Web hosting companies take the collection of web pages that make up your website and store them on computers called web servers. Internet users can then connect to the web pages through these servers.

Many Internet Service Providers (ISPs) provide free web hosting in return for placing advertising on your site, but when you're building a site for your business you'll need a professional (paid) service. One of the drawbacks of free hosting is that you can't use your own domain name and there are not many features available.

Your website may need e-commerce capabilities if you have goods or services to sell. You may also have scripting or database requirements if your site needs to store and sort information. Free services rarely provide this level of sophistication and their servers do not have the space to accommodate these features.

Finding a hosting provider is a lot like finding business premises. You need to find the right combination of services and facilities for your business, at the right price.

This section will outline what you need to look for in a web hosting provider, some of the options available and how much a typical web hosting arrangement might cost.

How much does it cost
Costs will obviously vary from provider to provider and will be dependent on your requirements. Most vendors will charge an initial set up fee then an ongoing charge each month.

The following list shows an example of package elements and costs for a small to medium size business hosting package:

20 email boxes
Support for FrontPage extensions
Pre-written CGI Scripts
Detailed web usage statistics
Private FTP facilities for file upload
5 extra passwords beyond the master password for accessing or editing the site
70 megabytes of storage, and 750 megabytes of data transfer per month*
Support for CGI scripts, Active Server Pages (ASP) and Microsoft Access database.
Set up costs $95 (once only)
Ongoing costs: $55 per month or $550 per year

As you can see there are many elements and services you can choose from a hosting provider. Another package might include:

20MB of hosting space
10 free email aliases
5 POP email boxes
Access to SQL Server
Real Media servers
1 GB data transfer per month
Webtrends Reporting

This package may cost around $300 a year, with an initial set up fee.

It is also worth asking the vendor what other services they supply and can support like:

* Microsoft FrontPage Extensions
* Windows NT with MIIS Servers
* MS SQL Server
* Active Server Pages
* Real Audio / Video
* SSL support

It is highly recommended that you shop around the vendors and ensure that you compile a list of your current and future requirements. Remember to ask about the future opportunities to expand the space you need for hosting and how easy it is to incorporate new services. Also feel free to ask how many other companies they host and who. While some vendors may not like to provide this information you may be able to get some idea of their current work load and reliability.