How to Resell WordPress Hosting Services

by on April 4, 2025
FEATUREDResellingHosting_Illustration

Reselling WordPress hosting keeps your clients’ websites in your hands while bringing in steady, recurring revenue. Instead of sending them to a third-party provider, you control performance, security, and support. Clients get a smoother experience and you stay top of mind for future projects.

For freelance WordPress experts, tech-savvy agency leaders, and senior developers, offering hosting turns short-term projects into lasting relationships. Clients stick with you because they trust you to handle everything and you gain predictable income as a result. Bundling hosting with development, maintenance, or consulting makes your business the one-stop shop they rely on.

Is reselling hosting the best fit for you? Success depends on choosing the right provider, pricing your services well, and planning for growth. This guide covers everything you need to resell WordPress hosting effectively. Let’s start with why adding hosting to your services makes sense.

Benefits of Adding WordPress Hosting to Your Services

Adding hosting to your WordPress service stack does more than fill a line on your invoice — it also gives you a real advantage. Whether you work independently or lead a team, reselling hosting strengthens your client relationships and opens the door to more predictable, long-term revenue. It also gives you greater control over performance, uptime, and project timelines, which matters a lot when clients rely on you for customer experiences.

Instead of acting as just the developer or site builder, you become the person they turn to for everything. That shift positions you as a strategic partner and not just a service provider. Let’s explore these benefits further now:

Creates Recurring Revenue

One-time projects are great, but recurring revenue keeps your business stable. Hosting gives you a built-in way to earn monthly income without needing to land a new project every time you want to get paid. It’s a simple, scalable way to boost profitability.

Enhances Client Relationships

When clients know you’re managing their site and hosting, they trust you more. You become the go-to contact for issues, questions, or new ideas. This builds stronger connections that often lead to more work down the line.

Retains Clients Long-Term

Hosting creates an ongoing relationship. Clients who rely on you to keep their sites live and secure are far more likely to stay in touch and keep you in mind for design updates, new features, or additional services.

Gives You More Control Over Client Sites

Managing hosting lets you control performance, updates, and troubleshooting timelines. If you’re using Automattic for Agencies, you also gain access to centralized tools for managing multiple client sites, software discounts, and priority support. All this combined helps you move faster and deliver better service.

Automattic for Agencies and Pressable gives wordpress users more control over agency clients sites

Positions You as a Trusted Advisor

When you offer hosting alongside development and maintenance, you move from vendor status to that of trusted partner. You’re someone clients depend on to manage their entire web presence. That kind of relationship builds long-term loyalty and leads to more repeat business with less churn.

Determine If Reselling Hosting is Viable for Your Agency

Reselling WordPress hosting gives you a chance to earn steady revenue and build stronger client relationships, but it’s not the right fit for every agency. Before you dive in, take a moment to look at your current setup. Do you have the technical know-how, the team, and the time to manage hosting and support? After all, you’ll be responsible for things like uptime, performance, and handling client questions. 

Without the right systems in place, hosting adds stress instead of value and quickly turns into more work than it’s worth. Ask yourself these key questions before committing to a hosting resale model:

  • Do you have a strong understanding of WordPress and its technical requirements? Or do you have someone on your team who does? You’ll need to know how to handle caching, security, backups, updates, and general server behavior.
  • Are you comfortable managing client expectations and resolving technical issues? Hosting problems can be stressful for clients. You need to stay calm under pressure and communicate clearly.
  • Do you have the time and resources to manage hosting accounts and provide support? Even with a great hosting provider, some questions will still come your way. Make sure you’re equipped to respond quickly and keep clients informed.
  • Can you effectively price your hosting packages to stay competitive and profitable? You need to balance wholesale costs, support overhead, and client expectations while still turning a profit.
  • Do you have the marketing and sales channels to promote your hosting services? It won’t sell itself. Consider how you’ll position hosting in your current offerings and communicate its value to existing and prospective clients.

How to Choose the Right Hosting Provider

After you decide to resell WordPress hosting, choose a provider that supports the way you work. This decision affects how your clients experience your service, how much support you’ll need to handle, and how your reputation holds up over time. The best providers keep sites online consistently and help you deliver fast, secure, and reliable service without adding to your workload.

Pick a host that focuses on WordPress. Look for features that save you time and improve the experience for your clients. Prioritize things like uptime, speed, scalability, and responsive support. Some providers also offer tools built specifically for resellers, which makes it easier to manage client sites and grow your hosting business without causing issues.

Start the selection process by comparing providers against this baseline checklist:

  • unchecked99.9%+ uptime guarantee
  • uncheckedOptimized for WordPress
  • uncheckedStrong security features
  • uncheckedAutomatic backups
  • uncheckedStaging environments
  • uncheckedBuilt-in caching
  • uncheckedScalable plans for growing clients
  • unchecked24/7 expert technical support
  • uncheckedFlexible bandwidth and storage options
  • uncheckedA client management portal
  • uncheckedCompetitive wholesale rates
  • uncheckedA robust API integration

Below, we’ll walk through each of these in more detail and highlight what really matters when reselling hosting.

Key Considerations

When you resell hosting, you put your name and your reputation on the line. Clients expect fast, secure, always-on websites and clear answers when things go wrong. That means you need a hosting provider that doesn’t just meet basic benchmarks, but actively supports the way you work. 

Look for one that gives you the tools, control, and reliability to deliver exceptional service without adding overhead.

Here’s what to prioritize:

1. Uptime and Reliability

Start with the basics: your provider must guarantee at least 99.9% uptime and back it up with independently-verified performance data and transparent incident reporting. Don’t just trust the SLA. Clients won’t care who’s responsible for downtime. Instead, they’ll remember their site was unavailable when it mattered. 

Pressable website screenshot sharing it's 100% uptime and reliable, stable hosting.

Choose a host with enterprise-grade infrastructure, global data centers, and automatic failover systems that keep sites online even during outages.

2. WordPress-Specific Architecture

Choose a host built for WordPress. Look for providers that include automatic core and plugin updates, built-in server-level and object caching, and one-click staging environments. 

Also, prioritize those that include developer tools like WP-CLI, Git, SSH access, and support for mu-plugins. These features save hours on deployment, debugging, and performance tuning, especially when managing multiple client sites with custom configurations.

3. Security and Backups

Security should be non-negotiable. Look for providers that offer proactive threat detection, malware scanning, web application firewalls, DDoS mitigation, and automated daily backups, preferably stored offsite or in multiple regions. If your provider handles security at the infrastructure level, you’ll spend less time fixing issues. 

It’s even better if they offer one-click restore options or Git-based rollback workflows to quickly recover from site issues.

4. Scalability and Growth Flexibility

Scalability also matters. You need hosting that grows with your clients from a single brochure site to a high-traffic WooCommerce store or multisite network. Look for providers that offer resource-based pricing or usage-based plans with minimal friction when upgrading. Avoid hosts that force migrations just to access higher tiers or penalize growth with expensive overage fees.

5. Expert-Level Support

Any provider you select should offer 24/7 access to real engineers who understand WordPress at a code level. Chat representatives with scripted answers won’t suffice when you’re troubleshooting plugin conflicts, handling performance issues, or working with custom deployments.

Support should feel like an extension of your team, not an endless stream of tickets and delays.

6. Resource Visibility and Pricing Transparency

Finally, keep an eye on bandwidth and storage limits. Make sure you can monitor usage, set alerts, and prevent overages before they get expensive. Transparent, predictable pricing helps you build your own packages with confidence. 

Reseller-Friendly Features

Many developers focus on white-labeling first when they start reselling hosting, but that shouldn’t be the priority. Adding your logo to a dashboard might look professional, but it doesn’t build a sustainable business. You build that by choosing a provider that gives you real control, flexible tools, and efficient workflows. Those are the things that actually help you support clients, save time, and grow.

Start with a client management portal that’s actually usable. You should be able to add or remove sites, assign user access, manage staging environments, and monitor performance or resource usage at a glance. 

Pressable stands out, with a portal designed for agencies and freelancers managing multiple client sites. It offers a clean UI and time-saving tools that don’t require deep technical know-how. It also includes a range of tooling and integration features like the Pressable API and the WHMCS integration, which gives resellers greater flexibility. 

Pressable screenshot sharing easy to use managed wordpress hosting dashboards

Next, look for competitive wholesale pricing. Your margins matter, so the more cost-effective base hosting is, the more flexibility you’ll have in pricing your packages. Don’t get lured in by inexpensive rates if they come with trade-offs in speed, security, or support.

If you build complex, customized websites, robust API access is important, too. APIs let you integrate hosting workflows, client dashboards, or internal tools. Whether you want to automate account provisioning, pull resource usage into a custom report, or create alerts when a site needs attention, strong API support gives you options.

How to Set Up Your New Service Offering

After you choose the right hosting provider, present your new service in a way that fits your workflow and meets your clients’ needs. Don’t just tack “hosting” onto your list of offerings. Instead, build a service that adds real value and supports long-term growth. When you structure your hosting offer clearly, clients say yes more easily, and you can deliver it more consistently. 

To do this, you should:

Define Your Ideal Customer 

Figure out who you want to serve first, then build hosting packages that match what they need and your strengths. Map out how you’ll handle onboarding, support, and where hosting fits into your overall business. When you design the experience to run smoothly from the start, you make it easy for clients to rely on you for everything web-related.

Create Tiered Hosting Packages

After you identify your ideal customer, create hosting packages that match their needs and fit your capacity. Use tiers to give clients clear options while keeping control over your time, resources, and margins. Spell out exactly what each package includes and who it’s designed for, so there’s no confusion about what they’re getting.

Start simple. You might offer:

  • Basic Hosting: For DIY clients who just want reliable WordPress hosting with minimal support.
  • Managed Hosting and Support: Includes hosting plus a set number of monthly support hours for updates, troubleshooting, or minor changes.
  • Premium Hosting: Designed for ecommerce stores, high-traffic sites, or clients who want hands-off management. Includes extra resources, performance monitoring, and proactive maintenance.

Segment your packages based on resource usage — like storage or bandwidth — or, include value-added services like uptime monitoring, performance tuning, or priority support. 

Whichever approach you choose, keep the tiers clear and scalable. Clients should feel confident starting with a smaller package and upgrading as they grow without needing to change providers or platforms. 

Develop a Client Onboarding Process

A clear and repeatable onboarding process saves time and helps clients feel supported from the start. Simplify the technical setup and walk clients through what’s happening behind the scenes so they feel informed and confident in your abilities. At a minimum, your process should cover things like account creation and hosting setup, domain registration or DNS configuration, and the initial website migration.

To reduce issues as you bring on new clients, create standardized templates or checklists for each step. Include clear documentation that explains what’s included in their hosting plan, how to access their account, and where to go for support. Even if you’re handling everything, clients appreciate having reference materials to return to later.

Implement a Strong Customer Support System

When you offer hosting, your clients will come to you first when something isn’t working as expected. That’s why you need a clear, reliable support system in place that helps you respond quickly and keep things running smoothly. You don’t have to manage everything yourself, but you do need to set expectations and build a structure that supports your clients.

Start by relying on your hosting provider’s support team. Let them handle server-side issues like downtime, performance slowdowns, or configuration errors. Choose a host with fast, knowledgeable support so you can pass along real answers — not canned responses — to your clients.

Take a proactive approach by offering regular maintenance and security checks, too. Monitor uptime, keep plugins and themes updated, and scan for vulnerabilities. Addressing issues early shows your clients that you’re paying attention.

Lastly, create a simple FAQ or knowledge base that covers the basics like how to log in, request changes, or understand what their plan includes. When clients find answers quickly, you spend less time on repetitive emails and more time on work that moves your business forward.

How to Price Hosting Services

When you price your hosting services, focus on positioning, profitability, and the value you deliver, not just covering costs. Your clients don’t compare you to $5/month budget hosting. They hire you because they trust you to keep their site fast, secure, and running smoothly without any extra effort on their end. 

That trust gives you the freedom to price based on the quality of your offerings, not just server space.

Smart pricing still requires strategy, though. You need to account for your real costs, the competition, and consider how hosting fits into your broader service model. Done right, your hosting packages drive long-term revenue with minimal churn without undercutting your value.

Research the Market and Stay Competitive

Before you set pricing, get a clear picture of what others in your space charge. Look beyond basic hosting companies. Your real competitors are freelancers and agencies offering managed WordPress hosting bundled with services.

What do their plans include? Are updates and backups handled? Do they offer support hours or prioritize performance? Do they market hosting as a stand-alone product or as part of a monthly care plan?

Understanding what similar service providers charge helps you anchor your pricing. If you’re offering higher-touch support, personalized performance tuning, or bundled development hours, don’t be afraid to charge more. Just be clear about what clients get in return.

Factor in Your Real Costs

Start with your wholesale hosting rate, but don’t stop there. Every support ticket, migration, and DNS update adds time and time is money.

Make sure your pricing covers:

  • Wholesale hosting costs including any usage-based fees
  • Time spent on client communication and support
  • Website migrations, DNS setup, and account management
  • Admin and overhead like billing software, client portals, and project tracking

Even if your provider handles infrastructure, you’re still the client-facing support layer. Factor in how often you expect clients to reach out and build that into your pricing model as well.

Determine Profit Margin

Once you’ve got your costs, it’s time to build in margin. For most developers and agencies, a 30 – 50% markup makes reselling worth the effort. Offering hands-on support, custom configurations, or strategic consulting alongside hosting justifies much higher margins.

Don’t undersell yourself by pricing purely on cost. Your clients pay for peace of mind, knowing their site is in expert hands. That has real value, especially if they’ve dealt with lower-performing providers or slow support in the past.

Also decide whether you’ll offer flat-rate pricing or usage-based tiers. Flat rates simplify selling and management. Tiers give you room to scale with your client’s needs, but they require you to monitor resources closely.

Consider Other Value-Added Services

Make your hosting offer more compelling by bundling it with other services. Clients don’t just want server space, they want the reassurance of reliable maintenance and someone they trust keeping their site running without issues. When you package hosting with added services, you meet those expectations and boost your recurring revenue at the same time.

Consider bundling hosting with:

  • Ongoing Site Maintenance: Include updates for plugins and themes, uptime monitoring, scheduled backups, and performance audits.
  • Development Retainers: Offer a set number of hours per month for content edits, bug fixes, or new feature rollouts.
  • Performance and SEO Optimization: Add value with site speed improvements, technical SEO audits, or other types of performance enhancements.
  • Support for Online Stores: For WooCommerce sites, offer custom services like load testing before sales events, abandoned cart tracking integration, or checkout optimization.

This approach positions you as a full-service partner. Clients stick around when you’re managing multiple aspects of their site, and that ongoing relationship creates natural opportunities for upselling and deeper engagement.

How to Prepare for Scaling and Future Growth

As your hosting offering gains traction, things can get messy if you’re not prepared. What works for five clients won’t necessarily hold up for fifty. Scaling means taking on more accounts without sacrificing service quality or overloading your team.

Keep your hosting business sustainable by building strong processes, automating where possible, and regularly evaluating how things work. As you grow, monitor key metrics, stay on top of industry changes, and keep refining your systems. Let’s break it down.

Monitor Performance

You can’t grow what you don’t measure. Tracking key performance metrics helps you understand how well your hosting services perform and where you need to improve. Start with the basics like: 

  • Churn Rate: Track the number of clients who cancel hosting each quarter and why. A high churn rate may signal pricing issues, support gaps, or unclear value.
  • Revenue Growth: Don’t just look at raw numbers. Measure monthly recurring revenue (MRR), average revenue per client, and the number of clients who move up to higher-tier packages.

These insights help you refine your offers, improve retention, and make smarter decisions about where to invest next.

Continuing Education

WordPress updates frequently and developers release new tools. Performance standards and security best practices also change. To offer premium service, stay current on what matters most.

Follow plugin changelogs, attend WordCamps or virtual meetups, and stay active in forums or communities where performance-focused developers share what they’ve learned. The more you learn, the more confidently you can guide clients.

Get Client Feedback

Growth means listening. The better you understand your clients’ needs, the more relevant your service offerings become. Build feedback loops into your client lifecycle by conducting:

  • Post-onboarding check-ins to catch first impressions 
  • Quarterly or annual surveys with targeted questions about hosting performance, support, and what they wish you offered
  • Offboarding interviews to learn why clients leave

Even a simple, one-question email that asks, “What’s one thing we could improve?” can surface valuable information. Once you receive feedback, act on it, and let clients know when you do.

Automate Repetitive Tasks to Improve Efficiency

As your hosting business grows, manual tasks quickly take up more of your time and create room for error. Automating key processes helps you stay efficient, deliver consistent service, and focus on higher-value work.

Start with client relationship management. Tools like Automattic for Agencies give you a centralized way to manage site access and simplify client onboarding. For broader CRM needs, Jetpack CRM works well to track communication, send reminders, and organize your client database.

Jetpack CRM homepage shows how you can nurture your contacts and grow your business with Jetpack CRM and Pressable

Next, set up recurring billing using tools like WooCommerce Subscriptions or your invoicing software’s automated payment features. That way, you don’t have to chase payments or manually send invoices every billing cycle.

Screenshot of Woo subscriptions so you can start earning recurring revenue

Finally, handle updates and backups automatically through your hosting dashboard. Most quality providers offer one-click settings to manage these behind the scenes. 

Expand Your Offerings to Include New Services

As you gain confidence managing hosting accounts, expand your services in ways that complement your current workflow. Here are a few ideas: 

  • Offer specialized hosting tiers for WooCommerce, multisite networks, or LMS and membership sites
  • Add performance enhancements like advanced caching and CDN configuration 
  • Introduce 24/7 or priority support for clients who need fast turnaround times, and include monthly reports that highlight uptime, performance benchmarks, and completed maintenance tasks

Start with what you can manage now and scale as your systems improve. Every new service gives clients more reasons to stay with you and creates more opportunities.

Ready to Get Started as a WordPress Hosting Reseller?

Reselling WordPress hosting lets you turn one-off projects into ongoing partnerships, creating a steady stream of recurring revenue. With the right provider, a solid onboarding process, and a clear pricing strategy, you can offer clients a faster, more reliable, and more supported web experience — all under your expert guidance.

Pressable gives you the performance, support, and tools you need to resell hosting with confidence. If you’re ready to take more control over your client relationships and revenue, check out our plans.

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