Applying this analogy to web hosting can help you make a
wise decision if you are currently
1) new to internet business and looking for that first web
host, or
2) up and running but thinking the time has come to upgrade
to a higher level.

Web hosts fall generally into 3 categories. They are:
1) Free Services
2) Budget Hosts (under $20-25 per month)
3) Full Service ($25+ per month)

Let's take a look at each category.

1. Free Services
If you want to run a home page for personal interest for
family and friends, great! If you want to ease into the
internet cautiously, great. Tripod.com offer a good free
service with reasonable support. Or check out:
http://zap.to/1freewebpage/ for a good listing of what's
available.

In short, if you merely want to paddle around, have a little
fun, gain some experience, these services are fine. For
serious business however you really need your own domain
name, not someone else's. Tripod takes the edge off by
allowing your name to come first in the URL,
e.g. http://yourname.tripod.com

Having said that, you can't get away from the fact that your
credibility as a business takes a hit when clients see this
kind of domain name.

2. Budget Hosts
You get what you pay for, generally. Many may knock the
value of budget hosts. If you are running a serious
business, then probably this kind of package would not give
enough stability or features.

Consider the following first-hand nightmare experience: "One
popular low-cost host left my entire site dead for over a
week while I scrambled frantically to save my business.
Heck, I couldn't even reach anyone or get them to return my
plea for help. When the dust settled, they had lost the
backups of my entire site and I was left to fend for
myself." - Ken (Internet Marketing Challenge)

On the other hand, you may find my experience helpful in
your decision making. I am running a resource site at
present containing information pages and some doorway pages.
I don't sell from my site. I don't need a secure ordering
page. For my purpose in running this particular domain, a
budget host is fine. However, I ran a check on it some
months back using the free service at
http://hostwatcher.com.

I was shocked to see how many times the server was down, or
there was a very long load time for my pages. I wrote and
complained. The reply came back that ownership of the host
had changed and a better service was promised. Recently I
checked again and found the company now has a 99% up time -
a vast improvement. I was on the verge of changing my host
but I now find the service is very good for what I need.
Read a more in depth report on this here on my website:
http://www.vitalstop.com/cheapwebhosting.htm

3. Full Service
If your business is taking off and you need 24 hour full
support with all the "bells and whistles" then this is the
way to go. If your internet business is your main stay then
you need a "cruise ship" company who are going to give you
professional top of the line facilities and service.

The choice out there is vast! How can you decide? Research
carefully! You can use this excellent resource at
http://www.hostcompare.com/ which allows to search for any criteria you set.

See if there are good shopping cart facilities so you can
easily set up your online store. Managing your post office
and autoresponders should also be easy through a friendly
interface with good web hosts.

Look for 24 hour technical support and immediate
response to customer needs. Some even have a troubleshooting
crackforce which can give a response usually within an hour
or two.

This is the kind of service you can expect from a top line
professional web host. If your site is really beginning to
make money, can you afford any less?

Choosing a web host or changing a web host is one of those
decisions which will have a massive impact on your business.
Use the 3 category test above and decide where you are
going! Then decide whether to jump into a paddle boat or
book yourself a ticket on a cruise ship for a happy
troublefree experience.

Mike Jones
mikejones@vitalstop.com

web host