WEBSITE CREATION SERVICE
There are about 280 Internet Access Providers in the UK as listed by Internet Magazine. This number is expected to be maintained while some of the smaller IAPs merge or go under. There have been a number of new entries offering free-call and/or subscription-free access. Some of thse will also go under. Which one to choose. Not easy. Here are some thoughts on the questions you can ask. 1. The Three Biggies)
2. The FreebeesThere are organisations who will give you what you want free. Some or all of the following snags may be experienced if you go this route. If this is not a problem to you then go for it.
3. The Middle RangeThe largest of the rest - over 8K subscribers, are:(numbers are probably very out of date)
Note these are subscription members. It does not include users who access by leased line. There are probably two users for each subscription. Growth of the larger players is about 2K per month, many of which are poached from other IAPs (churning). There are therefore over 2 million dialup subscribers in the UK. The middle range of ISPs in the UK will probably be most attractive for most users who want to access the web, send E/Mails, and perhaps have a small website.
Two ISPs we know of offer shares in the company in exchange for your custom.
4. Local ISPsLocal IAPs usually have about 1000 subscribers, and have strong local connections with local lists of businesses. To be listed on these sites may be attractive. The prices charged may be either lower to attract business, or much higher to reflect a more personal and caring image. They can also offer better or more relevant service and perhaps a more friendly URL.
You can get a list of hosts and their charges and other details at
5 Not RecommendedSome ISPs are really not suitable for the first time user. An experienced user only requires three things: UserID, Password, dial-up telephone number. First time users require lots of help and at least some useful software on a CD-ROM.Some ISPs send you a disk which does not help you to load useful programs. Some have a disk which over-writes your latest version browsers with some old tat, or writes their advertising all over your computer. Some ask you to download from their website, but how do you do this if you have never been on line before. Some are just not very helpful. Or perhaps it was just a bad day and we were unlucky. We have had complaints about Which Online, I-Way SoHo, CIX, Freedom2surf, Madasafish, Virgin, LineOne, WorldOnline, TinyOnline, NTL, Demon, BT. Yet some of thse are household names; perhaps we were just unlucky. Please comment if you have had good or bad expereince with any service provider and we will update these lists 6. Overseas ISPsProviding you can sort out your E/Mail and access to Internet with a local telephone access point, there is no reason why you should not have your website on a server in another part of the world. Hosts in the US can be cheaper and give better service than in the UK, and give good assistance by E/Mail if you need help. I have a preference for an ISP that is local to you so that you can ring up and shout at them.
7. Private ServersA number of people with their own servers, or even people who have a website and are re-selling space, offer website hosting but no Internet access by subscribers. These people advertise. I use Netlink which is giving me good service. http://www.netlink.co.uk 8. Criteria for SelectionMaybe you should consider your long-term plans for your website now. It is a pain to change. Key question for me was the format of the domain name they were able to supply and the cost of registering and hosting this. Check Domain Names for more on this. There is a problem with multiple domain names. If you want to have two or more domain names pointing at the same webspace, some ISPs have difficulty; they serve only one of the names, and then point the second and subsequent names to the first name which means that the URL that appears in the browser address line, and is used when the website is bookmarked or registered with the search engines, is the first name and may not be what you want. The page title and META statements may help you, but it is still not very elegant. You may wish to concentrate on the availability, skill, and helpfulness of the helpline. Ring up the helpline and see whether they answer intelligently. Here are some questions you will want to have answered, some of which should be available from their homepages on the Internet.
9. BandwidthSome ISPs will ask about the bandwidth required, and they discuss it in the form of X Mb per day month or year. They will certainly want to charge more if you have a very popular website. There is a calculator at http://www.ibghosting.net/services/bandwidth.asp but the sums are quite easy: Enter an approximate number of page impressions per month. I get about 18,000 on the Waller site, and 12,000 on the Goring site. Multiplied by the average size of your pages including images (say 30K) and this results for the Waller site in: 350 Mb/month, or 4000 MB/Year. This sort of figure should not attract any special pricing.
Many small business sites are not so successful, but a domestic scale at 120 MB/Year may not be enough. Only sites specialising in porn, music or movies, or with TV advertising, will exceed these figures.
10. Which one shall you choose.I recommend:http://www.freeserve.co.uk - 0870-901-6000 to ask for a CD-ROM or signup on line. Free access, and also free phone calls if you pay about £10/month. Have free webspace but very few services with it. Good for Internet access and mail, but slow at peak times.
http://www.compuserve.com - UK sales: 0800 289458
http://www.newnet.co.uk based at Portchester, Hants - 01705-717151
http://www.netlink.co.uk - 0171-831-8000
There are always additional services, and often special offers.
11. Sources of more informationA list of IAPs is in most Internet magazines. Try Internet Magazine.
http://thelist.internet.com/
- apparently there are 3000 ISPs from which you can choose. |
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