We lost a lot of money. At the time, Hot Hot Hot was being hosted by a local provider. Because prices are fairly standard, reliability and stability are paramount considerations. But some believe that a large company is not the best bet for people starting out because local providers can sometimes offer more personalized service. There are literally hundreds of Southern California-based ISPs that host business Web pages.
Loyalty is a great indicator of reliability and service on the Net.
The final step of the building stage is deciding if you are going to design your Web pages or contract with a professional. There are persuasive points for both sides. Building it yourself saves money and gives you complete control over the updates you'll inevitably be making. Web design programs such as Adobe's PageMill and Microsoft's FrontPage get consistently high marks for their features and ease of use. For small-business owners who don't have the time or inclination to do it alone, though, it's easy enough to contract a Web page designer.