I recently advertised for a new webmaster.
Of the dozens of replies I received, I chose the five best applicants.
They were offered a trial period of one month (I pay weekly during the trial period, so the applicant is assured of getting paid), and given cPanel access to allow them to set up websites for me.
How can I give out cPanel access to an unknown webmaster? Isn't that taking a risk with my other websites? Not really; I have set up my HostGator account to allow me to have unlimited "sub accounts".
Each of these sub accounts is isolated from the other accounts, with separate log in credentials and disk quotas.
What kind of account lets you set up unlimited sub accounts? This is known at HostGator as a "Reseller" account.
It was intended for businesses that want to brand and resell web hosting services.
I was actually researching this topic as a possible source of business income before realizing that this was the best way to isolate and test my various niche sites.
The reseller business is highly competitive, with razor thin profit margins.
If you don't have a unique slant (SEO services, PhD.
Help Desk clerks, or polyglot sales personnel), there is no way to make a profit in that business.
But it is the best way to have multiple cPanel accounts under the umbrella of one major account.
To set up the account, go to the HostGator main page, scroll down to the bottom, and select the link to "Reseller Hosting".
There you will see several account types displayed.
I chose the cheapest plan type, it still gives unlimited domains, but there are restrictions on disk space and bandwidth.
However, it would be easy to upgrade later to a higher quality account, if your websites take off in popularity.
Don't start off with the "Diamond" plan, unless you are sure you will need all of that bandwidth.
After purchasing the new account, you will receive access to a "WHM Accelerated" Control Panel.
It is from here that you will be able to set up your sub accounts.
I set up five different sub accounts.
Each of these has their own cPanel log in, disk space quota, and bandwidth limit.
I used the installation guides provided by HostGator to set up the various accounts.
It was a bit of a pain to set up, but at the end I had cPanel accounts to give to each of my prospective webmasters.
So what have we gained from this setup? First, I can assign tasks for creating new websites to my applicants without worrying that they may interfere with another webmaster's work.
Next, each applicant can demonstrate her competence with all webmaster tasks.
This is because cPanel access gives them full control of their assigned websites.
The applicant has access to the training provided by HostGator, which cuts down on the amount of handholding I need to do to get them trained.
If the applicant trashes the account, it doesn't affect any of the other accounts.
This avoids the "All my eggs in one basket" nightmares.
If the applicant offends HostGator by violating the Terms of Service, it won't affect any of the other accounts.
And finally, once the trial period is over and the applicant is rejected, it is easy to change the cPanel password of the sub account.
This prevents a terminated employee from coming back later and damaging the websites.
Another useful feature of the Reseller Account (although not related to website security) is that each of your new cPanel accounts are on different Class "C" networks.
This can provide a boost to your SEO efforts when cross linking from one niche site to another.
So, how did my applicants do? Two dropped out the first week, never to be heard from again.
I paid them for the week, even though they didn't get much accomplished.
Another started out great, but refused to provide daily reports and his output gradually dropped off.
He was terminated after three weeks (with pay, of course).
Two are still with me, as permanent workers, cranking out niche sites.
Of the dozens of replies I received, I chose the five best applicants.
They were offered a trial period of one month (I pay weekly during the trial period, so the applicant is assured of getting paid), and given cPanel access to allow them to set up websites for me.
How can I give out cPanel access to an unknown webmaster? Isn't that taking a risk with my other websites? Not really; I have set up my HostGator account to allow me to have unlimited "sub accounts".
Each of these sub accounts is isolated from the other accounts, with separate log in credentials and disk quotas.
What kind of account lets you set up unlimited sub accounts? This is known at HostGator as a "Reseller" account.
It was intended for businesses that want to brand and resell web hosting services.
I was actually researching this topic as a possible source of business income before realizing that this was the best way to isolate and test my various niche sites.
The reseller business is highly competitive, with razor thin profit margins.
If you don't have a unique slant (SEO services, PhD.
Help Desk clerks, or polyglot sales personnel), there is no way to make a profit in that business.
But it is the best way to have multiple cPanel accounts under the umbrella of one major account.
To set up the account, go to the HostGator main page, scroll down to the bottom, and select the link to "Reseller Hosting".
There you will see several account types displayed.
I chose the cheapest plan type, it still gives unlimited domains, but there are restrictions on disk space and bandwidth.
However, it would be easy to upgrade later to a higher quality account, if your websites take off in popularity.
Don't start off with the "Diamond" plan, unless you are sure you will need all of that bandwidth.
After purchasing the new account, you will receive access to a "WHM Accelerated" Control Panel.
It is from here that you will be able to set up your sub accounts.
I set up five different sub accounts.
Each of these has their own cPanel log in, disk space quota, and bandwidth limit.
I used the installation guides provided by HostGator to set up the various accounts.
It was a bit of a pain to set up, but at the end I had cPanel accounts to give to each of my prospective webmasters.
So what have we gained from this setup? First, I can assign tasks for creating new websites to my applicants without worrying that they may interfere with another webmaster's work.
Next, each applicant can demonstrate her competence with all webmaster tasks.
This is because cPanel access gives them full control of their assigned websites.
The applicant has access to the training provided by HostGator, which cuts down on the amount of handholding I need to do to get them trained.
If the applicant trashes the account, it doesn't affect any of the other accounts.
This avoids the "All my eggs in one basket" nightmares.
If the applicant offends HostGator by violating the Terms of Service, it won't affect any of the other accounts.
And finally, once the trial period is over and the applicant is rejected, it is easy to change the cPanel password of the sub account.
This prevents a terminated employee from coming back later and damaging the websites.
Another useful feature of the Reseller Account (although not related to website security) is that each of your new cPanel accounts are on different Class "C" networks.
This can provide a boost to your SEO efforts when cross linking from one niche site to another.
So, how did my applicants do? Two dropped out the first week, never to be heard from again.
I paid them for the week, even though they didn't get much accomplished.
Another started out great, but refused to provide daily reports and his output gradually dropped off.
He was terminated after three weeks (with pay, of course).
Two are still with me, as permanent workers, cranking out niche sites.