have a few sites there so you'll be better looking for a VPS (usually same as a reseller account) which these days are relatively cost effective. If you get one with a control panel like cPanel or Plesk (I prefer cPanel) then you'll be be able to add new domains (websites) as you go. Difficult to say what you need but one with around 768MB memory to start should be fine. Most allow you to upgrade the memory if needed but you'll be able to see what resources you're using in your control panel.

As Matt says the difference in cost is minimal and it'll give you the ability to upgrade as you launch more sites.

 

[cjm1982]

Hi Matt,

Thanks for the reply. I think it was actually from looking at your pricing that made me realise that the price difference wasn't huge, but long term reseller sounds like a more sensible option.
Yes, through C Panel that I've been using the addon domains. I must admit, I do like the convenience of being able to access them all through one C Panel, but then it's not actually that often that I need to do that.

So is addon domain hosting essentially the same as starting a new hosting package for one domain, but it's just accessed through the same C Panel as your other sites? I presume it doesn't affect how your site is indexed or anything like that?

 

[Dan_HiHosting]

Hi Christopher,

It's good that you're looking for a UK host, your key visitors should definitely appreciate that.

If you're giving other people access to these sites, for example if they're sites run by web design clients or someone else then you'd definitely want the account separation offered by reseller hosting.

Even if they're all your own sites, the account separation can make this a lot less messy, especially if you have parked domains and subdomains, because addon domains are subdomains themselves.
You'll also have improved security.

As Matt suggested, most hosts will also provide greater resources to their reseller hosting, taking in account it's typical use and need. This isn't always the case, but certainly in ours its higher performance than normal shared hosting, which is why it's used by our eccomerce clients.

Some hosts also provide ecommerce and other features with their reseller hosting, such as free SSL certificates or even a dedicated IP address (which you'd need to install one), so if that's something you'd make use of for your eccomerce site for example that may be a consideration as well.

So I'd recommend a reseller package to you, given what I know. They're really quite affordable.

I hope that helps.

If you've got any questions feel free to get in touch.

All the best,

Dan

 

[Jolt.co.uk]

So is addon domain hosting essentially the same as starting a new hosting package for one domain, but it's just accessed through the same C Panel as your other sites? I presume it doesn't affect how your site is indexed or anything like that?

It's an "addon" package. Initially designed by cPanel to host multiple sites around the same theme or sub-sites of the main site but I've seen customers with hundreds of addon domains, each doing a separate thing.

It has no impact on your ranking or indexing.

Matt

 

[Dan_HiHosting]

Hi Matt,

Thanks for the reply. I think it was actually from looking at your pricing that made me realise that the price difference wasn't huge, but long term reseller sounds like a more sensible option.
Yes, through C Panel that I've been using the addon domains. I must admit, I do like the convenience of being able to access them all through one C Panel, but then it's not actually that often that I need to do that.

So is addon domain hosting essentially the same as starting a new hosting package for one domain, but it's just accessed through the same C Panel as your other sites? I presume it doesn't affect how your site is indexed or anything like that?

If you use reseller hosting, when you login to Web Host Manager, you can manage and access your individual cPanel accounts from there. When you login with your "root" login details, you can then switch in cPanel to any of your accounts/sites, so it's really no less convenient.

If you have a number of sites with their own subdomains and so forth you'll find it a lot less messy than the Addon route though.

It's structured different for you, and it can get more complicated with Addon domains, but it won't have any impact on your sites being indexed and so forth. And for SEO it'll also be the same, as either way you'll sit on the same shared IP address.

Of course, if you're on higher performance hosting, and your sites load faster, this can have an impact on page rank and so forth.

But the key difference is having access to WebHostManager to manage your accounts, the account separation, and the extra security/separation that provides. So the difference is on your side rather than your visitors.

I hope that makes sense.

 

[astutiumRob]

but am unsure whether building multiple websites on addon domains is the best way to go. Looking at some of the pricing for reseller accounts which can start relatively affordably, is this a better approach for hosting several different websites under one account?

It's dependant on several factors.

You want a reseller account if you want to keep the sites separate
i.e you _need_ any of
* separate emails
* separate stats
* separate limits
* separate mailing lists
* separate users managing the sites/emails/etc through a control panel
etc

If not, then largely addons are fine, although _sometimes_ search engines pick up on it and preference the domain/directory/ url's which can cause you ranking problems on the additional domains.

If you're not looking to manage many sites, then simply having a few individual hosting accounts could be just as effective.

 

[Dominic Taylor]

Whilst they are useful, one issue with addon domains on cPanel is that they all run under the same system username, so if one site is hacked (eg via an outdated software install) then the whole lot could be.

 

[Dan_HiHosting]

Exactly, account separation is the biggest difference. That applies to security, control (giving other's access), and complexity.

It depends on the host and the resources you require, but reseller hosting often isn't much more expensive than a multi domain account.

It all depends on what you need. If you're going to be running an eccomerce site of a reasonable size, and those other sites, then reseller hosting would probably be more suitable.