Success in niche markets requires a strategic plan for hosting your website. It is becoming common practice to have more than 100 websites serving different interests. If you want to easily and efficiently manage numerous sites and keep costs down, you need to consider an overall hosting strategy.
And of course there are many with smaller numbers, say 10 or more sites, who intend to build their "empire" to much larger sizes. With your business in mind, it's also important to consider future growth before the workload and costs (when you "just add a few more locations") get out of hand.
There are two special things to consider right off the bat: The number of subdomains allowed and the number of domains allowed per account.
Using a subdomain means you don't have to register a domain name in the early stages of a new website. It gives you a chance to test the demand for a specific niche first before branching out into a full-fledged website with a registered domain name. For example, if you have a hosted website called Betty Helpful Hints, you can add a number of subdomains (or other websites) to it – if your host allows it.
Web hosts have different requirements for the number of subdomains allowed. Naturally, the more you have, the more bandwidth is used, so it's often the case that lower-cost hosts will limit the number of subdomains allowed on a single account.
Once you've decided the demand justifies it, you'll start thinking about registering domain names for your individual websites. This is much more cost-effective and easier to manage if it can be done with the same web host, all on the same account. But also keep in mind the caution behind the old adage, "Don't put all your eggs in one basket."
So it's probably wise to consider a structure that hosts your large number of websites with 3-4 different companies. Also consider opening a reseller account with another hosting company for small and new websites and backups. This structure offers security along with expandability.
Other key factors to consider:
You'll want your sites to run with as little downtime as possible, so make sure they have the equipment to do so. Unfortunately, 99% of web hosts will claim to be online 99% of the time. Using multiple web hosts increases the risk of downtime. It is highly unlikely that all of your sites will be down at the same time.
If you only have 1 or 2 websites, cost is not a major concern. When you have 10, 50 or 100+, the monthly expenses can be crippling if you don't anticipate growth and just add sites by opening new accounts. One of the options mentioned above is to use a reseller hosting account for these new and small sites. That would only cost about $15 a month. Subdomains are also an option, at no extra cost, if the web host allows it. If you get to the stage where you need a dedicated server, it will cost more than $50 a month.
If the development of your site is likely to affect the production host site, do the development and testing work on your reseller account and move the finished application to another server when you are satisfied that it is working to your satisfaction.
Having backup facilities that have already been tested means you can easily transfer your main website to another host if needed. A temporary or permanent change can be made in the few minutes it takes to redirect a domain.
There are many excellent web hosting companies available. One highly regarded one is Host Gator, which allows you to host an unlimited number of domains, as does Me Web host. Another reputable host that comes to mind – Tenon Media – allows unlimited subdomains, even with their cheaper packages. I have no connection to any of them, I only know them by word of mouth.
The growth of private label rights and niche market products, including promotional materials and websites, fueled the boom in marketing to a wide range of niche interests. Market segments that were previously considered too difficult are now easily accessible. This has also led to a huge increase in the number of websites that are now or likely to be controlled by individual marketers. A functional strategy for managing this growth needs to be considered early on - before your "empire" becomes too complex to manage and costs become prohibitive.
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