Getting Connected & Hosting

We come across a few businesses who are reluctant to become involved with the Internet because of fears of Viruses, Worms and all the associated gremlins that lurk in the recesses of the Internet. As long as you follow correct procedures and update Virus checkers and Firewalls there is nothing to fear! You don't leave your office or shop without making sure everything is securely locked and alarms are set – maintaining web security is just the same, follow safe procedures and you should have nothing to fear and everything to gain.

If you are a business, you'll understand the need to present a good image for your company. Professionally printed business cards, brochures and stationery are a must for any business hoping to survive and expand on a long-term basis. The same is true for your company's website too.

You can of course, simply design your site in FrontPage and then host your website with any free ISP. This would give you a web address most likely in the format http://www.mycompany.atmyisp.co.uk. There are a few obvious problems with this that you should consider:

Choosing a Good Hosting Company

Choosing a reliable and cost effective hosting company is vital to your e-commerce operation. You need a provider who employs specialist staff who understand all the server technology that is needed to keep your website on-line and taking payments. We will recommend a good quality hosting company with whom we have a tried and trusted relationship and we will be able to advise you on the most appropriate hosting package for your sites initial and growing needs.

Reliability is a key issue here. The Internet is available 24 hours a day 7 days a week. The hosting provider we will recommend will employ constant surveillance on their servers and attend to any faults within the quickest time possible, They ensure that backups are taken on separate servers so that if disaster strikes you will not lose orders and customer information. They will guard against hackers and protect you credit card processing and banking communications. Finally they will manage the Internet aspects of your domain names, email and all "Domain Name Server" issues. (DNS).

In short, they will take the technical drudgery away from you and leave you to spend your valuable doing what you do best - managing your business!