A website hosting agency partnership can be lucrative for the host and the freelancer or agency if there is alignment on these three things…
In the freelance web design, digital agency, and website hosting spaces, partnerships are vital to business growth. The right strategic alliances can take your business from zero to sixty in no time by helping you acquire new clients, extend your reach, drive revenue, and build a network where referrals can flow between you and your web hosting partner.
When exploring the option to become an agency partner, share these three things about your business with the hosting company you’re speaking to:
1. Information About Your Agency
Help the hosting company learn about your business, understand your points of differentiation, gain clarity about your capabilities, and discover how you wish to be positioned to potential web design and development clients. Share how long you have been in business and the size of your company. This provides the hosting company information about the level of support you may need as an agency partner and whether you’re a fit for their partner program.
For example, if you have multiple teams working on different web design and development projects at the same time, your website hosting support needs will be different than a freelancer or micro agency working on one or two projects at a time. This will also alert the hosting company as to how many team members may reach out on behalf of your company and clients with hosting-related questions.
The interview and vetting stage is a two-way process, which means you can also ask the hosting company how they can help you gain new clients, improve processes, and increase web design project profit margins.
2. Your Ideal Clients And Project Types
When exploring the opportunity to participate in a hosting company’s Agency Partner Program, make sure you share all of the products and services you offer through your agency. A successful partnership is a two-way street, which means that the referrals work both ways: you refer clients who are a great fit to the hosting company, and the hosting company refers new clients that are a great fit for you.
Help your potential hosting partner get to know your clients and the types of websites you build. Let them know if you’re a generalist or if you have a specific niche you specialize in.
- The more the host learns about your clients and their unique needs, the easier it will be to discover how their products and services align.
- This also helps them better understand your hosting requirements and provides the opportunity for them to highlight the best ways to leverage their infrastructure and tools to deliver more efficient, stable projects.
For example, if you build e-commerce sites powered by WordPress, the last thing you want to do is bog down a shared server with an online store that has more traffic than it can handle. Instead, it’s best to choose a Managed WooCommerce Hosting partner like Liquid Web or WP Engine that can better support an online store.
Consider asking your hosting company what special packages or unique offers they have that no other host has and which of their products and services would best fit your clients.
If you offer monthly website care plans, you may require managed WordPress hosting with automatic daily backups stored offsite, automatic SSL for every site, staging sites for testing prior to pushing changes live, speed optimizations with the help of PHP7 and Nginx, and access to popular developer tools like SSH, Git, and WP-CLI.
3. How You Handle Website Hosting
When talking with a potential hosting partner, be sure to communicate your approach to website hosting management. They need to know if…
- You resell web hosting and host client websites in your hosting account.
- You refer clients directly to a hosting company so they can purchase their own hosting account.
- You have agency partnerships with other website hosting companies.
Regardless of how you choose to manage hosting in your web design and development business, ask your prospective hosting partner about agency partner perks, how support works, and what happens when your client has a problem.
Final Thoughts
These three areas of focus will help guide your initial conversations with a hosting company about whether their agency partner program is a fit for you.
During the conversation, you’ll discover the benefits an agency partnership can deliver and learn new ways to better serve your clients and increase profitability. At the same time, the hosting company will learn your specific needs and how they can serve you best.
It’s all about creating a mutually beneficial partnership.
