Thinking of Getting Your Own Web Site by Shelley Lowery
If you're serious about your business and you have a sincere desire to succeed, having your own domain name is a must. It's not a luxury; it's a necessity. Businesses using the free services are not taken seriously. Having your own domain name is just as important if not more important than a professional looking web site. They go hand-in-hand.
The cost to register your Domain name is only $70 for the first two years and $35 per year there after. Very reasonable and well worth every penny. You can register your domain name with The InterNIC right online. The InterNIC is a cooperative activity between the U.S. Government and Network Solutions, Inc. Network Solutions, Inc. (NSI), is a provider of domain name registration services in the .com, .net and .org top-level domains. www.networksolutions.com/

Selecting Your Web Page Host
When selecting a professional web host your first consideration should be the company. Check out their background. Talk to some of their customers and ask them if they've been satisfied with their service.

How many customers do they serve?
What is their uptime percentage?
Do they require you to make payments in advance?
Do they charge set up fees?
How is their customer support? Test them.
Do they offer fast connections?
Do they offer shopping cart software to process your orders?
Can you upgrade free of charge?

Web hosting prices vary greatly. When selecting your host, make sure you're getting exactly what you're paying for. Keep in mind, a lower monthly rate will not benefit you if your site is down a lot, slow, or customer service is poor.

Criteria for selecting a host
Selecting a professional web host is a very important decision. Make sure you do your homework and insure the host you select offers exactly what you need.

Your own domain name (www.yourname.com)
Your own True POP email account - name@yourdomain.com
Fast, low overhead, Multi-T3 access
Your own unrestricted cgi-bin
Access to SSL Encryption for secure transactions
Java, C, C++, Tcl support
Autoresponders
htaccess Password Protection for your files or directories
At least 1 GIGABYTE (1024 MB) of Daily Transfer
Design (and upload to) your site using Netscape or other HTML editing software
Microsoft Frontpage (98) Server Extensions for those utilizing Frontpage
Unlimited free access to your server via Telnet/FTP
Online invoices, account tracking, and payment history to enable you to check your account balance, monthly invoices, past payments, etc.
Complete daily server backup
Easy access to your log files
Statistics on visits to your site

Free web hosts are great for hosting a personal web site, but not recommended for a business site. If you're really serious about your business and want to establish your Internet presence, I highly recommend Virtualis. Their tech support is the best I've seen. www.virtualis.com/vr/slowery
Shelley Lowery is the Webmaster of Web-Source.net - A complete resource portal for the Internet entrepreneur. The site assists the entrepreneur in developing a serious Web presence by providing a wealth of free information, resources, tools and content. Visit Web-Source.net at:
www.web-source.net