"We also handle hosting." Three months later, agency answers SSL tickets, broken plugins and "it's slow" on Sunday — for €8 margin per month. Hosting offer became unbudgeted second job.
For a web agency, including or reselling hosting can build loyalty and smooth revenue — provided you frame scope, price and operations as a product, not post-delivery favor.
Three offer models
| Model | Advantage | Risk |
|---|---|---|
| Recommendation (client pays host) | Less agency support | Less margin, less control |
| Resale / white label | Margin + relationship | Client support on you |
| Included managed services | High recurring revenue | Unpredictable operations time |
Choose by volume and operations maturity — not because "everyone does it."
Scope: what you agree to carry
Usually included in managed hosting maintenance:
- Minor CMS updates;
- Uptime monitoring;
- Planned backup restores;
- SSL certificates;
- Platform tickets (DNS, basic email routing).
Explicitly exclude:
- Feature development;
- Third-party plugin debugging;
- Performance rework without budget;
- Outages from unplanned traffic (marketplace, virality).
Reference host SLA upfront — you cannot promise 99.99% if your reseller rate is 99.9% with broad exclusions.
Runbook and tools
- Multi-site panel or centralized reseller.
- External monitoring (Uptime Kuma, Better Stack, etc.).
- Incident playbook: who calls host, who contacts client.
- Client documentation: included vs out-of-package.
- Quarterly restore test — credibility during outage.
Budget time as in hosting budget.
Pricing: cover Sunday
Simple formula:
Client price = reseller rate × (1 + margin) + support hours package + incident margin
Example: reseller rate €20, 50% margin, one included support hour/month valued €80 → minimum €50 plus time share. Adjust if premium host support on the reseller side.
10% margin with unlimited tickets is mathematical loss: one weekend incident wipes out months of theoretical margin.
Choosing upstream host: criteria beyond wholesale price
Wholesale price is not the only criterion. Before reselling, verify multi-client reseller panel, tested upstream support, wholesale SLA alignable with client promises, and account portability if changing upstream. Compare via the directory and comparator—a cheap host with no upstream escalation costs more in time than slightly higher wholesale with reliable support.
The peak: agency hosting fails on verbal unlimited
Here is the sentence that kills margin.
Agencies that survive treat hosting as framed subscription, not free after-sales.
Decide and move forward without blind spots
Before adding "hosting included" to quote, choose the model — recommendation, resale or managed services — by volume and skills. Write scope and exclusions in a document the client signs alongside the web contract. Set margin covering real time, including weekend incidents. Select a reseller host via the directory crossing reseller and white label guides. Train the team on the incident runbook and test upstream escalation before the first client.
Frequently asked questions
Include hosting everywhere?
No — only if scope is mastered and stack is known, for example standard WordPress with documented updates. For exotic stacks or autonomous client IT teams, recommend direct hosting at the provider instead.
What margin?
Aim for 30–100% on the reseller rate depending on promised SLA, including support time in the calculation. 10% margin with no ticket cap turns every Sunday into a net loss.
Limit unlimited support?
Set included hours, list exclusions in writing, bill overages, and politely refuse out-of-scope requests. Without these guardrails, "hosting included" becomes free helpdesk.
Reseller or agency account?
Reseller or white label fits volume and branding goals. A multi-client agency account suffices if centralized management tools cover your needs without a commercial overlay.
Next time client asks "hosting included," answer with list of what is not included. That is start of viable offer.